Back to: Past Wines Archive
Dessert
Rhône
Other Grape
Cork
Really Sweet
No Oak
ABV >14.5%
Tasting notes
Unctuous with aromas of peach, apricot and lychees. To be enjoyed as an aperitif or with rich pâtés, Roquefort, dark chocolate desserts, strawberries or melon.
Why we recommend this wine
Muscat de Beaumes de Venice is one of the great Natural Sweet Wines of the world. After a day of tasting Grenache and Syrah in the Southern Rhone it provides a most welcome contrast. Domaine de Durban make a great example.
The wine
100% Muscat (Muscat de Frontignan à petit grains blanc to be precise). At Domaine de Durban the very ripe grapes (fairly late harvested in early October) are harvested as in the past; picking is done by hand so as not to damage the grapes; sorting is done straight from the vine in order to eliminate the grapes damaged or not fully ripened. The grapes thus harvested are de-stemmed and then placed in vats where they macerates for 5 days to release the nectar before being transferred into temperature controlled stainless steel tanks for controlled fermentation. Mutage, adding neutral wine alcohol, artificially stops fermentation at the right time. Thereafter it is matured in concrete tanks for 6 months. This is a long-lived wine that can be kept for more than a decade. Serve chilled between 8° and 10° without adding ice.
The wine estate
A 3rd generation family-run domaine in the heart of the Dentelles de Montmirail. Located on a plateau of a hill overlooking the village of Beaumes de Venise, the Domaine de Durban, backed by a pine wood, overlooks vineyards and offers a breathtaking panorama. The land is perfect for the Muscat grape. They have 56 hectares of vineyards.
domainedurban.com
Food and wine
Being very sweet it pairs well with tart or salty food, hence dark chocolate and blue cheeses, but also tarte tatin and fresh fruit. Refer also to our food and wine pairing guide, click here.
Did you know?
The word "Mutage" comes from the fact that the wine is silenced whilst it is still bubbling as part of the fermentation process. At a defined level of residual sugar pure alcohol is added to the wine to kill the yeast cells driving fermentation. This leaves some unconverted sugar and fortifies the wine, hence a sweet, 15% ABV.
Unctuous with aromas of peach, apricot and lychees. To be enjoyed as an aperitif or with rich pâtés, Roquefort, dark chocolate desserts, strawberries or melon.
Why we recommend this wine
Muscat de Beaumes de Venice is one of the great Natural Sweet Wines of the world. After a day of tasting Grenache and Syrah in the Southern Rhone it provides a most welcome contrast. Domaine de Durban make a great example.
The wine
100% Muscat (Muscat de Frontignan à petit grains blanc to be precise). At Domaine de Durban the very ripe grapes (fairly late harvested in early October) are harvested as in the past; picking is done by hand so as not to damage the grapes; sorting is done straight from the vine in order to eliminate the grapes damaged or not fully ripened. The grapes thus harvested are de-stemmed and then placed in vats where they macerates for 5 days to release the nectar before being transferred into temperature controlled stainless steel tanks for controlled fermentation. Mutage, adding neutral wine alcohol, artificially stops fermentation at the right time. Thereafter it is matured in concrete tanks for 6 months. This is a long-lived wine that can be kept for more than a decade. Serve chilled between 8° and 10° without adding ice.
The wine estate
A 3rd generation family-run domaine in the heart of the Dentelles de Montmirail. Located on a plateau of a hill overlooking the village of Beaumes de Venise, the Domaine de Durban, backed by a pine wood, overlooks vineyards and offers a breathtaking panorama. The land is perfect for the Muscat grape. They have 56 hectares of vineyards.
domainedurban.com
Food and wine
Being very sweet it pairs well with tart or salty food, hence dark chocolate and blue cheeses, but also tarte tatin and fresh fruit. Refer also to our food and wine pairing guide, click here.
Did you know?
The word "Mutage" comes from the fact that the wine is silenced whilst it is still bubbling as part of the fermentation process. At a defined level of residual sugar pure alcohol is added to the wine to kill the yeast cells driving fermentation. This leaves some unconverted sugar and fortifies the wine, hence a sweet, 15% ABV.