Well, having finished my WSET Intermediate Certification in wine course at the International Wine Center—the test was last Thursday—it's weird to not have a night where I sit down, think about, talk about and drink wine. So, naturally, I found myself at a friend's house drinking and talking about wine.
We had a real treat tonight, as I pulled a Sauternes from Oriel Wines. Now, Sauturnes aren't for everyone. First, it's a dessert wine, which will seemingly automatically put this wine into a "I don't drink that" category. Well, it shouldn't and I'll get to why in a minute. But, if it does, hell, more for me.
Sauternes are French wines that are "boytritised" wines: the grapes are attacked by the boytritis cinerea fungus (also known as "noble rot"), which shrivels the grapes and concentrates flavors and sweetness, as well as adding some distinctive flavors to the grapes and hence the wines that are produced.
This Oriel Sauturnes is a knock out, lemme tell you. I got the noble rot on the nose right away: a smell that reminds me of rye bread dough. "What the hell," you're saying, "That's gross!" Well, no, it's not. It's just there, on the nose. And I've smelled *much* worse in wines in class (tar, smoke and rubber, anyone? That came from a red wine). There's some citrus and vanilla, too, so hopefully that will make some of you happy.
But the taste! Man! A silly, over-the-top amount of apricot, as well as some nice doughy notes. And yes, this is a dessert wine. Served chilled, it will rock you.
So, for taste, for its noble rot and to get y'all to try something new and different, this bay is the wine of the week. Plus, you can mix a LOT of different foods (Roquefort cheese OR a fresh fruit tart among others), so it's versatile, too.
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