To the west and south-west of the Hungarian capital, Budapest, lies the Etyek-Buda wine-growing region, a popular excursion destination for the Budapesters. The appellation, called in the Hungarian OEM, which is comparable to area with a protected designation of origin, covers almost 1,800 hectares of vineyards. The white varieties are mainly found on mostly loess-like deposits on limestone and sandstone.
Rueda, a Spanish white wine appellation in Castilla y León, which used to be characterized by liqueur wines, now produces Rueda, a dry, fruity and at the same time light white wine made from Verdejo and Viura. Since the 1980s, monovarietal Sauvignon Blanc wine has also increasingly been produced.
I made my first acquaintance with wines of the Winery oberGuess in May 2004 on a hike with Evi and Udo to the Remschnigg Alm. From their last stay, they brought me the Sauvignon Blanc Ried am Walts 2017 from the winery.
Due to its naturally high acidity and its susceptibility to botrytis, Sauvignon Blanc is excellently suited for sweet and noble sweet wines – and is in the well-known sweet wine Sauternes an important part, albeit smaller in quantity. It is therefore not surprising that sweet Sauvignon Blanc wines can be found in many countries. We tasted a sweet wine from the Rueda region in Spain, the Apasionado Dulce 2015 from Bodegas José Pariente.
The fact that first-class dry Sauvignon Blanc is produced at Marlborough on New Zealand’s South Island only became known at the end of the 1980s, when Cloudy Bay‘s Sauvignon Blanc became a cult wine. Sensitivity to botrytis makes this grape variety a suitable candidate for sweet wine, as does the Riesling. If the microclimate is right, there is a body of water like river or lake nearby, so wet fog can develop with its humidity, but quickly dry off from the grapes by wind and sun, these are usually the ideal conditions to harvest Botrytis infested grapes , In Waihopotou Valley in Marlborough in the Southern Valleys region, such … Read more ...
At our Italian evening Hans and I agreed in the judgment of the Muffato della Sala 2011 by Castello della Sala: In the nose like Sauternes, on the palate somehow stronger, the sweetness a bit too noticeable, there are some similarities with Passito, nevertheless no Passito – in short one very good, original Italian sweet wine.
The Castello della Sala, a winery owned by the Antinori family, is located near Orvieto. There, on soils infused with fossils, loamy, from sedimentary and volcanic origin, the vines for the muffato flourish. The Muffato is made from 60% Sauvignon Blanc, the remaining 40% comes from Grechetto, Semillon, Traminer and Riesling. Classified … Read more ...
Sauvignon blanc is not necessarily everyone’s favorite, at least for the dry wines. Some people because of its aromas can not drink enough of it , others refrain entirely from it because of the aromas. The flavors can vary greatly depending on the harvest time. With increasing maturity, the spectrum of aromas of grass, herbs, green fruits, boxwood, gooseberries, elderberries and yellow fruits often shifts, especially with ripened specimens supplemented with vegetables, asparagus and cabbage.
Among the best known dry Sauvignon Blanc are Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and those from New Zealand. Although Sauvignon Blanc is very prone to noble rot, it plays only a minor role in the well-known sweet wine … Read more ...
Hans had invited to taste Austrian sweet wines, this time already matured ones, mostly from Riesling. This grape variety does not play the main role in Austrian viticulture, as on the Rhine and its tributaries. However, it is the second most widely cultivated white grape variety in the vineyards located along the Danube, in the Wachau, in Kremstal and Kamptal – but by a long way behind the main vine Grüner Veltliner.
Warm Pannonian eastern air together with a moderate western Antlantic influence, as well as moist cool falling winds from the Waldviertel and Weinviertel
Sweet wine can achieve very high prices, such as Trockenbeerenauslese by Egon Müller from the location Scharzhofberg, whose price may be up to the middle four-digit range.
Wines on the other end of the scale can be found in Lidl’s online list. In addition to high-priced Sauternes from Château d`Yquem you can also buy very cheap French sweet wines from the Bordeaux. We have tasted four of them, from different appellations, with prices of about € 4 to € 10 per 0.75l bottle. We tasted the wines blind, along with two other Sauternes from other sources. (Prices)
None of the wines, we bought at Lidl, really … Read more ...
Although 2013 is often cited as one of the worst vintages of red Bordeaux wine, in Sauternes and Barsac it is generally considered to be near perfect. A hot July and August and many foggy autumn days resulted in a good harvest of botrytis-infected grapes, despite the late flowering,.
During our club trip to Bordeaux sweet wines were not necessarily in focus. Nevertheless, there were opportunities to enjoy Sauternes of different vintages. The Sauternes 2001 of Chateau de Fargues showed roasted cereal notes, subtle dried fruit, slightly smoky taste and a strong sweetness, well balanced by acidity, in the nice finish. Chateau Rieussec 1983, characterized by apricot, candied orange … Read more ...