Dolce White Blend Dessert Wine 2004
Region: Napa Valley
Winery: Dolce
Variety: Blend (White)

Exotic, tropical, apricot and melon notes combine with hints of honeysuckle on the palate. While undeniably sweet, the signature texture and long finish lead to a mouthwatering finish that is perfectly balanced and clean. More subtle flavors of toasted almonds, fig and pear integrate nicely with notes of brioche and bread pudding.
Dolce is grown in the cool foggy Coombsville area to the east of the city of Napa. It is here that the fruit can get to full ripeness before getting concentrated by the actions of botrytis cenerea, a mold long associated with the world's greatest dessert wines. We only harvest the best clusters or parts of clusters. Of course, this means that most of the grapes we grow never make it to the winery.
The resulting juice is so concentrated that yeast have a hard time fermenting. Greg, our winemaker, often is following fermentations well intl March or April of the next year. He then oversees their slow development as the wine ages for 30 months before he determines the final blend and bottles the wine.
Part of the magic of Dolce, beyond its ability to give hedonistic pleasure, is its ability to age and improve for many many years.

Posted by thewinery on February 26th, 2008 at 2:26pm | report comment