KWG 2010 Dessert Wine Recommendations

I love Dessert wines. I feel they are the best way to finish off an evening or a dinner. This year we had a chance to try several dessert wines. I wanted to get them all reviewed and summarized so you would have plenty of time to find and order the best ones before Thanksgiving. Below is the list of the ones we liked the best.

The first three offerings are all Excellent and scored 95 points. Two are quite expensive and one is an absolute steal. So let’s start with the steal. Standing Stone Winery is the leader in Ice Wine production in the Finger Lakes. I would argue that their Ice Wines certainly compete on an International level. The 2008 Standing Stone “Vidal Ice” for $25 is fantastic. This little 375 ml bottle of wine is consistently one of my favorite dessert wines each year. They took this vintage to another level! It opens with a fragrant tangerine and apricot-like bouquet. It is full-bodied and very viscous with delicious ripe apricot flavors. I also detected notes of quince and fig. It finishes pleasantly sweet, shows nice length and is very satisfying. It is also an incredible deal at $25 so order a few bottles for your holiday celebrations and blow away all your guests!

Next up is another Finger Lakes beauty. Hermann J. Wiemer makes fantastic Rieslings and he tops off his portfolio with this beauty. The 2008 “Bunch Select Late Harvest Riesling” for $95 is stunning. There were only 70 cases made of this gem, so you might have a hard time getting a bottle. But you must try for that special anniversary dinner you are planning. On the palate, this wine is full-bodied, well balanced, viscous, and syrupy. I loved its delicious ripe apricot flavors with hints of quince and light grapefruit. It finishes pleasantly sweet and lingers for quite a while. We all felt that this wine is a dessert all by itself. Beg them to sell you a bottle or two soon.

Another high roller in the dessert wine game is Inniskillen. Their 2007 “Vidal Icewine” from the Niagara Peninsula in Canada is also Excellent. It comes in at $75, but it might be easier to get than the Wiemer. Like the Wiemer, I would pull out this gem for a fine dinner at your favorite restaurant. It is wonderfully fragrant with an apricot bouquet and hints of honey. On the palate, it is full-bodied, balanced, rich, and concentrated. We really enjoyed its delicious apricot jam flavors with notes of quince and ripe pineapple mixed in. This is a very serious dessert wine to sip with someone special after dinner.

Our next offering comes in at a very reasonable $24. Yet it is only 187 ml. So effectively it is $58 for 375 ml. Either way, it is well worth it as this wine scored 93 points. The 2007 Dr. Loosen “Eiswein” Riesling from Mosel, Germany is delicious. It is full-bodied, well balanced, and rich with concentrated apricot flavors. It would pair perfectly with green apples and sharp cheddar cheese.

Next up is a wine that I never had, nor heard of before. The 2006 Baton “Late Harvest Chardonnay” from the Heintz Vineyard in California’s Sonoma Coast was quite pleasant. It went perfectly with my crème brulee at Grill 23 in Boston. We scored it 93 points and appreciated that it came in a 500 ml bottle, as it was enough to share with 6 tasters. On the palate, it was full-bodied, balanced, viscous, and clean. with very tasty apricot and ripe pear flavors.  It costs $45 per bottle.

Next we return to the Finger Lakes for a couple of 92 pointers. The 2008 Standing Stone “Gewurtztraminer Ice” for $25 is another great example of the terrific and affordable ice wines made by this producer. It opens with an attractive light orange bouquet with hints of cinnamon and lychee. It is full-bodied, smooth, creamy, luscious, and yet refined. We really enjoyed its delicate honey and mild apricot flavors with just a kiss of orange and lime in the background. It shows an elegance that makes it very easy to drink. A second glass is a must and it did not last long. Right on its heels is the 2008 Hazlitt 1852 “Vidal Blanc Ice Wine” This 375 ml bottle costs a little more at $40. It opens with a fragrant and attractive apricot and fig bouquet. On the palate, this wine is full-bodied, rich, and concentrated with very tasty and mildly sweet apricot flavors. There were also some notes of tangerine and mango as well. It was truly delightful. Serve it with a cheese platter and have another bottle handy for requests for seconds.

Our last highlighted Dessert wine is the 2008 d'Arenberg “The Noble Wrinkled Riesling.” We scored this wine 91 points. It is only $20 for 375 ml. It opens with a mild raisin-like bouquet. On the palate, this wine is full-bodied, well balanced and very viscous with tasty honey flavors. We also detected notes of plump raisins mixed in as well. This wine did not last long, as folks went for seconds.

Below are several other terrific options that scored between 87 and 90 points.

1) d'Arenberg 2008 “The Noble Mud Pie” (Adelaide Hills, Australia) 375 ml $20 (90)
2) Sheldrake Point 2008 “Late Harvest Riesling” (Finger Lakes, NY) 375 ml $25 (90)
3) Standing Stone 2008 “Riesling Ice” (Finger Lakes, NY) 375 ml $25 (90)
4) Dr. Pauly Bergweiler 2008 Riesling “Bernkasteler alte Badstube am Doctorberg Auslese” (Mosel, Germany) $55 (90)
5) Standing Stone 2007 “Chardonnay Ice” (Finger Lakes, NY) 375 ml $25 (89)
6) Ferrari Carano 2007 “Eldorado Gold” (Sonoma County, CA) 375 ml $42 (89)
7) Newport 2008 “In the Buff” (100% Chardonnay) (Newport, RI) $14 (88)
8) Atwater 2007 “Celcius Vignoles” (Finger Lakes, NY) 375 ml $15 (88)
9) d'Arenberg 2008 “Noble Prankster” (Adelaide Hills, Australia) 375 ml $20 (88)
10) Sineann 2008 “CJ Zinfandel Port” (Columbia Valley, OR) 375 ml $24 (88)
11) Willamette Valley Vineyards 2008 “Sweet Hannah” (OR) 375 ml $25 (88)
12) d'Arenberg 2008 “The Stump Jump Sticky Chardonnay” (Adelaide, Australia) 375 ml $11 (87)
13) Banfi 2008 “Rosa Regale” (Piedmont, Italy) $23 (87)

Have fun with these tasty dessert wines.  We hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Cheers,
Ken