REVIEW: Rich fragrant 'stickies' complex but not cloying

Dessert wines, known affectionately as stickies, are little treasures, rich, fragrant, intriguingly sweet with complex flavours but not cloying.

They come mostly in half-sized bottles because they are often rare, made only when harvest conditions are suitable, and, because they are so rich, you tend to need only a little.

It's often nicest to have them by themselves instead of dessert, but several things go well with them - a not-too-sweet fruit tart or compote, cheese, especially blue, dried fruit and nuts, and some of those semolina cakes soaked in not-too-sweet orange juice.

The rule of matching dessert wines with food is that the wine should be sweeter than the food.

Then think about power and flavours in the wine and match with similarly strong or mild flavours in the food.

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Alpha Domus The Pilot Leonarda Late Harvest Hawkes Bay Semillon 2007 (about $19) is a deliciously rich sweet wine with hints of apricot, cream and spice, an oily texture and nice intensity.

Well balanced.

3 1/2 stars (out of 5)

 

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Sileni Late Harvest Hawkes Bay Semillon 2007 (about $20) is a sweetly gentle sticky with a hint of grapefruit and a clean, crisp finish.

3 stars (out of 5)

 

 

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Te Mania Nelson Ice Wine 2007 (about $22) is a lively sweet wine with bright fruit hints of nuts and honey and a clean, crisp, textural finish.

3 1/2 stars (out of 5)

 

 

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Spy Valley Noble Marlborough Chardonnay 2007 (about $20) is a full-on wine, hinting of apricots, greengages and honey, with overtones of golden syrup and a wonderful texture and lingering finish.

4 stars (out of 5)

 

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Saints Noble Gisborne Semillon 2004 (about $18)

This is the drag queen of the stickies, hugely bold and brash with thick layers of rich dried apricot, peach, citrus, nail polish remover, toast and nuts, with a grainy texture and no subtlety. It stands up well to a sharp, pungent blue cheese.

3 1/2 stars (out of 5)

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Cloudy Bay Late Harvest Marlborough Riesling 2004 (about $34) an elegant sticky with hints of lime, dried apricot and honey, mouthfilling and textural, intense but elegant.

Already four years old, it will continue to develop for a few more years. Delicious with really ripe, fresh golden queen peaches.

4 1/2 stars (out of 5)