Labelling regulations will probably see the demise of the letter two terms, which is a pity since they helped give an idea of the degree of sweetness involved.
There’s also an element of sweetness in your fortified as well, and I’m partial to a glass of Muscat or Tokay towards bed time on a chilly evening. By the way, it’s not Tokay any more - in the future you’ll be looking at a Topaque.
If you’re looking for a food match for a wine with a touch of sweetness, you’re likely to be heading for the spicier end if the spectrum. I head into that territory frequently, so I’m always interested in something that’ll to go well with a curry.
The Thai variants, of course, with their citrus elements as part of the balance of salt, sweet, spicy, sour and herbal flavours tend to go well with a Riesling, but looking at the Indian version I’m inclined to head to Gewurtztraminer, Traminer Riesling or a White Frontignac at the aromatic end of the spectrum.
Unsurprisingly, Frontignac and Traminer are closely related, and Frontignac, or muscat a petit grains (muscat with little berries) turns out to be a fairly versatile variety, a red grape that can produce aromatic white wines that can be dry or sweet or somewhere in between.
If you’ve sampled one of the increasingly-numerous Italian-influenced Moscato styles that are hitting the market, you’re looking at something from the same family of varieties. It’s also one of the oldest varieties, dating back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, and reached Germany by the 12th century, probably via Marseilles and the Rhone Valley.
Our visit to South Australia at the end of 2008 saw us sample a number of these styles, and one of the best we encountered was the Rockford 2008 White Frontignac. The necessity of filling out the rest of a dozen two months ago meant that three bottles found their way into the wine rack back then, and the fact that there’s only one left means that Hughesy’s going to need to be calling the winery again in the not-too-distant future.
The most important characteristic when you’re looking at this style is the right degree of sweetness. You’re looking (or at least I am, and I assume anyone who has read this far is too) for something that’s slightly sweet with a clean finish on the palate. Crisp, but not cloying, sweet but not syrupy.
Which is a pretty good summary of what this wine presents in the glass. Clear, pale yellow in the glass, plenty of aromatics on the nose and crisp and clean on the palate. at $15.50 a bottle I’ll more than likely be throwing a couple of bottles into the mix every time I’m on the phone to Rockford.
