2016 Domaine de Durban Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 90.3 points

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  3/14/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Melon, honey, pineapple, rhubarb, quince, vanilla and lavender, eucalyptus and rose petals to keep freshness. Love it each time.

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  9/22/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine: 91 Points

  An excellent Durban year. Melon, honey, pineapple, rhubarb, quince, vanilla and lavender. Wonderful pairing with our apple tarte.

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  3/5/2022 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine: 89 Points

  Nose of honey, melon, orange, apricot, mirrored in the mouth, rounded by some freshness of subtle citrus notes. A good pairing with our apple tarte.

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  12/1/2021 - Hi.its.Don.4.Wine Likes this wine: 92 Points

  It Always Ends With Dessert
  
  Several weeks ago I began my series on the white wines from the Rhone Valley, beginning with those from the south and moving north until I reached the wine last week from Condrieu, about as far north as you can get in the Rhone, at least for white wines, though Côte-Rôtie extends slightly farther to the north, but is primarily red wine production although (a lot of although) they do grow Viognier to add to their Syrah for certain wines.
  
  Wanting to save the last wine, a dessert wine, for the last, I am taking you back down into the Southern Rhone to an area called Muscat de Beaumes de Venise where today’s wine hails”
  
  Domaine de Durban Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise 2016
  
  Made with 100% Muscat à Petits Grains Blanc grapes, the grapes are Greek in origin, with a long history as nearly two thousand years ago Pliny the Elder wrote in his Natural History: "The Muscat grape has been grown for a long time in Beaumes and its wine is remarkable."
  
  From the area that lies just south of Gigondas and to the east of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the soils are limestone and clay from vineyards where the winery practices Lutte Raisonnée, a form of sustainable farming I’ve discussed in previous posts. The grapes are fermented in stainless steel and a neutral spirit (7 - 10%) is added to stop fermentation (a process called vin doux naturel or VDN). The wines are then aged in both stainless and cement before bottling. The wine retains 110 grams per liter of residual sugar and comes in at 15% alcohol (the minimum allowed), this helps the wine retain more of the fruit component.
  
  I can’t say I drink a lot of dessert wine, not that I don’t like or enjoy them, mostly because the smallest bottle you can find is half a bottle, or 375ml, usually more than one person can drink at a sitting. Some even come in the standard 750ml bottle making it even more impractical. But there is a solution! My trusty Coravin. So, while I was able to sample the wine for today’s post, I was equally able to retain the bottle for enjoyment for many days to come.
  
  Speaking of the wine; dessert wine isn’t just a sweet mess. It’s an amalgam of flavors and nuances that began on the palate with a mouth-coating elegance, the bright fruit, not overcome by high alcohol, showing through with notes of pear, apricots, orange, and ginger that combine with the luxurious sweetness of honeyed notes that caress your taste buds with its smoothness on to the finish.
  
  So, after I reviewed seven white wines and one red, thrown in for good measure, all from the Rhone Valley, I hope that it makes you want to explore the wines from that region, if you haven’t already. There’s so much to partake and a wealth of great wines.
  
  One last item; if you read my post from yesterday, “Homage to a Friend,” I did want you to know that I did complete my “Vegan Day” as I mentioned, it was great.
  
  Cheers

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  12/31/2019 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Nose of honey, melon, orange, apricot, mirrored in the mouth, rounded by some freshness of subtle citrus notes. A good pairing with our Tarte Tatin.

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