Good wine shops usually have a half dozen or more from which to select a gift for your sweetheart, including many in small half bottles.
Something old
Sweet wines have been around for centuries. Perhaps the most famous sweet wines are those from the French region of Sauternes of the Graves section in Bordeaux. These wines, referred to as Sauternes, are made from Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle grapes that have been affected by Botrytis cinerea. It is referred to as the “noble rot”. As the wine grapes “spoil”, the water content reduces, leaving them with a high percentage of sugar.
Sauterne are allowed to become partially raisined, resulting in concentrated and distinctively flavored wines. Then an infection called the “noble rot” is induced or encourage sugar concentration.
Wines from Sauternes, especially the classic Château d'Yquem, can be very expensive, partially due to the very high cost of production, but also to the high demand. There are other regions that can produce such sweet wines and are similar, but are less expensive and typically less distinguished.
Something borrowed
You’d almost need a loan to buy some of these delightful wines. The current price for a full bottle of1998 Chateau d'Yquem Sauternes Blend will run from $270 to $300. A full 750 ml bottle of 1986 will run you $400! Naturally the price goes up with the age. And these wines do improve with age, but the demand is also increasing and the supply is pretty much the same each year. Because of the good vintage, a half bottle 375ml of a 2005 Chateau D'Yquem Sauternes will cost about $325.00. So thank God there are other good dessert wines that we all may be able to afford.
A more modest Sauternes is the Mouton Cadet Reserve 2006 Sauternes. It runs around $35 a bottle (if you can find it.) Earlier versions were considered to have a very classic Sauternes character and well worth the price.
In Germany, the winemakers allow the grapes to get riper and riper, so they make a range of sweetness going from Spätlese, meaning ”late harvest” – and is usually just slightly sweet – to Trockenbeerenauslese wines, meaning dried wine berries select from the harvest and often called "TBA" for short. This wine style can be very sweet and comparable to the Sauternes wines. They too, can be very expensive.
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