NV Chambers Rosewood Vineyards Muscadelle (Tokay); Rutherglen, Australia
Regular price: $19.99 – Cupid’s price: $15.99/375ml.
“Medium gold in color, this wine has gorgeous aromas of preserved peach slices drizzled with honey plus nuances of fading orange blossom, cinnamon stick and a dash of powdered ginger. The palate is very sweet, very rich and incredibly viscous, yet crisp acidity gives this opulent wine lift throughout the very long layered finish. In summary, life is too short not to try this wine … a true Australian treasure.” 92 Pts. R. Parker The Wine Advocate
Champagne R. Dumont Deuce Cuvée Demi-Sec; Champagne, France
Regular price: $44.99 – Cupid’s price: $35.99
This cuvée is produced from carefully chosen reserve wines which incorporate at least five vintages; presently 1996-2000. The blend, which is 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay, is matured “sur lattes” for five years before being disgorged. Delicate ripe cherry and red currant notes abound on the nose. Spicier ripe apple and subtle red fruit flavors frame the delicately sweet palate, which offers good palate coverage and a lush, creamy texture. This is lively for a demi-sec and would work well with blue or extra-creamy cheeses, as well as your favorite Valentine!
The Champagne house of the Dumont family is situated in Champignol-lez-Mondeville, a village in the southern Champagne region of the Aube, some 90 miles southeast of Reims and Epernay. Characterized by forested hills, streams and vineyards, it is a natural and reflective environment that has attracted people such as Saint Bernard (Clairvaux) and Renoir (Essoyes). The Dumonts have owned vineyards in this area for over two hundred years and today three Dumont brothers work together to produce champagne exclusively from their own 22 hectares. The soils are a geological extension of those in Chablis, namely kimmeridgian chalky clay. The vineyard is planted with 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay. Bernard Dumont’s comments are insightful. “We grow grapes on the same soils as the vine growers in the Chablis region. There, they produce white wine from white grapes and here we produce white wine from red grapes.”