“BIN ENDS” WINE TASTING GROUP
FRENCH DESSERT WINES
Tuesday, 15th December 2009
Presented by Clive Platman

Unlike our Victorian forbears, who craved all things sweet, there is almost a universal revulsion of dessert wines. More often than not, the response is “I don’t like sweet wines”, and this is certainly reflected in UK wine sales, whereby dessert wines account for less than 2% in total sales.

The key to understanding and appreciating sweet wines is to put them in the right context. Half the trick is knowing what to pair them with. Apart from desserts, most combine well with paté and foie gras, and blue cheese. With desserts, the golden rule is that the wine must be as sweet, if not sweeter than, the dish it is to accompany.

Our tasting tonight was divided into several wine families, accompanied along the way with blue cheese and mince pies.

THE WINES
a. Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley
Loire Chenin is a chameleon-like white grape that can be made in virtually any style, from sweet to sparkling. In Vouvray (to the east of Tours), the style is generally Moelleux (mellow) or medium, with little botrytis. The sweetness comes from late-picked grapes which naturally have high sugar levels.

The soils are different in the Coteaux du Layon, south of Angers, but the style is similar, yet within this AOC, there are two “super-crus”, Quarts de Chaume and Bonnezeaux, where the grapes can be botrytised (infected with mould). This shrivels and concentrates the pulp, which produces an intensely luscious wine, known as “liquoreux” Here, selection is important, and the vigneron will make several “tries” or visits to the vineyard during any one harvest.

1. Clos de Nouys 2005 Vouvray (£13.50 LeClerc, France)
Quince-pear fruit, grilled almonds and cream. More a medium off-dry style, but beautifully balanced. Not a dessert wine, but great with cold meats, such as ham, salt-beef and pickled tongue, as well as pate and blue cheese. It would also work with a mild curry, such as chicken korma. (CHP 17, Bin Ends 5 votes)

2. Domaine des Forges 2007 Chaume (£8.99 Waitrose)
Again, quince-pear fruit enriched with cream. Very fresh and sweet, with a lovely honeyed finish. Exquisite, delicious and superbly balanced.
(Chaume is an AOC that has now been scrapped. It was essentially a second tier AOC between the basic Coteaux du Layon and the elite Quarts de Chaume). This is a dessert wine, which works especially well with apple and pear based desserts, particularly tarte tatin. (CHP 18, Bin Ends 6 votes)

b. The South-West
The dessert wines of the south-west (Gascony) tend to be moelleux, rather than liquoreux, and are based on a little-known variety called Petit Manseng. Here the grapes are allowed to become raisins whilst still on the vine in a process known as pasillerage. There is usually little or no botrytis. The principal AOCs are Jurancon and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh. Again, they’re great with blue cheese, as well as passion-fruit based desserts. As a rule, the style is not overly sweet.

3. Chateau Jolys 2006 Jurancon (£11.49 Waitrose)
Surprisingly rich and unctuous, with marked passion-fruit flavours. Just lacked a little structure and finesse. (I preferred the 2005 vintage). (CHP 16+, Bin Ends 5 votes).

c. Sauternes and its satellites
Sauternes and its sister Barsac are two AOCs dedicated to the production of dessert wine. The wines must have a minimum alcoholic strength of 13° and are made using three varieties – Semillon (typically 80%), Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle (for perfume). Again, the grapes are late-harvested, but the best wines will incorporate grapes infected with Noble Rot (Botrytis Cinerea).

Triage is essential and teams of pickers may visit the vineyards up to seven times per harvest. The best wines are then fermented and matured in barriques for between 18 and 36 months.

The same family of grapes extend to the Southern Dordogne. To the south of Bergerac is Monbazillac, where wines tend to be less complex, but are quite unctuous and round. Slightly to the west is Saussignac where the wines are not overly sweet, but have great elegance.

