Joining me on the tasting panel today for this swathe of dessert wines were Dunedin wine enthusiasts Alastair McLaren and Ricky Collins.
The intensity of some of these wines was breathtaking but while it can be easy to be seduced by immensity, at times the sheer amount of sweetness became overwhelming and cloying.
The best wines showed commensurate weight and impeccable balance, while retaining freshness and poise rather than just sugar.
The wines were all served blind in completely randomised order.
They are reviewed in the order they were tasted.
Price: $36-$38(375ml bottle)
Rating: Good
Sweet honey and hints of botrytis with pineapple coming with air. Luscious entry; intensity here with pineapple and spice notes and noticeable sweetness. Some good acidity with lemony citrus on the long finish. The finish is candied fruits and overt sweetness, which almost overwhelms the wine.
Price: $39(375ml bottle)
Rating: Outstanding
The nose gives off honeycomb and a whisper of corruption. Amazingly intense palate shows manuka honey, marmalade and botrytis notes with Seville orange developing. Marvellous texture and fatness in the mouth. For all the sweet intensity, this is remarkably refined with fantastic length and complexity. Superb.
Price: $39(375ml bottle)
Rating: Outstanding
Beeswax, lime and apricot kernel. The nose is less obviously sweet with a suggestion of licorice. Distinctly waxy entry with an intensely sweet palate. Neat balance and all the elements well integrated here. Mandarin, blood orange and apricot come up. Delicious finish with fruit notes rather than just sugar. Lovely.
Price: $35(375ml bottle)
Rating: Very good
Sweet and sour note. This one is different with a tangy note akin to tangerine or tangelo. Toffee apple with a bit of corruption. Quite intense but not as obviously sweet or heavy. Light on its feet with a savoury, umami note on the finish. Spicy notes and sweet gooseberry pie.
Price: $35(375ml bottle)
Rating: Very good
More of a late harvest than botrytis nose. Subtle with funk, honey and spice: with aeration botrytis notes and sweat become more evident. Less overtly sweet with corruption again and notes of orange. A nice integrated wine that grows on you. Good length.
Price: $35(375ml bottle)
Rating: Very good
Nose more like a dry Riesling with kero/ozone notes and an undercurrent of honey. Caraway seed and honey on the palate. Crisp acidity gives some lemon pith. Not as sweet as the previous wines; really interesting but different. Really good length here.
Price: $35(375ml bottle)
Rating: Very good
Gunflint/stony note with honey and beeswax. Huge on entry: powerful and explosive. Rich and intense with tropical fruit notes. A long, intense finish with good acidity. Flirted with a higher rating but the incredible sweetness on the finish became almost too much to handle.
Price: $16.50(375ml bottle, less onspecial)
Rating: Good
Rose petal, lychee and Turkish delight. A sweet and sour note. Medium weight with Turkish delight and brown sugar on the palate: a hint of gooseberry comes with aeration. A touch disjointed and sharp at first but this does soften and open out with time in the glass.
