Riesling Kappelweg Vendange Tardive 2000 by Rolly Gassmann

Riesling Kappelweg Vendange Tardive 2000 by Rolly Gassmann is supplied by The Wine Society priced at £35, it is a late harvest wine ( denoted by the Vendange Tardive) and can only be one of Alsace's 'nobel grape varieties' by their wine laws, these are Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and Muscat. The grapes are only harvested when they have fully ripened and more - and have started to dehydrate and shrivel on the vines so concentrating the flavours within the grape and so in the resultant wine. The grape has a high percentage of sugar and so the wine is often sweet as it cannot convert all the contained sugar to alcohol because the yeast cannot operate effectively at high sugar concentrations. This whole process is called 'passerillage' and was first introduced in France by the Alsace region and was first described as Vendange Tardive by Hugel in 1976. There is another higher sugar concentrated wine called Selecion de Grains Nobles and this has to have been infected by Botrytis ( the same nobel rot that affects grapes used to make Sauternes in Bordeaux and Trockenbeerenauslese in Germany ). The basic rule declares what minimium sugar level is needed in the grapes at harvest to reach these 2 levels of sweetness, it is higher for Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris than for Riesling and Muscat.
This wine has more colour than most rieslings due to its increased age and also the concentration of flavours and sugars it contains, the legs are slow to form and then fat - this tells me that the wine has increased viscosity, due to either alchol or sugar. On the nose we are treated to aromas of baked apples and pears, yeasty tertiary notes and a little mushroom, it also has a streak of minerality running around it.
On the mouth - Wow, silky texture, great acidity balancing the succulent sweetness backed up by baked stone fruits, sugary apple, all concentrated and honeyed. The length is good and clean, with a baked apple finish, and yes there is minerality, great structure and lots of clever fruit sugars, but the acidity, the freshness of this wine comes through - and it is at this point 12 years old - beautiful!

Concha Y Toro Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc from Chile

This is a Late Harvest from Chile is made by Conch Y Toro and we have been lucky enough to taste this at the vineyard near Santiago, and it is a real sweetie – and at the price £5.95 for the half bottle, a lovely finish to any meal, and we often keep a bottle in the fridge to have a small glass as an aperitif, a lovely start to an evening and the alcohol is only 12%, so not too taxing.
It is made from some noble rotted, botrytis affected grapes (about 40% are affected) and grown in the Lourdes Vineyard, Maule valley – Chile, with low yields as expected due to the careful picking regime required. They are picked late in May just as they start to shrivel so concentrating their flavour. The winemaker is Hector Urzú.

On the nose this Sauvignon Blanc is immediately identified as not a typical dry Sauvignon as there are aromas of tropical fruit primarily pineapple as well as honeyed pear which are typical aromas associated with Botritic wines. It is full bodied and offers flavours of pineapple, marmalade and pear which all bounce around the mouth and it is generous on the palate, the fresh well integrated acidity keeps the fruit fresh and the sweetness clean and uncloying – in fact it is rich, delicious and enticing.  Great with a fruit pudding or milk ice cream – a delight!