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INTRODUCTION |
ANN ARBOR TASTERS GUILD |
Tasters Guild members enjoyed sampling an array of 50 fortified wines accompanied by a Quarter Bistro buffet of complementary sweet treats. These were the favorites. With the holidays and colder weather upon us, you’ll want to have a few of these in the cupboard for entertaining, or simply winter warming. |
| s1120-02. CHATEAU BEAULON 10 YEAR OLD VIEILLE RESERVE OR PINEAU DES CHARENTES BLANC |
| From the Cognac region. Barely fermented grape juice meets well-aged cognac, the whole then spending 10 years in cask. Drunk in France as an aperitif, though it is sweet. Drier than the 5 year old. Not as rich and fruity. More sophisticated./ Drier and more complex and subtle. Toffee, wood, and fine cognac. No denying that age has brought its own set of qualities. 92/100. |
| How Many: 44.99 each |
| s1120-03. HENRI MAIRE JURA MACVIN |
| The wine is fermented to about 10% alcohol, whereupon the fermentation is arrested by the addition of year-old marc (brandy distilled from grape pomace), and the whole is matured for 18 months in barrels. 2/3 grape juice (poulsard, trousseau, chardonnay) and 1/3 marc. Good quality marc; more refined than young grappa. This has been aged well./ Sweetness and spirit well balanced. Well crafted. 93/100. |
| How Many: 21.99 each |
| s1120-04. 06 DOMAINE TOURADE MUSCAT BEAUMES DE VENISE VIN DOUX NATUREL half liter |
| High perfumed. Apricot and butterscotch. Quite spirited./ High quality muscat a petit grains. Good spirit quality. It’s cooling. Refined and balanced. Apricot nectar, cold cream, and honey. 92/100. |
| How Many: 19.99 each |
| s1120-05. 76 DOMAINE CANTERRANE RIVESALTES VIN DOUX NATUREL |
| Fine madeira like bouquet development with nice rancio and plenty of peel extract. Verdelho like, really. Fig, date, dried apricot, roasted nuts (filbert, walnut), savory spices, mocha, and toffee, Fabulous./ Sweet and fine complex of bottle earned flavors. Definitely in the madeira style. A little sweeter than the verdelho norm, but showing the same liveliness and sweetness-acidity balance. Multi-faceted, layered, lingering. Fabulous. Well priced for 750ml of a 30 year old wine. Compare to what you’d pay for a 30 year old tawny port or madeira. Will last well after it’s been opened too. 97/100. |
| How Many: 32.99 each |
| s1120-06. 04 MAS AMIEL MAURY VIN DOUX NATUREL |
| Vins doux naturel comprise a set of delightful fortified wines from the Rhone Valley and Languedoc-Roussillon. The Maury VDN appellation lies in the Pyrenees foothills, its leading variety, grenache. Lots of character. The peels, the red fruit pulp, the cherry aroma. The spirit. Some woodiness either from the spirit or the wine aged in wood. Or both./ Yeah, the real deal. The peels, grip, spirit. 93/100. |
| How Many: 24.99 each |
| s1120-07. 05 JORGE ORDONEZ SELECCION ESPECIAL #1 MALAGA half bottle |
| Sweet, candied orange aroma. Unique./ Long-lasting, complex range of orange flavors. Peel, pulp, candy. Also peach-apricot and flowers. Good acidity, fine piquance, balance. Very well crafted. Very lovely. 93/100. |
| How Many: 17.99 each |
| s1120-08. ETKO ST. NICHOLAS COMMANDARIA |
| Nice and nutty and sweet, with a dried fruit character. Shows long aging./ Yes, well aged. Creamy. Smoked and roasted nuts. The quality of a good New World tawny. I’m impressed. 92/100. |
| How Many: 17.99 each |
| s1120-09. R. H. BULLER FINE RUTHERGLEN MUSCAT half bottle |
| Perfumed and quite woody. Plenty of muscat stamina./ Muscat perfume in the mouth. The spirit is exuberant. Well crafted. 92/100. |
| How Many: 15.99 each |
| s1120-10. STANTON & KILLEEN RUTHERGLEN MUSCAT half bottle |
| Drier, older, nuttier, more complicated. More of the alexandria variety. Shows superior age./ Smooth and nutty. Very, very sweet. 93/100. |
| How Many: 26.99 each |
| s1120-11. 07 QUADY ESSENSIA ORANGE MUSCAT half bottle |
| Unusually spirited, and the spirit has character, a woodiness. And the varietal orange stuff really comes out. Shades of Mandarine Napoleon./ Super stuff. Sweetness balanced by spirit. Goes on and on. Nutty aftertaste, with a twist of singed orange peel. Fabulous strength. Best vintage I’ve had of this. 95/100. |
