The social drinker

Close readers of this column may have observed what my children noticed many years ago: namely, that I have a sweet tooth. A chocolate-like sherry from Jerez is an almost perfect drink for me, even if it some old sherries are like licking Nutella from a knife.

Another guilty pleasure of mine is dessert wine. For me, a chilled dessert wine is often the perfect end to a meal, especially if the dessert is fresh fruit or blue cheese. There are many kinds of dessert wine, but my favourite tend to be made using noble rot. This is a type of spore called botrytis

cinerea, which can be persuaded to do strange things to grapes. While it sounds disgusting, noble rot adds hints of ginger and honey to sweet wine.

There are many popular types of dessert wines made using noble rot, but the most easily available are Sauternais, which is a group of French appellations from the Bordeaux region, including Sauternes, Barsac, Cadillac, and Monbazillac.

No good off-licence is without a selection of dessert wines, but they can be difficult to find in supermarkets — as I discovered recently when I needed a bottle in a hurry as a gift. In the end, I chanced upon Chateau Roumieu from Sauternes, pictured below, on offer in SuperValu for a very reasonable €10 for a half-bottle. The normal price is a still reasonable €19.99.

Dessert wines are expensive to produce because the noble-rot method uses more grapes than normal wines, but the effects are wonderful.

Like many French dessert wines, Chateau Roumieu uses a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc to produce a rich, goldencoloured wine. And again, like most dessert wines, it is best served chilled.

It always surprises me how many people say they don’t like sweet wines, but are then very happy to try a glass or two with their dessert or cheeseboard.

If you want to surprise yourself, or a friend,

Chateau Roumieu is an excellent place to start.