You can’t make 90 year old wine overnight

If you haven’t tried a really old top shelf Oz Muscat or Tokay, you are yet to experience one of the greatest joys of wine consumption.

In days gone by, these wines were not in fashion and were as cheap as chips. However in recent years they have been rediscovered and the price has rocketed. Fortified Muscat and Tokay are almost unique to Australia and there is no doubt that in terms of quality, they are up right up there as some of the best wines in the world and I urge you to try them instead of a normal sticky desert wine.

I keep about four bottles of various types and quality levels open at home. As they are fortified they keep for many weeks but will eventually lose their freshness and oxidise. A glass with desert or with a chocolate after dinner is the perfect way to finish the day. Do that and you know everything is right with the world.

These wines are a blend of variously aged material, a bit like a tawny port only (in my opinion much better.) When the wines were out of fashion and not popular, they were so inexpensive I always thought I might be arrested for burglary every time I bought a bottle. Times change and these wines are now starting to find their rightful place in the world and prices are starting to climb.

For example many bottles went from 750ml to 500 ml or even 375ml and the bottle price remained almost the same. The problem is stock. Unlike vintage wine where all you have to do is plant more grape vines and wait for 4 years to reap a crop, here we have wines that have base stock that is often up to 90 years old and you can’t make 90 year old wine overnight.

The Rutherglen winemakers have got together and have come up with a classification system for these wines and there are four grades. Muscat and Tokay sells from about $15 for a full bottle and up to about $80 for a 375 ml bottle and there is an enormous difference in quality between these levels.

The $15 wine is almost exclusively young material with a small portion of old stuff thrown into the mix. These wines normally are pretty sweet and are frequently characterised by the alkies carrying a brown paper bag with a hidden bottle. But they are not all bad. Normally the higher the price, the greater the quantity of older wine is in the blend and the darker the colour and better the taste. 

The Ruther glen producers have a classification system that is slowly coming into common usage. “Rutherglen Muscat” is the fresh young inexpensive style. Then there is “Classic Rutherglen Muscat” meaning some age in barrels and increased complexity of flavour. The next level up is “Grand Rutherglen Muscat” where the wine is quite old and concentrated. The highest level is “Rare Rutherglen Muscat” and these are often hard to get.

My favourite drops at the low end are Seppelts DP63 and Lauriston Show Muscat. On the next level up my standard is the Campbells Classic Rutherglen Tokay also known as the Gold Top. It normally sells for about $40-45 for a 500 ml bottle but by coincidence Bert has it on special for $200 a six pack ($33.33 a bottle.) (It was my need to reorder this wine to top up my own stock that prompted this Journal article.) I also just love the Bullers Rare Museum Release Tokay (and Muscat) as well; these are truly great wines and world leaders in their class.

Unfortunately because it takes so long to get the aged material, these wine are bound to become increasingly scarce and expensive, so don’t miss the boat, start buying them now. A cold winter night is also a great time to sit back and enjoy a glass in front of an open fire.

Cheers

Ric ©