| How Many: 17.99 each |
| s1120-12. 07 QUADY ELYSIUM BLACK MUSCAT half bottle |
| Not sticky at all. Quite a bit of lift. Plummy. More plum than prune. Used to be prunier. Good spirit again./ Sweet and flavorful. Not quite the superb balance of the Essensia. Milder spirit presence or more sweetness leaves it a little stickier. Finishes with floral lift. Good product. 92/100. |
| How Many: 17.99 each |
| s1120-13. DIOS BACO AMONTILLADO SHERRY |
| Drier than the wines preceding it. Extremely nutty. Hazelnut, walnut. Very special. Clearly well aged./ Dry but not full dry. Very sophisticated. 94/100. |
| How Many: 26.99 each |
| s1120-14. PEDRO ROMERO MEDIUM RICH OLOROSO SHERRY |
| Relatively dry, nutty, sophisticated, spiritous, penetrating. Hickory nut./ Quite dry. Nicely aged. Not at all sticky. Has mealtime applications. Very well crafted. 92/100. |
| How Many: 12.99 each |
| s1120-15. HIDALGO FARAON OLOROSO SHERRY half liter |
| Dry and nutty. Drier than the Romero./ Very dry. The driest wine of the evening. The spirit is high, the wood aspects quite prominent. Needs food. 92/100. |
| How Many: 19.99 each |
| s1120-16. PEDRO ROMERO RICH SWEET CREAM SHERRY |
| Dry and sophisticated on the nose. Nothing sticky. No signs of PX or moscat dominance./ Impressive. Lots of walnut flavor. Not too much sugar despite the title. Price-worthy discovery, for sure. 92/100. |
| How Many: 12.99 each |
| s1120-17. ALVEARS CREAM MONTILLA |
| Very impressive for the price. Sweet and very nutty. Good, penetrating spirit./ Oh, yeah! Nuts, spirit, good wood. The wood is particularly impressive. Has it all together. 92/100. |
| How Many: 13.99 each |
| s1120-18. ST. JULIAN SOLERA CREAM SHERRY |
| Lots of age. Lots of good wood, time in wood. No vestige of the original fruit. This is clearly a product of a long period in solera./ Sweet and a little figgy. Commendable. 91/100. |
| How Many: 16.99 each |
| s1120-19. BARBADILLO PALE SWEET MOSCATEL SHERRY |
| Light and fragrant, lots of lift. As it’s designed to be. Right in style./ Sweet. Not as high toned and tonic as the nose. Tasty with the right food companion. 91/100. |
| How Many: 9.99 each |
| s1120-20. PEDRO ROMERO DARK SWEET MOSCATEL SHERRY |
| Spiritous and nutty. Not as lifting as the Barbadillo. Different approaches./ Good and sweet and sticky. Well done. 92/100. |
| How Many: 12.99 each |
| s1120-21. OSBORNE 1827 SOLERA PEDRO XIMENEZ SHERRY |
| Not too pruny, not too syrupy. Date and nut. The alcohol gives good lift./ Great concentration. Prune, fig, date, maple. But not sticky. Well fashioned. 92+/100. |
| How Many: 21.99 each |
| s1120-22. HARDYS WHISKERS BLAKE TAWNY PORT |
| Nutty, focused, spiritous./ Fine lift and clarity. 8 years old and showing that superior age and quality. Well crafted. An old reliable. 92/100. |
| How Many: 15.99 each |
| s1120-23. ROYAL OPORTO 20 YEAR OLD TAWNY PORT bottled 2004 half bottle |
| Delightful 20 year old. Very delicate. Nice maturity. Not as much heft as some of the Brit brands. Doesn’t matter. This is all about finesse./ Fine and woody-nutty. Very delicate and complex. 94/100. |
| How Many: 26.99 each |
| s1120-24. 92 WARRE’S GRANDE RESERVE COLHEITA PORT bottled 2005 |
| Dry and nutty. Decidedly tawny./ Yeah, dry and sophisticated. Layered and complex. Well done. 93/100. |
| How Many: 32.99 each |
| s1120-25. WARRE’S WARRIOR VINTAGE CHARACTER PORT |
| Sweet black fruits. Cherry-nut sundae. Or cherries jubilee, because the spirit brings some woodiness./ Dry Warre’s style, spirited, balanced. Nice job. 91/100. |
| How Many: 19.99 each |
| s1120-26. 03 DOW’S LATE BOTTLED VINTAGE PORT bottled 2008 |
| Wonderful sweet, baked fruit. Dried fruit. Lovely wood sensations./ Young, spirited, Dow’s dry. Style and balance. Delicious. Well done. A memorable vintage of this. 93+/100. |
| How Many: 21.99 each |
| s1120-27. 05 FOUR VINES PASO ROBLES ZINFANDEL PORT half bottle |
