NZ & International Fortified Wines
MARY-THÉRÈSE BLAIR finds a world of taste in this round up of fortified wines.
The class of fortified wines is never large but it takes you on a trip through the world to taste everything from Australian muscat to Spanish sherry to Italian pantelleria, and never forgetting Portugal for its iconic ports. It’s a fascinating, albeit all too short, tiki tour through the varied flavours and aromas that have shaped the wine world. As wonderful as those wines are, the old saying holds true: there’s no place like home, and it’s particularly gratifying to see three New Zealand fortified wines in the top eight. While New Zealand may have started its wine journey by making fortified wines, the style has fallen from favour in recent years. As we walk along the road of finding out who we are as a new-world region, it’s so wonderful to see winemakers devoted to a style of wine that they make not so much for profit but definitely with a lot of passion.
top NZ & International Fortified Wines
Gonzalez Byass Nectar Pedro Ximénez Dulce NV (Jerez, Spain)
Sherry is an interesting beast as it can pretty much be anything from light dry fino sherry to lusciously sweet PX. Despite its range and versatility, I believe that most people, when they think of sherry, think of cream sherry, specifically associating it with the massively popular Harvey’s Bristol Cream which became the world’s largest-selling sherry in the 1950s.
As a result of its popularity back in the day, cream sherry has come to be associated with a bygone age and an older generation. It’s essentially uncool to like something last seen at your Gran’s house at special occasions.
But little by little sherry is coming back into vogue, with a younger generation discovering that there is a vast spectrum of sherry to choose from and that there really is a sherry for every palate whether you like your beverages dry or sweet. If you do like a sweet sip, then our panel of judges has an absolute treat for you with this 100% Pedro Ximénez which boasts a massive dentist-disapproving 370g of residual sugar. Deep mahogany brown in the glass with delightful green highlights, this wine is immediately heady and complex with a luscious treacly nose, as only a PX can. Aromas abound of prunes, raisins and memories of Granny’s Christmas fruit cake baking in the oven. The palate is weighty, concentrated and complex with fantastic sweetness and unctuous length. It’s profoundly hedonistic – just as it should be. (A)
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Taylor’s LBV Port 2019 (Douro, Portugal)
Deeply coloured and youthful with dense black fruit aromas on the nose. …
2 -
Pellegrino Passito Di Pantelleria 2022 (Sicily)
A pale gold with ribbons of red throughout. The nose is rich …
3 -
Yalumba Antique Muscat NV (South Australia)
Mid brown with a green hue in the glass with intense butterscotch …
4 -
Taylor’s 10 Year Old Tawny Port (Douro, Portugal)
Still some reds in the glass with bricking and a tawny rim. …
5 -
Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Francesa 2016 (Hawke’s Bay)
A dense purple hue in the glass, this youthful local port-style wine …
6 -
Ash Ridge Winston Ruby Syrah NV (Hawke’s Bay)
Hedgerow berries and cedar aromas abound on the nose of this ruby …
7 -
Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Nacional 2016 (Hawke’s Bay)
A deep, dark and dense purple almost black in the glass with …
8 -
Star ratings for this tasting
- Outstanding 3
- Excellent 5
- Very Good 1
- Good 1
- No Award 0
- Total Entries 10