De Bartoli Noble One 2003

Here we have perhaps Australia's most famous dessert wine, made in the Sauternes style, but at a fraction of the price of the venerable Bordeaux sticky. I paired this with St. Agur blue cheese, which worked very nicely.

Rich and golden in colour, the palate was distinctly honeyed and floral (perhaps lavender). Expanding with a big vanilla palate coupled with brown sugar, pineapple, caramel and banana cake, Noble One is certainly a robust wine with intense, even explosive, flavour. However, I have to admit that I felt this lacked balance and was a bit over the top with its sweetness. If a wine could be so hedonstic as to deter from enjoyment, this would be a good example. Not an everyday dessert wine, this nevertheless performs at, rather than above, its price point.

Very Good
$30 for 1/2 a bottle at BCLDB