Aside from blue cheese, matches include strawberries and cream, crème caramel, egg custards and bread-and-butter pudding. Also try almond, apricot and peach based desserts. Avoid chocolate!

4. Chateau Miaudoux 2005 Saussignac (£18 Wine Society/Tanners)
Elegant and complex. Almonds, honey, barley sugar and lemon. Light, refined and medium-sweet, with a wonderfully fine finish. (CHP 18+, Bin Ends 7 votes).

5. Chateau Roumieu 2006 Sauternes (£18 in Leclerc, but sometimes on offer in Co-op Stirchley Birmingham for £5.99 per half bt)
Complex and fresh, with lemon, honey and nuts. Good, but not the elegance or finesse of the above. (CHP 17+, Bin Ends 5 votes)

d. Vins Doux Naturel
Across the whole of Southern France, from the Pyrenees to the Southern Rhone, there is a long tradition of Vins Doux Naturels (VDNs). The wines are made by “mutage”, whereby they are fortified with a neutral grape spirit during the course of fermentation, similar to Port.

The grapes have a potential alcohol of at least 21.5° abv, but fortification arrests fermentation at around 15.5°. Normally, if the yeast was allowed to go on, it would ferment a wine to dryness, but above 15.5° it can’t function. The result is that the grapes retain their residual sugar and hence are “naturally sweet”. The two principal varieties used are Muscat (for whites) and Grenache Noir (for reds).

The two main Muscats are Alexandrie and the superior Petit Grains. The major AOCs are Beaumes de Venise, St. Jean de Minervois and Rivesaltes. The Grenache AOCs are Banyuls and Maury in Roussillon and Rasteau in the Rhone. For added complexity, the wines can be aged in foudres (wooden vats) over a long period of time to create rancio and tawny characters. The whites can be termed Ambré and the reds Tuilé (tiled).

VDNs are virtually “bomb-proof” when it comes to desserts. They’re unfazed by chocolate, banana dishes, coffee, Xmas pudding or mince pies. They’re generally reasonably-priced, too.

6. Mas Amiel Muscat 2004 Muscat de Rivesaltes VDN (£12.50 Perardel Calais)
Mas Amiel are great exponents of this wine style. At 5 years old, this was still amazingly fresh and sweet with flavours of exotic fruits, peach and pineapple. Not hugely complex, but fully effective. A great match for chocolate. (CHP 17+, Bin Ends 4 votes).

7. Domaine Pouderoux 2003 Maury (Waitrose £9.99)
A lightweight Port style from Grenache Noir. Primary flavours of chocolate, raisins and cocoa powder, with a long finish. Smooth and polished, but a little oxidative.
(CHP 17, Bin Ends 1 vote).

8. Arnaud de Villeneuve Rivesaltes Ambré Hors d’Age 1982 (Waitrose £11.29)
Oxidative style, flavoured with toffee, caramel, nuts and cream. Really complex, and a treat with pecan or walnut tart. (CHP 18, Bin Ends 9 votes)

This was not just a very instructive evening, but a lot of fun, too. Opinion was divided between the more fruit-focussed against the more oxidative styles. Although the general preference was for the lighter, fresher styles, it was the Arnaud de Villeneuve which scored highest.

The critical point, though, was how these wines changed with the introduction of food and, for me, that’s what makes wine appreciation so fascinating. A big thank you to all those Bin Enders who brought along blue cheese and mince pies!

COMING UP ....

Friday, 29th January 2010
Bin Ends Annual Dinner, at Opus Restaurant in Birmingham
Tickets are still available from Derek & Barbara Lamb
A few tickets still available, contact them on:
deklamb@lineone.net or barlamb@lineone.net
£50.00 per head for a 3 course meal, 5 wines and all service charges
(a bargain or what!)

Tuesday, 23rd February 2010
New World Cabernet Sauvignon
Entry fee – to be advised £10 or £15

Please note my website link:
www.clives-wines.com