And of course, there were the sweet wines. My first exposure to that seductive genre was German - a Scharzhofberger BA (E. Muller) that I remember to this day. Now even back then the Good Sweeties were not cheap. I might treat myself to d'Yquem 375 on my birthday, and I don't think I ever did manage to afford a TBA, but one could always "settle" for a Muscat de Beaumes de Venise or an Auslese or a "lesser" Sauternes/Barsac for considerably less. Like, under 10 dollars. For 750ml. Or NV Port. Or a moscato passito. Or...well, you know. There was a LOT for a poor-but-thirsty student to choose from back then. They just weren't that popular, so they never cost much.
Now....
The very first time my wife came to my place for dinner when we were dating, back in 1998, I made the mistake of serving a '78 Chateau Gloria with dinner and a Fonseca Bin-27 with a platter of fruit and blue cheese after. She'd only ever had white zin before. Ever.
I ruined a good thing. She has developed expensive tastes.
Like me, she has a particular fondness for Good Sweeties. But alas for her, even my old fall-back "cheapies" often fall outside our fiscal reach. Yeah, we splurge once in a while on a Big Name. But it's every couple of years now, instead of months. There are still some great value NV Ports, I'm happy to see, but if you want anything gold colored - 35 dollars for a half bottle of Muscat de Beaumes de Venise? FIFTY for a 375ml Moscato Passito?!
Anyway, the other day I was in my local wine haunt (Gary's Wines in Wayne NJ) and they had a great sale on Bleu dAuvergne cheese. Well who, I ask you, could pass up a sale on Bleu d'Auvergne cheese? Not me. I got a half pound wedge, and shuffled off to the wine bins in search of a match.
It was futile, of course. I glumly stared at half bottles of Barsac starting at 40 dollars, 8o dollar 5-putt Tokays, and cheap-but-still-not-worth-it Quady Orange Muscat crapola. Guess it was back to Bin-27. Reliable, and still 15 dollars.
But then, on the bottom row, I spotted a little glint of gold. Tucked way back, almost as if intentionally hidden from view, was a small pile of BV 'Muscat de Beaulieu' 375's (NV). For $7.99.
It seems amazing to me that in all the years I've been sucking the stuff down, I've never had a sweet BV. I mean, I really liked their top cabs. Back when I could afford them.
So I picked it up.
And since this is a WTN thread:
It was very nice. Doesn't really need more description than that. But I will anyway:
Not a big, floral, luscious Sweetie in the style of the ones I rattled off above. It was rather closed at first, though sloshing it around in the bottom of a big balloon glass helped a lot, as did just 20 minutes of sitting around time. As I said, very nice. Pale and clean, it was actually noticeably better made than a lot I've had for twice the price - particularly Americans (don't get me started on some of the Tennessee muscats I tried during a winery tour there - let's just say it immediately brought to mind the old Monty Python line: "For those keen on regurgitation"). And it went GREAT with the Bleu. I think I found my new Gloria.
Viva las Cheapies!
