Sunday, November 25, 2007

Muscat de Rivesaltes, Vignerons de Cases de Pene

For fruit-based dessert or just for sipping after a meal, it's hard to beat the fresh scents and flavors of Muscat. A bottle of Muscat de Beaume de Venise from the Southern Rhone will cost you $20 or more, but I got nearly as much pleasure from this bottle of Muscat de Rivesaltes, from a less well known rural area of France. This was available for about $15 from World Market.

It's very, very peachy--so fresh you can almost smell the fuzz. Scents and flavors of pears, honey dew melon, fresh citrus fruits. Very full-flavored and sweet but also very fresh and racy with a pleasant bitter hint on the finish. By the second night, this wine is singing. So as fresh as it is, it will benefit from a few months of cellaring.

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