The Wine Gift Shop

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Achaia Clauss from Greece. This thick, purple mavrodaphne reserve has gone the way of a tawny Port, age simultaneously lightening and deepening its flavors. Now the fruit is more baked apple and apricot, while the freshness has turned to truffle, spice and deep caramel. Most remarkedly, the sweetness has mellowed considerably, giving plenty of ripe flavors while finishing light and clean. -Wines & Spirits

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Alvear from Spain. The vineyards, located at an elevation of 1,050 feet, are comprised of the famous chalky soil called Albariza and the 40-year-old vines produce extremely low yields. The grapes were hand-harvested at the peak of maturity and dried on mats in the sun. This is one of the oldest wines in the cellar since the Solera was started at the beginning of the last century. The impressive 1927 Pedro Ximenez Solera, from a Solera begun nearly 80 years ago, boasts a dark amber color as well as an extraordinary nose of creme brulee, liquefied nuts, marmalade, and maple syrup. Huge and viscous, yet neither cloyingly sweet nor heavy, it is a profound effort priced unbelievably low. Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate 96 Points

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Broadbent from Portugal. A balanced, silky red with serious grip. Full-bodied and chewy yet refined, with excellent fruit and a sweet finish. This is a Vintage Port made for importer Bart Broadbent by Niepoort. Always good stuff. -Wine Spectator

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Broadbent from Portugal. Aged in oak casks for at least 5 years. A delicious, full-bodied and rich dessert wine, with an excellent balance between sweetness and acidity.

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Broadbent from Portugal. Aged in oak casks for at least 3 years. Esteemed for its concentrated aroma and subtle flavor, it can be served as an apéritif or as an after dinner drink. Madeira, warm and luscious in both its dry and sweet variations, makes an excellent wine for winter and the holiday season. Clear dark reddish-copper in color, it breathes classic and very appealing Madeira scents of dried dates and figs and mixed nuts. Smooth and gently sweet, it's not a sticky dessert wine but shows good fresh-fruit sweetness built on Madeira's sturdy core of tart, lemony acidity.

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Campbells from Victoria, Australia. Bright amber gold with copper hints. The nose reveals fresh raisin fruit backed by a hint of fortifying spirit and aged oak characters while the palate is luscious and mouthfilling with raisin fruit followed by a long finish.

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Ch. LaFaurie Peyraguey from Sauternes and Barsac, Bordeaux. Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2006 - #6! LaFaurie-Peyraguey has produced some of Sauternes' most powerful wines for more than two decades. The 2003 is no exception-Bordeaux's hottest summer on record produced a full-bodied dessert wine with incredibly intense apricot and honey aromas. To achieve that concentration, the chateau uses more than 90 percent Semillon, planted on 100 acres of gravel. -Wine Spectator

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Chambers Rosewood from Victoria, Australia. In the warm fall climate the grapes ripen and shrivel on the vines producing natural sugar levels in the range of 16.7 - 20 degrees Baume. The raisined grapes are then picked, crushed and partially fermented before being fortified and then subjected to a wood aging program loosely resembling a solera system that lasts (in some cases) for over 100 years. A blend of six to ten-year-old Muscadelle. This is a rich, viscous wine displaying characters of honeyed spice, marmalade and tealeaf. Although luscious, the palate is not cloying. It finishes with a tight acidity and lingering nuttiness. While these wines are seen as after dinner drinks, try serving them as an aperitif. And a bottle, once opened, will keep for some months without deteriorating, providing it is recorked after each serving.

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Chambers Rosewood from Victoria, Australia. Sourced from material aged between six and ten years old, this wine is the foundation of the style; displaying the fresh raisin aromas, rich fruit, clean spirit and great length of flavor on the palate which are the mark of all the Muscats of Rutherglen. While these wines are seen as after dinner drinks, try serving them as an aperitif, particularly in winter. A small glass goes a very long way, warming the mind as well as the stomach. And remember that a bottle, once opened, will keep for some months without deteriorating, providing it is recorked after each serving.

