Reviews & Ratings

2012 Navarro Vineyards Dessert & Ice Wine "Late Harvest Sweet"

Winery: Navarro Vineyards

Vintage: 2012

Wine Name/Vineyard: "Late Harvest Sweet"

Wine Category: Dessert & Ice Wine

Grape blend: 100% Riesling

Bottle size: 750 ml

Region: Anderson Valley

State or country: CA

Price: $39

Cases produced: 599

KWG Score: 90 (based on 1 review)

Ken's Wine Rating: Very Good+ (90)

Review date: January 29, 2014

Wine Review: This white gold colored Late Harvest Riesling opens with an attractive apricot bouquet with a hint of Mandarin orange. On the palate, this wine is sweet, shows lively acidity, and is viscous. The flavor profile is a tasty apricot with hints of white pepper, pineapple and orange. The finish remains slightly sweet and subtly fades away. This Riesling is a very nice palate cleansing wine that could be used as a dessert wine. You might even consider serving it as an opener with spring rolls. Enjoy - Ken

Winemaker Notes: Just thinking about making a late harvest wine makes us grin as we contemplate how glorious the luscious nectar will taste. We are not chuckling because of the ease of winemaking or profits; late harvest wines don't provide either. In part, our smiles are because we produce this wine from rotten, moldy grapes that are so ugly that we initially threw botrytised grapes away without tasting them first; beginner's mistake. Botrytis is the one rot that German winemakers, accustomed to chilly climes, have appreciated for centuries. Infected berries eventually shrivel, which concentrates the grapes' sugars, acids and flavors and simultaneously adds layers of honey, apricot and pineapple flavors.

Buy it: Use 1000 Corks to find stores that sell Navarro 2012 Late Harvest Sweet Riesling.