Sweet & Semi-Sweet Wine Reviews

Royal Tokaji Late Harvest Furmint ‘17

This is a delicious white dessert wine from Hungary, using the country’s famous Furmint grape, with some Harslevelu and Muscat de Lunel thrown in for good measure. With its ripe fruit flavors and spicy cinnamon, it’s almost like a peach and apple pie. This wine is sweet but not overwhelmingly so, with a nice full body and lots of acid to stave off any flabbiness. Royal Tokaji excels in its sweet wines, with their Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos shining particularly well. But at $25.49, this is half the price for a very similar wine.

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Domaine des Nouelles Rose d’Anjou ‘20

The roses of France’s Loire Valley are diverse, and the Grolleau-based Rose d’Anjou is one of my favorites. Slightly sweet with lots of red fruit, violet, and pear, it shows a wonderful balance of flavor, acid, and body. The wine is refreshing when served cool, but shows its rich complexity as it approaches room temperature. $20.00.

Olivares Dulce Monastrell ‘16

Another late harvest wine, this time from Spain. The grapes begin to shrivel late in the year, concentrating the flavors and sugars, and this shows brilliantly in the wine. It’s a rich garnet color with a big nose. On the palate, it’s like a holiday mousse of prunes and walnuts dotted with blackberries and roasted hazelnuts. It’s sweet enough to stand up to the richest of desserts, though I’d argue that it’s a world-class dessert all on its own. Coming soon.

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February - Intro to France

March - White Wine Techniques

April - Intro to Italy

May - Rose Around the World

June - Intro to South Africa

July - Intro to United States