Wow, I just had another heavenly chocolate and wine experience 🙂 This time with a tasteful chocolate cake dessert and the marvellous French fortified white wine Domaine du Paparotiel Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise. Ant this wine is ALSO ecological! It says on the bottle that it won ’Médaille d’Or in the Concours des Vins Orange 2014’ (the wine is from 2013).

This is a Vin doux naturel from the village of Beaumes-de Venise AC in Southern Rhône in France.  It is made from the Muscat grape, which is not one grape variety but a prolific family – and this specific one is called Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains (the oldest member of the Muscat family – and one of the oldest grape varieties of the world!). Sweet wines have been made in the region form the 14th century. This grape gives a very complex spectrum of perfumed and aromatic notes! Unaged wines are full of both floral notes like rose and elderflower, as well as citrus aromas and grape and peach. It is totally adorable, according to me 🙂

On the palate you find the similar floral and perfumed sensation of elderflower and roses, as well as stone fruit like peach and nectarine and citrus fruit like grape. The alcohol level is 15 %.

When this wine is made the fermentation process is interrupted by adding high-strength grape spirit to make a strong sweet wine. Beaumes-de-Venise is situated next to Gigondas och Vacqueyras, and the village has existed since the Roman times and is mostly know for its sweet Muscat wines. The wines generally have a slightly lower level of residual sugar than other Muscat wines, resulting in a lighter style and are easier to combine with food.

Talking about food – apart from my own favourite chocolate dessert, this wine goes well with fois gras, blue cheeses of fruity desserts like strawberries and melon as well as many berries.

This wine gets 90 points from me – it is great to drink now but it also has potential for ageing, which would add flavours like honey, raisins and dried apricots I should believe.

To buy it in Sweden it must be specially ordered at Systembolaget, and one bottle of 375 ml costs 99 SEK.

Have a totally enjoyable Saturday evening! 🙂