Sometimes on a summer holiday evening it's relaxing to sip and savour something special as you watch the sun set and the stars come out.
Botrytis or Noble wines are often best savoured after dinner, but some fresh, sweet wines make good aperitifs, perhaps with a nibble of smoked salmon or cheese.
BEST VALUE
About $35 (375ml)
This golden Australian wine oozes complex aromas of new leather, stewed apricots, honey and blossom, and is powerful, silky textured with the sweet sharpness of bitter orange marmalade, intensely sweet but with a long, fresh, lingering finish.
- Five stars (out of five)
- Good value
About $27
Hints of gooseberry, elderflower, greengage and asparagus, this is both sweet and lively, with a nicely balanced, crisp finish.
Chill it and sip with smoked salmon or barbecued asparagus a san aperitif.
- Three stars (out of five)
- Average value
About $35
Hints of apple and honey, intensely sweet but but also delicate with a crisp, clean finish, this is a charming young wine that will develop with more bottle age.
- Four stars (out of five)
- Good value
About $46 (375ml)
A rare sticky from Central, this hints of honey and apricots, cox's orange apples, quince, pear and citrus. It is intensely sweet but delicate with a steely, crisp finish.
More complexity will develop with another year or so in bottle.
- Four stars (out of five)
- Below average value
About $36 (375ml)
A voluptuous wine with exotic aromas and flavours hinting of rose petals, lychees and spice,with a hint of caramel and apricots, sweet with a velvety texture and beautifully long, bright finish.
- Four and a half stars (out of five)
- Good value
About $27 (375ml)
Honey and dried apricot with hints of toasted nuts and undertones of golden syryp and burnt caramel, this botrytised wine is sweet with the intensity of marmalade, and a lively, clean finish, but is still a little gawky.
- Three and a half stars (out of five)
- Average value
Two stars - simple, clean, enjoyable wine; three stars - good wine with varietal characteristics; four stars - very good wine with some outstanding characteristics; five stars - outstanding wine with balance and harmony that leaves you with a sense of wonder.
Although wine sent for review is tasted blind to eliminate preconceptions, all wine tastingand evaluation is subjective. These are personal recommendations.
