The name Macvin is more reminiscent of Scotland than the French wine-growing region of Jura, where the Macvin production has a long tradition. It is said that there has been a wine named Maquevin or Marc-vin already in the ninth century. The name Marc-vin indicates that Macvin consists of the french brandy Marc and wine, which means that it is a alcohol-fortified wine.
However, this is only partially true, because the Macvin is made from must according to the AOP rules. This does not exclude that the must already may have started fermentation. The Macvin may be red, rosé or white. In the red and rosé versions, only the … Read more ...
At the Forum Vini, in November 2018 in Munich there were a lot of dry wines but also some sweet wines like port wine. I tasted two port wines, a Magalhães LBV (Late Bottled Vintage) 2013 of Quinta do Silval and a 10 Years Tawny Port by Vieira de Sousa.
The Domaine Puig-Parahÿ is known for its Vin Doux Naturel (VDN). Nearly 50 vintages of Vin Doux Naturel, which are stored in Passa in the cellars of the Roussillon-based winery, are marketed. Many of these VDN date back to the last century. For Parker’s Wine Advocat, David Schildknecht had tasted just under a dozen of these VDN Rancios by Puig-Parahÿ from vintage vintages from 1875 to 1998 in 2009. They have been rated with 90 to 98 points, the majority with more than 95 points, on average with almost 94 points.
Ripened VDN are in high demand, especially those of Puig-Parahÿ, which is reflected in the price. … Read more ...
If you now and then like to drink a glass of fruity sweet wine, but the wine does not last long even in the fridge, you should try a Vin Doux Naturel (VDN) of Muscat grapes, which lasts much longer than most other sweet wines because of the way how it is produced.
The Muscat Vin Doux Natural, produced in different appellations, are almost all made from the grape Muscat Blanc de Petits Grains, as well as all all VDN originating from the Languedoc. The Muscat de St-Jean-de-Minervois, which we have tasted, originates from about 300 m high vineyards in the northeast of the Minervois. In these locations, … Read more ...
The Pineau de Charentes, a liqueur wine, is produced in the Cognac region, more specifically from the departments of Charente, Charente-Maritim and Deux-Sèvres. To produce a Pineau brandy from the AC Cognac is added to the fresh must of grapes, only a few hours after they have been harvested. The must may have started the fermentation and must have in any case more than 170 grams of sugar per liter. The cognac must have an alcohol content of at least 60%, be at least one year old and aged in wooden barrels – even a longer maturation is possible.
The Pineau de Charentes, which exists in white, … Read more ...
The list of French Vin de Liqueur is long. The Floc de Gascogne liqueur wine is not only drunk as an aperitif or as a dessert wine but also enjoyed with other dishes – an impression promoted on the website of Floc de Gascogne. The Floc de Gascogne, coming from the Gascony, located in south-western France, is composed of grape juice and Armagnac. There are both red (rosé or rouge) and white Flocs (blanc), each corresponding to the color of the grape juice. Armagnac and grape juice must come from the same farm, according to the appellation rules, and the producers are therefore located … Read more ...
A round trip in Andalusia was on the program of our friends and neighbors, including some days were planned in Málaga. So I asked Heinz and Mausi to bring me a sweet Málaga wine, emphasizing that type, age, sweetness and style are not important at all, just the first sweet Málaga wine they see.
For sweet Málaga wines it is not easy to reconcile the manifold nomenclatures. There is Vino de licor, Vino de uvas sobremaduradas and Vino de uvas pasificadas, the still well-comprehensible classification according to the duration ripening Noble (2-3 years), Añejo (3-5 years) and Transañejo (over 5 years), but beyond there are many others … Read more ...
“We would like to introduce you to the Floralis Moscatel Oro sweet wine from the winery from Torres and at the same time arranged the dispatch of a product sample,” was written in the mail of an agency. In addition there was an attachment with informations about region, wine and winery. At that time I was in the process of working out more informations about Spanish sweet wines and therefore this wine was ok for me.. From the enclosed information I could see that the Floralis is probably a Mistela, a type of sweet wine that I had barely tasted before, so the Floralis came just right.
The Spanish … Read more ...
Hans had already opened some excellent wines to the excellent French dinner, including, for example, a 2013 Chevalier Montrachet from Domaine Leflaive and a 2005 Le Pavillon from Chapoutier. For cheese and dessert he had selected matured sweet wines, from German predicates such as Spätlese on Vin Doux Naturel to Madeira – all excellent.
1994 Niederhäuser Herrmannshöhle Spätlese, Dönnhoff
Quince, pear and white peach on the nose, delicately smoky. Very fresh on the palate, prominent acidity, mild fruit, juicy, lean, mineral notes. Excellent wine, which proved to be an ideal companion to Fourme d’Ambert with quince jelly, because it took out the pungency of the cheese and brought out its … Read more ...
Catalonia, currently in the news because its efforts of independence from Spain, is better known for cava as well as its red wines from the Priorat or Monsant. Sweet wines, which until the 1950s together with Cava held a leading role in Catalonia, are of minor importance nowadays, best known are still the sweet wines with untypical ageing notes, often varnish-like flavours, of the DO Terra Alta and the Garnatxa de l’Empordà. Sweet wines from the Tarragona wine region are now among the least known wines in Catalonia – until the 1960s, they were considered a low-cost alternatives to port wine. In Tarragona, the fortified strong sweet wines have always … Read more ...