I am looking for some advice from those forum readers who know a thing or two about fortified wines. My cellar is very one dimensional and I want to branch out into some new styles/varities.
I have read some past posts which led me to the seppelt website as they appear to be one of the leaders.
What would you recommend to showcase this style for under $30, and what sort of ageing potential could I expect I am assuming fortified wines age gracefully and should be stored in red wine conditions.
Cheers
I don't class myself as an expert on fortifieds, but I do know a few things that may be useful.
In general, the only fortifieds that mature in a positive fashion with extended cellaring are vintage ports. Almost all other fortifieds I know of, sherries, non-vintage/tawny ports, muscats, tokays, madiera etc have all done their maturation in wood and do not change much after bottling. Although you can keep these wines for a fairly long time in cool conditions, there is little point keeping them for long. If they are kept in warmer conditions they will often start to degrade slightly, dropping unattactive "tea leaves" as solids precipitate out of the wine.
Just a suggestion, don't get too hung up on "branching out" or having a "one-dimensional" cellar, don't let other people influence what you "must have", only buy wines that you really like and wherever possible try before you buy.
As to what to buy, Rutherglen Muscats and Tokays are a good start, there are quite a few vintage ports around, some much cheaper than the other premium Oz fortifieds. Depending on where you live, there may also be a good selection of the originals, Ports and Sherries from Portugal and Spain, Tokaji from Hungary etc. As far as possible, try before you buy, it's a bit difficult with fortifieds though, there aren't a lot of tastings available, except at cellar door.
Cheers Brian Life's too short to drink white wine and red wine is better for you too! :-)
Try things one at a time, find what works for you, and only buy what you like. unfortunately I have had to sell a good percentage of my cellar bought on someone else's say so, after finding I didnt like it at all!