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Chambers Rosewood from Victoria, Australia. My notes essentially read the same every year, even though the bottlings are non-vintage and I taste the most recent releases. Consistency and greatness are the norm at this Rutherglen winery. The average age is 7-10 years for the regular cuvees, about 70 years for the grand cuvees, and the ancient rare cuvees date back to soleras from 1890. It is redundant to keep repeating the same tasting notes, so readers will have to take my word for it ... this is one of the world's most remarkable dessert wines, and is worth every effort to latch on to a half bottle or so. - Wine Advocate

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Ch. Coutet from Sauternes and Barsac, France - Bordeaux. Spice, dried pineapple, honey and light apricot aromas, like freshly crushed grapes. Full-bodied and very sweet, with masses of crushed fruit character and a long finish. Best after 2010. -Wine Spectator Medium yellow. Deeply pitched aromas of honey, orange and fresh apricot, with a suggestion of candied sweetness and some spicy oak. Rich, sweet and wonderfully pure, with a nectar-like quality to its flavors of overripe peach, orange and spices. Plenty of botrytis character here. This boasts an exhilarating chewy texture and superb aromatic persistence. Today this is a fruit bomb, but it's still an infant. Its superb inner-palate energy suggests that it will evolve very slowly and last well. Promises to be a great vintage for this chateau. -International Wine Cellar 91-94

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Ch. Coutet from Sauternes and Barsac, France - Bordeaux. Spice, dried pineapple, honey and light apricot aromas, like freshly crushed grapes. Full-bodied and very sweet, with masses of crushed fruit character and a long finish. Best after 2010. -Wine Spectator Medium yellow. Deeply pitched aromas of honey, orange and fresh apricot, with a suggestion of candied sweetness and some spicy oak. Rich, sweet and wonderfully pure, with a nectar-like quality to its flavors of overripe peach, orange and spices. Plenty of botrytis character here. This boasts an exhilarating chewy texture and superb aromatic persistence. Today this is a fruit bomb, but it's still an infant. Its superb inner-palate energy suggests that it will evolve very slowly and last well. Promises to be a great vintage for this chateau. -International Wine Cellar 91-94

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Ch?teau de Rayne Vigneau from Sauternes and Barsac, France - Bordeaux. Good pale yellow. High-toned aromas of peach, pineapple and licorice, along with a whiff of bug spray. Pineapple and citrus flavors offer modest flesh and show a slight dry edge. Not bad, but could use more thrust and length. Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 86-88 points Spicy honey and apricot character. Medium-bodied and medium sweet, with a good finish. Better for this estate than in 2003. Wine Spectator Barrel Tasting, Score range: 85-88

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Ch. Doisy Vedrines from Sauternes and Barsac, France - Bordeaux. Intense aromas of honey, dried pineapple and botrytis spice. Full-bodied, very sweet and very powerful, with loads of dried fruit and sweetness on the finish. Lots of clove and orange peel. Same quality as the 2001. Best after 2013. -Wine Spectator

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Ch. Doisy Vedrines from Sauternes and Barsac, France - Bordeaux. Intense aromas of honey, dried pineapple and botrytis spice. Full-bodied, very sweet and very powerful, with loads of dried fruit and sweetness on the finish. Lots of clove and orange peel. Same quality as the 2001. Best after 2013. -Wine Spectator

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Ch?teau Guiraud from Sauternes and Barsac, France - Bordeaux. Spicy, with dried apricot and lemon character. Full, yet tight and long. Medium sweet, with a spicy finish. An impressive racy style. Best after 2009. Wine Spectator 92 Points

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Ch?teau Guiraud from Sauternes and Barsac, France - Bordeaux. Spicy, with dried apricot and lemon character. Full, yet tight and long. Medium sweet, with a spicy finish. An impressive racy style. Best after 2009. Wine Spectator 92 Points

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Ch?teau Rieussec from Sauternes and Barsac, France - Bordeaux. Fruity, with lemon, apricot and lilac on the nose. Full-bodied, with a lovely intensity and bright acidity. Long and elegant. The palate builds on the finish. Not the 2001 (Wine of the Year), but very good indeed. Wine Spectator Barrel Sample. Score range: 92-94

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Ch?teau Suduiraut from Sauternes and Barsac, France - Bordeaux. Displays focused aromas of lemon curd, spice and dried apricot. Full-bodied, medium sweet and quite oily, with a lemon rind and spice aftertaste. Long and racy for the vintage. Best after 2010. Wine Spectator 91 Points

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Clos Jean from Bordeaux, France - Bordeaux. A must of the Clos Jean trademark, this wine comes from 80% Semillon grapes, gathered manually in two or three successive picks. Then it's pressed and vinified with care and delicacy to obtain the best that nature, man and technicity can give. The result is remarkable, this wine is regularly quoted in all the specialized magazines, French and foreign, including Robert Parker's documents.

Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Cockburn from Portugal. Cockburn's 20 Years Old Tawny is a blend of older, mature wines aged in cask and then refreshed by the addition of younger wines. The indicated age is the average age of the wines in the blend. These wines exhibit a silky smoothness from the cask aging and are ready to enjoy upon release. The constant blending and re-blending assures a consistent style. The 20 Years Old Tawny port shows a complex, nutty, spicy, aromatic nose, with a smoothness achieved through many years in wood. They are clarified before bottling and need no decanting.