Wine on the Radio - October 20, 2003

Late Harvest Wine                    Recommendations

Fall is supposed to be harvest time, right?   Well, that's mostly true.

Some grapes are harvested a lot later than others, a few even after the first frosts.   Late harvest wines are unique.   They're sweet but not syrupy, tacky sweet.  

They're labor intensive but they're also a labor of love for winemakers.   And they aren't cheap!   Here's why.  

Under the right conditions there is a mold called Botrytis that infects the grapes.   Sounds ominous but tastes great!   Known as the "noble rot" it evaporates the water in the grape.   Less water means more concentrated juice.  

Instead of picking when they're ripe, the picking has to be planned to make sure the grapes are at just the right stage of over ripeness .  

The great Sauternes of France and the Beerenauslesen of Germany are the classics.   And the older they get the more intense their flavors become - flavors of honey and apricot.  

These guys are in a niche by themselves.   They're special and they're pricey.   But, ooohhhh, what a treat!

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Some Dessert Wines . . . All Prices Approximate

Ch. Castelnau de Suduiraut 1997 Sauternes $35
Bordeaux, France
Winemaker's Notes
Beautiful concentration of fruit. Attractive aromas of pineapple and wood

1998 Ch. Coutet Sauternes $40
WS 85-89 points, Plenty of honey, lemon and lime in this young wine. Medium-bodied, medium sweet, with a spicy finish

Ch. Guiraud 1997 Sauternes $55
Bordeaux, France
wine.com Notes
Chateau Guiraud is one of the largest estates in the French Sauternes appellation

Inniskillin 2001 Ice Wine Gold Oak Aged (half bottle) $75
Canada
Winemaker's Notes
Icewine is nectar of the gods - some of the hardest to make, most intense wine in the world

Ch. d'Yquem 1997 Sauternes (half-bottle) $190
Bordeaux, France
Winemaker's Notes
A sensational Yquem, 1997 may be this estate's finest effort since 1990\