Dessert wines vary from light, grapey versions to intense liqueur wines. The grapes used vary depending on the region/country where it is produced. Semillon is the primary grape used in the dessert wines of Sauternes and Barsac, two regions in Bordeaux, France producing exquisite dessert wine. Chateau d'Yquem is the most famous and the most expensive Sauternes.
Australia is also a fine producer of Semillon stickies", the Australian word used for dessert wines. Semillon has been planted in Australia for two hundred years and up until the 1960's Aussies produced mostly sweet and fortified wine. The method of producing these luscious dessert wines is the same method as that used in Sauternes.
To produce a dessert wine the winemaker stops the fermentation before all of the grape sugar is converted to alcohol leaving some residual sugar. This results in a wine that is sweet and low in alcohol, unless the grapes have a naturally high sugar level to produce both sweetness and alcohol. This is what makes the difference between dessert wines.
How does a grape gain natural high levels of sugar? Like any fruit, grapes that remain on the vine longer will become riper. But if you wait too long and the weather becomes cold and rainy, the grapes will get moldy and be ruined. However there is a particular kind of mold called Botrytis cinerea (aka "noble rot") that when it forms on the grapes the water within them evaporates and they shrivel. The grapes raisinate and their sugar becomes concentrated while maintaining high acidity. This allows the wine to be sweet and have high alcohol (usually over 15%).
Surely the first dessert wines were by accident. The vineyard owner probably thought the wine was completely ruined by this mold, but decided to produce the wine anyway. Today viticulturists know that to get the right kind of mold (the wrong kind is called Grey/Black rot) there needs to be specific conditions--morning mist from a lake, sea, or river that burns off during the day by dry, hot sun. This allows the grapes to remain on the vine longer for a late harvest.
Why are dessert wines so expensive? The grapes have to be picked by hand and they have to go through the vineyard several times over the course of a few weeks. The yield (# of grapes) is about 1/3-1/2 of vineyards producing dry wine and the shrivelled grapes have a less amount of juice. One vine may produce only 1 glass of wine.
Other grapes and regions that develop "noble rot" and produce exquisite dessert wines are Chenin Blanc from Quart de Chaume in the Loire Valley of France, Riesling from Germany producing Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese, Furmint from Hungary producing the famous Tokaji Aszu, and Muscat grown throughout the world which is made in a natural sweet style low in alcohol or one that is fortified with grape spirit to create a wine higher in alcohol.
The common flavors in dessert wine produced from "noble rot" such as Sauternes or Tokaji is apricot, honey, and peach. The best can age for a 100 years and their color turns from a golden yellow to a golden brown. Usually it is best to have a dessert wine as dessert. But if you are serving it with a dessert, be sure the dessert is not sweeter than the dessert wine.
Here are some wonderful examples of dessert wines from around the world:
97 Points - Wine Spectator
"Delivers lots of botrytis spice, with lemon tart and cooked apple. Full-bodied, with loads of cream and vanilla and an intense tropical fruit and honey aftertaste. Long and viscous, with a layered and beautiful spicy finish. Hard not to drink it now. Best after 2014."-(WS)
Disznoko Tokaji 5 Puttonyos 2000
92 Points - Wine Spectator
"Very clean, fresh and fruity, showing orange blossom, peach and butter notes in a rich, medium-sweet style. It's well-balanced and supported by moderate acidity, followed by a lingering aftertaste of peach."~(WS)
Weingut Gunderloch Nackenheim Rothenberg Riesling Auslese 2005
"The flavour of this fine wine is due to its location, the steepest terrace of our red slope. Great complexity, distinctive flavour, reminding of tropical fruits, in connection with sweetness, acidity and a fine minerality. We recommend this wine with salty cheeses, blue cheese and light sweet desserts." (Winemaker)
Step Road Reserve Selection Semillon 2002
91 Points - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
"Readers looking for a Barsac look-alike should check out the 2002 Semillon Reserve Selection from Australia, a sweet, botrytized cuvee made from 100% Semillon. Gorgeous aromas of honeysuckle, creme brulee, apricot jam, and pineapple soar from the glass. In the mouth, fresh acidity buttresses the wine’s rich, unctuous style. " ~(WA)
90 Points - Stephen Tanzer's I.W.C.
"Orange-tinged gold. Explosive aromas of orange, apricot, candied peach and floral honey, with a light touch of coconut. Dense, weighty and palate-staining, the ripe apricot and cling peach flavors displaying excellent focus and power. Finishes supple and rich, coating the palate with a flavor of orange marmalade." ~(ST)
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