| Wonderful. Good spirit–class and wood to it. Not just a neutral spirit. Late harvest and Paso ripeness. Raspberry jam, peppercorns–real zin character./ Very flavorful, varietal. Great spirit. Balance of sweetness and alcohol. And, it has good acidity too. Totally impressive. A real surprise. Really does justify the price. 94/100. |
| How Many: 27.99 each |
| s1120-28. 00 COCKBURN’S QUINTA DOS CANAIS VINTAGE PORT |
| Cockburn’s style. Dry, with clear red fruit. Spiritous and spirited. Balanced, classic./ Plum, pitch, and peppercorn. Young, tight, high spirited. Not particularly tannic, but firm still. Classic Cockburn’s. 93+/100. |
| How Many: 47.99 each |
| s1120-29. 00 CHURCHILL’S VINTAGE PORT |
| Sweet and nutty. A little less framed and spirited. Nuttier for sure. House style./ Sweeter and softer. More accommodating at present. Not very tannic. Will come forward earlier. Most delicious. 94+/100. |
| How Many: 64.95 each |
| s1120-30. 00 DELAFORCE VINTAGE PORT |
| Elegant and uplifting. Again, the house style comes through. Berry patch. Floral highlights. The discreet, almost Margaux style of Delaforce./ There’s heft, but it doesn’t supercede the charm, the grace, the beauty. Again, the tannins are not obvious in these 00s. I love this one’s perfumed joys and bouquet potential. 94+/100. |
| How Many: 54.95 each |
| s1120-31. 00 DELAFORCE VINTAGE PORT half bottle |
| Elegant and uplifting. Again, the house style comes through. Berry patch. Floral highlights. The discreet, almost Margaux style of Delaforce./ There’s heft, but it doesn’t supercede the charm, the grace, the beauty. Again, the tannins are not obvious in these 00s. I love this one’s perfumed joys and bouquet potential. 94+/100. |
| How Many: 28.99 each |
| s1120-32. 00 DOW’S VINTAGE PORT |
| Oh, boy! Deep, meaty, fruit pulpy. The wood is fine. Some caramel. Dow’s elderberry. Sensational stuff./ Nuts and bitter chocolate. Extra grip, material, gob, of vintage port. Sweetness, blackness. Not as dry as some Dow’s vintages. 95+/100. |
| How Many: 64.95 each |
| s1120-33. 00 FEIST VINTAGE PORT |
| Dry and Portuguese style–less black, more tawny, sooner ready. Attractive nuttiness developing. Coming along well./ Very sweet. Good, singed fruit. And roasted coffee. Relatively forward. Can be used already. For the sweetness, the ease. Solid value. 93/100. |
| How Many: 28.99 each |
| s1120-34. 00 FERREIRA VINTAGE PORT |
| Dry, nutty, woody. Austere. Still compact, angular, high strung. Not much fun now./ Well, the sweetness on the palate gives relief. Sweetness bulks it up. Nutty-woody here too. Needs time. 92++/100. |
| How Many: 44.99 each |
| s1120-35. 00 FONSECA VINTAGE PORT |
| Sweet, warm, spiritous./ Young, deep, luxuriant. That welcome Fonseca sweetness. Well poised; huge potential. 96+/100. |
| How Many: 79.95 each |
| s1120-36. 00 FONSECA VINTAGE PORT half bottle |
| Sweet, warm, spiritous./ Young, deep, luxuriant. That welcome Fonseca sweetness. Well poised; huge potential. 96+/100. |
| How Many: 41.99 each |
| s1120-37. PELLEGRINO SUPERIORE DRY MARSALA |
| 2 years in wood. Shows the mellowness and complexity of long wood aging. Very nutty and sophisticated. And sweet smelling./ Dry on the palate. Very sophisticated indeed, upscale. Well fashioned. 92/100. |
| How Many: 14.99 each |
| s1120-38. ALCESTI FINE IP SWEET MARSALA |
| Sweet and sticky stuff indeed. As before. Raisin juice, prune, juice, fig juice, date juice./ Sticky. Flavorful. Good effort. 91/100. |
| How Many: 10.99 each |
| s1120-39. BLANDY’S 5 YEAR OLD VERDELHO MADEIRA |
| Nutty, straw like, tawny, classic./ Beautiful level of sweetness in balance with the alcohol. Premier example of verdelho. 94/100. |
| How Many: 25.99 each |
| s1120-40. BLANDY’S 5 YEAR OLD BOAL MADEIRA |
| Sweeter still. Plum, prune, dried and baked fruits. Delicious./ Flavors not as intense. Sweetness still hides them. Typical of boal. Good example. 93/100. |
| How Many: 25.99 each |
| s1120-41. D’OLIVEIRAS 15 YEAR OLD MEDIUM DRY MADEIRA |
| All kinds of nuts and spicy woods. Very sophisticated indeed./ Just the right measure of sweetness. Huge complexity. 96/100. |
| How Many: 54.95 each |
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