De Bortoli Black Noble NV Riverina Australia

De Bortoli Black Noble is a Non-vintage wine from Riverina in New South Wales in Australia, it is a lovely deep brown colour that is reminiscent of syrup of figs ( nicely), it has aromas of honey, prunes and some tea and spice mixed in - and I can't wait to try it. On the palate it is rich, silky, lusciously sweet, prunes and figs, espresso coffee, toffee and marmalde all come to mind, layered and complex, but kept fresh by the acidity which balances those sweet notes. The finish is very long and tangy and dry at the end. This wine has made from the Semillon grape which has seen Botrytis Cinera and fermentation has been stopped early by fortifying it, the Solera sytem of maturation is used, 8 years being the average time. 30% new oak is used in the maturation the rest going into barrels previously used for Noble One's maturation. This wine is redolent of Madeira and would suit similar foods, some puddings, but paired with cheese it could be a marriage made in heaven. Yummy - the main word that comes to mind!

It is available at £15.95 from Four Walls Wine Company for a half bottle, but it is rich, luscious, unctious...... lovely to come home to in the fridge after a hard day.
Score : 93

Botrytis Cinerea is a fungus that can infect grapes in the correct conditions, good rot is called Noble rot - the desired one ( the bad one - grey rot results in wiping out the harvest), there are areas in the world that this can happen naturally and one of these is the area around Sauternes and Barsac in Bordeaux left bank.The aszu wines of Tokaji wines are also produced having been affected by Botrytis Cinerea. It needs a temperate climate and ideally early morning mists ( off cool water) and sun later in the day so the grapes are kept dry in those autumn afternoons. Not all grapes will be affected, and some may take longer to mature which is why several pickings - called Tries- are needed to get all the grapes at thier ideal condition.
The fungus affects the skins and feeds off sugars in the grape itself, but also uses about 50% of its water contained in the grape, so overall the grapes sugar concentration increases! Additionally acids are also consumed ( 5/6ths of the Tartaric acid in the grape is consumed). By products that are produced include glycerine ( the chemical which makes the wine feel viscous), acetic acidand a selection of enzymes. Phenolics of from the skins are also consumed so reducing the tannic structure.
Due to the reduction in water content of the grape the juice produced from Noble Rot infected grapes is low - often in the range of 15 hl/ha.

De Bortoli - how they started.
De Bortoli Wines is a third generation family wine company established by Vittorio and Giuseppina De Bortoli in 1928. The couple emigrated to Australia from Northern Italy, from mountain villages at the foothills of the Italian Alps, near the historic town of Asolo.

Their son, Deen De Bortoli, (b 1936 – d 2003) expanded and consolidated the business created by his parents. Deen's children continue De Bortoli's winemaking including icon dessert wine Noble One and the Yarra Valley wines.