Maker: Chateau Grand Traverse, Traverse City, Michigan, USA
Place of origin: Old Mission Peninsula AVA, Michigan, USA
Vintage: 2007
ABV: 12.5%? (label partially rubbed off)
Purchased for: $18/500 ml (Original price around $25)
Appearance: Dark gold with thick legs that disappear quickly.
Nose: Wildflower honey, tart apples, oregano.
Palate: Full bodied and sweet. Orange blossom honey, orange push pops, very ripe peaches, caramel covered pear.
Finish: Clingy. Canned peaches, lingers for a very long time.
Parting words: Botrytis is a class of fungi that attack fruit and can be very harmful to berries of all kinds. Under certain circumstances, though, it becomes a “noble rot” that shrivels grapes into raisins and produces a thick, intensely sweet wine like this one.
I bought this wine many years ago and let it sit in my cellar for just about longer than I have let anything else sit there. My patience was rewarded.
Online reviewers have called this wine “beerenausleselike” but I haven’t had enough of that particular class of wines to evaluate those statements. I’ll just say it is very much in the style of Botrytised Rieslings from Germany and it’s very very good. It’s best as a dessert wine but may pair with salty pork dishes or other snacks.
If you can find it, it will probably set you back a pretty penny, but then again it might not. I got this bottle out of a bargain bin at a local grocery store. It was very much worth the wait and the high price. Chateau Grand Traverse Botrytis Riesling is highly recommended.
Sipology 