Cazes Rivesaltes 1949

98 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 1949 Hors d’Age from Domaine Cazes is again a touch less dark than the 1954, with more of an orange-amber color that promises great things, and indeed, this is an utterly profound and magical bottle of old wine (if this is indeed an old wine by the timeless standards of Rivesaltes!) with stunning complexity on the nose and perfect pitch on the palate. The utterly spectacular bouquet wafts from the glass in a blaze of rancio spice tones, oranges, white cherries, cloves, a touch of cigar smoke, citrus peel, vanilla bean, a dollop of salty soil and star anise. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and magically complex, with a great core, racy acids, gem-like precision and a nearly endless finish of seamless balance and outstanding grip. This is one of the greatest dessert wines I have ever had the pleasure to taste, and though I actually drank this glorious wine with the duck course at our tasting (and with which it worked perfectly, by the way!), I would tend to want to serve this with a cheese course or on its own before dessert to allow all of its complexity to take center stage. A brilliant wine. 2013-2060. (May/Jun 2013)"

Domaine Cazes, founded in 1895, is one of the oldest and most famous producers of Rivesaltes wines from the eponymously named Rivesaltes AOC in Roussillon. Rivesaltes, officially a "vin doux naturel," is in fact a fortified dessert wine that can be made from any combination of Grenache Blanc, Noir, and Gris, Macabéo, and to a much lesser extent Torbato (here called Malvoisie du Roussillon), as well as Muscat. Rivesaltes may taste of raisins, coffee, chocolate, fruits, or nuts and the most concentrated can, like Banyuls, be some of the few wines that happily partner with chocolate. John Gilman writes that "Domaine Cazes is one of the greatest producers of sweet wines that I have ever had the pleasure to come across...these are utterly distinct and unique wines of brilliant complexity and character, and though they may not be as well known in the wine world at large as their superb quality deserves, they are truly some of the wine world's greatest treasures."