Sweet Australian Wines

by Fredric Koeppel
The Commercial Appeal

They call dessert wines "stickies," those Aussies do, and frankly, I think they can call dessert wines anything they want to because, since the middle of the 19th century, the Aussies have been making terrific fortified and unfortified sweet wines for after-dinner sipping.

The difference between an unfortified and a fortified sweet wine, briefly, is this:

• A fortified wine, like port, is sweet because fermentation has been arrested by the addition of brandy or some neutral spirit to the vats, raising the alcohol level to about 20 percent and leaving some degree of untransformed grape sugar.

• An unfortified wine (like sauternes or a German trockenbeerenauslese) is sweet because the grapes on the vine were affected by a mold called Botrytis cinerea, which shrivels the fruit and concentrates the sugars so intensely that the necessarily slow fermentation stops of its own accord before the sugars have been consumed. In a vintage when that's not possible, a bit of sulfur dioxide will arrest fermentation.

Most of the products under review today are fortified, but let's look first at a few unfortified Australian dessert wines. Wines in both categories are exported in minute quantities, and some will require a Concentrated Search. Prices are all for half-bottles.

• The almost ethereal Elderton Golden Semillon 1998, Riverina, offers every element of raw, cooked and candied orange zest and flesh set in a vibrant limestone foundation , from which apricot and peach delicately emerge. Very good. About $19.

• The Joseph "La Magia" Botrytis Riesling 1998, Eden Valley, releases its essence in this order: petrol, lychee, mango, rose petal, apricot; it's quite viscous, with honeyed peach and pear flavors touched with dried herbs leading to a dry, stony finish. Very good. About $22.

• Here's the real stuff. The d'Arenberg "The Noble" Riesling 1997, McLaren Vale, wreathes orange zest, apricot creme brulee and pear tart with an almond crust in a ravishing bouquet that segues to honeyed and buttered pineapple and lychee flavors; the wine has a very sweet entry, but crisp acid turns it dry and minerally on the finish. Superb. About $29. The winery was founded in 1912.

• What the Australians do with the muscat blanc a petits grains and muscadelle grapes, there called brown muscat and tokay respectively, is unique in the world. Manufactured in a process that starts with nearly raisinated grapes, employs fortification with grape spirit and goes on to a barrel-aging sequence that resembles a cross between sherry-and Madeira-making, the muskets and toques of northwestern Victoria are some of the sweetest, most intense and longest-lived wines in the world.

• Imagine a blend of apple pie, toasted coconut cream pie and almond toffee in a thick, viscous, buttery texture, all set on a foundation of caramelized raisins and baking spice. That's the Campbell's Rutherglen Muscat, and if it's a shade less complex than its stablemate, the Campbell's Rutherglen Tokay, that's because the latter features a bouquet of brandied apricots and raisins, figs and orange zest and incredibly smoky and creamy flavors of ginger and spice, sage and thyme and honeyed pear. Four generations have made wines at this family-owned firm. At about $18, these are Great Bargains.

• The Chambers Muscat I tried, alas, was corked, but the Tokay rated an immediate "wow" in my notebook. Abundant tropical, floral and earthy qualities balloon from the glass, settling into notes of carrot cake, roasted almonds and bitter apricot in a resonant, viscous texture. Excellent. Can a wine this terrific cost only about $15? Definitely Worth a Search.

• Now, the Chambers Special Muscat is pretty darned ambrosial, though clean and balanced; it's like an incredibly super-concentrated reduction of blood oranges and apricots shot with smoke and toffee, lime, coffee and brandied raisins. Exquisite. About $50.

• The Chambers Special Tokay opens with nougat, almond toffee and toasted coconut; marzipan, brandied raisins and candied orange peel fill the mouth in an utterly smooth texture leading to a spicy, stony finish. Remarkable. About $70.

• The d'Arenberg Nostalgia Rare Tawny Port, McClaren Vale, tastes like the world 's best rum-soaked fruitcake in liquid form; dried plums and figs, toasted coconut, almond toffee and chocolate cherries blend in a tremendously vibrant structure. The principle grape is grenache, bolstered with a bit of shiraz, mourvedre and white muscat. Excellent. About $29.

• The d'Arenberg Vintage Fortified Shiraz 1997, McClaren Vale, offers the essence of violets, grape jam, lavender and licorice in the nose; smoke comes up and black cherry and plum flavors, coffee and chocolate, all nestled in a dense, chewy, weighty texture. Wonderful, and a Great Bargain at about $15 a half-bottle, $29 for a standard bottle.

• The Yalumba Museum Muscat, Victoria, combines fruitcake soaked in port with burnt toffee, poached and caramelized apricot, orange zest and toasted coconut. Very good . Its stablemate, the Yalumba Museum Release Old Sweet White, Barossa, offers elements of toasted coconut, chocolate, mandarin orange, coffee, tobacco leaf and almond toffee; it turns more heathery and earthy in the glass, and its texture is astonishingly thick and viscous. Exceptional. Each about $18.

(E-mail koeppel@gomemphis.com or write The Commercial Appeal, PO Box 134, Memphis, TN 38101.)

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