100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 12 What is Botrytis Cinerea better known as Noble Rot? Where can I find some?

12. Botrytis Cinerea is what they call a good mold. Noble rot is a mixture of sugar and acid which makes a flavor that comes from the grape being left on the vine to “rot,” get “moldy” and shrivel-up. This concentrates the flavors of sugar, acid and juice in the grape and keeps it contained. It makes for the best dessert wines the world has to offer. In different countries, noble rot is called different things. For instance, in California, it may be called “late harvest”. The grapes are left on the vine longer than the other grapes and the harvest is…well….late. This makes the wine a little more expensive; the ones that also come in the cute little bottles. Sometimes they are even called liquid gold because they may be gold in color with a rich taste. A dessert wine to covet.

Two of my California Late Harvest favorites:

2005 Dolce Napa Valley Late Harvest Wine (375mL)

Dolce happens to be one that I have in my stash of great wines. Check out my Dolce pictures on my blog page. “Dolce embraces a deceptively simple philosophy: the pursuit of perfection in the art of late harvest winemaking. Dolce was created in 1985 by the partners of Far Niente. With a classic blend of late harvest Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, Dolce is the only American winery dedicated to producing a single late harvest wine,” according to Dolce. However, with this said, there are other wineries in California that do produce late harvest wines. This wine goes for $85.00 a bottle (375mL), the larger size is sold out.

Another one of my favorites is made by Freemark Abbey and goes for $40.00 a bottle (375mL). Made with 100% White Riesling grapes in 100% stainless steel tanks, 9.8% alcohol and they only produced 259 cases for 2008.

2008 Edelwein Gold Late Harvest Rielsing (375mL)

Vintage and Winemaker's Notes:
Edelwein Gold is a great representation of a heavily botrytised Riesling from Freemark Abbey. The color is golden straw with a slight greenish hue. The aroma overflows the glass with mandarin orange, peach blossoms and apricot with hints of honeysuckle and pear. The mouthfeel is viscous and the flavor full with white peach and apricot laced with honey. The sweet, crisp finish has a beautiful balance that lasts for several minutes on the palate. Enjoy!

Have I made your mouth water? Tell me about your worldwide favorite dessert wines!

Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica