Wine Box: Sweet 'n' fortified
When did you last drink sherry, Madeira, port, or a super-ripe sweet wine? Think hard. For most wine drinkers, I'd bet it wasn't last week, possibly not even last month. Yet we are talking about some of the most underrated and good-value wines in the world. Sadly, we still think of them as drinks for vicars, maiden aunts and retired colonels.
The sensual, silky textures and moreish flavours of sweet and fortified wines are often overlooked in favour of the less-complex and instantly drinkable - the ubiquitous New World Chardonnay, for example. If you have developed a love of the tangy, delicate, yeasty style of Fino or Manzanilla sherries, the fortified richness of fine port, the super-ripe aromatics of liqueur Muscat, the unctuous, toffee-tastes of Tokay or the soothing nobility of late-pick Sauternes - you are in a distinguished minority.
Most of us, tragically, don't give them house room or, if we do, we leave bottles forgotten for years in some cobwebby recess. Enjoying these wines is like wrapping yourself in a comfort blanket. Your sniggering friends may think you're old-fashioned and stuffy but, I promise, you'll be having a better time than they are.
Escaladou Late Harvest Muscat 2000, Pyr?n?es-Orientales (Laithwaites, 0870 444 1360, £8.99 for a half bottle). Only 1,200 half bottles of this were made - for the anorak, only five hectolitres were produced from an entire eight-hectare plot. In English, that means not a lot of wine made from lots of grapes - making it very intense and special. Escaladou is made from Muscat Blanc ? Petits Grains and oozes honey, lemon flower and orange zest. A really exceptional late-harvest wine and, hey, and it's still called a vin de pays. Crazy.
Muscat de Beaumes de Venise Vins du Troubadour 1998 (Balls Brothers, 020 7739 1642, £10). A very fresh, aromatic and well-made sweetie, this golden brew has good pineapple and barley sugar flavours. It's not quite the full monty in that it lacks the true luscious style of a late-pick Sauternes. But then these wines are not naturally sweet, they only become so because the fermentation is stopped by adding brandy. Amazing value and a good starting point for the sweetie virgin.
Quinta do Noval 10 Year Old Tawny Port (Waitrose, £13.95). Quinta do Noval ports never fail to please. This tawny is possibly the best 10-year-old I know. It has a rich, soft, ripe fruitiness with beautifully balanced tannins. A wonderful after-dinner drink but, for my money, a drink that can be enjoyed at any time. Nothing less than you'd expect from the makers of some of the world's finest and most expensive ports. A little treasure.
