Five Wines

Posted by Keith Wallace on Dec 28, 2011 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

Seven sparkling & dessert wines for your holiday splurges! Thanks to the Wine Spectator  for the descriptions, and the Wine School of Philly for the suggestions!

1. Graham Beck Brut, Western Cape (South Africa)
   Pale copper-tinged gold. Tangerine, spicy oak and a hint of exotic fruits on the nose. Fruity and harmonious, with a yeasty complexity adding depth to the fairly dense, harmonious middle palate.
2. Charles de Cazanove Premier Cru Champagne
   This Champagne offers an array of flavor, including toasted brioche, Gala apple, lemon zest, graphite and ginger, with a touch of honey. Elegant, but with good intensity and a moderate, nut-tinged finish.
3. Mailly Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs
   Lead pencil shavings and berry aromas and flavors grace this rich yet firmly structured bubbly, which has a fine balance. Pastry and citrus preserve notes stay persistent on the finish.
4. Mailly Grand Cru 2004 Blanc de Noirs
   Light gold. Deeply pitched aromas of pear skin, anise and roasted nuts, with a smoky overtone. A dense, chewy Champagne that shows good power and an array of red berry and orchard fruit flavors.}
5. Dr Heidemanns-Bergweiler 2009 Riesling Auslese (Germany)
   Rich and tightly wound, with candied berry and citrus flavors accented by a vibrant structure and embedded mineral notes. Impressive.
6. Osborne Pedro Ximenez (Spain)
   If you melted down 5 pounds of raisins, you might get the concentrated flavors in this dessert Pedro Ximénez. Accents of chocolate and fig.
7. Offley 1983 Porto (Portugal)
   This ’83 is one of the best. Black-purple, with very intense grape must aromas, full-bodied, with grapy and peppery flavors, full tannins, good backbone and a long finish.