De Bortoli Wines

Show Liqueur Muscat NV

Award
Winner Top 100 Fortified Wines
Grape Varieties
Red Frontignac (80%) Riverina, NSW, Australia
Muscat (20%) Riverina, NSW, Australia
Country of Origin
Australia
Alcohol Content
18.0% Alcohol by Volume
Wine Type and Oak Treatment
Port, Tawny, Vintage, Ruby, To Fortified with Oak Treatment
Recommended Retail Price
RRP AU $25.00

The floral, lemony nose of Muscat dominates here - very lifted perfume. Balanced sweetness on the palate, marred by a slightly dull, old coffee flavour which sits heavily on the mid-palate. The wine gets increasingly cloying with time.

Medium intensity tawny hue. Very lifted aromas of bergamot, honey and baked sultana cake notes. Sweet and fruit pure with excellent intensity and layers of sultana and honey. Finishes slightly warm with lingering persistence. This was a surprisingly successful match with the flavours of chocolate brownie intermingling with the bergamot notes in the wine. An excellent pairing.

Lifted, fresh and vibrant. Lifted and fresh on the palate. Complex, rich and full. Very rich wine which works very well with Chocolate Brownie dish.

Lifted fruity and youthful muscat aromas. Mouth-filling, textured and concentrated rich robust wine. Has freshness, orange peel and nuts. The youthful muscat characters work well with the bitterness of the chocolate and the hazelnut. The crisp acidity of the wine balancing the sweetness of the dish.

Coca cola, raisin nose. Good acidity, a little more simple and less viscous. Candied figs and dried dates, with a hint mixed peel to finish

Deep tawny with slight golden/olive green rim. Intense, vanilla, spice, dried fruits and nuts, quite unctuous with a smooth finish. Slightly bitter with food.

Lighter colour but some anise/smoker?s lolly lift on the aroma. Very attractive Lychee, liquorice, hazel nut and vanillin. Rich palate ? suitably spicy with a hot, drying spirit finish that works nicely. Very good wine. With food ? wine feels very nicely integrated, supple and round. Muscat flavours work really with choc/apricot.

The Fortified Wines were judged with

Chocolate Brownie with apricot and toasted hazelnut

Presented by chef Marcell Kustos

Ingredients

Brownie

  • 185g unsalted butter
  • 185g dark chocolate
  • 85g plain flour
  • 40g cocoa powder
  • 50g milk chocolate
  • 3 large eggs
  • 200g caster sugar
Hazelnuts
  • 100g toasted, halved
Apricot sauce
  • 100g dried apricot
  • 150g sugar
  • 500ml water
Crème fraiche to serve

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
  2. Cut unsalted butter into small cubes and tip into a medium bowl.
  3. Break dark chocolate into small pieces and drop into the bowl.
  4. Fill a small saucepan about a quarter full with hot water, then sit the bowl on top so it rests on the rim of the pan, not touching the water. Put over a low heat until the butter and chocolate have melted, stirring occasionally to mix them.
  5. Remove the bowl from the pan.
  6. Using a shallow 20cm square tin, cut out a square of non-stick baking parchment to line the base.
  7. Tip plain flour and cocoa powder into a sieve held over a medium bowl.
  8. Tap and shake the sieve so they run through together and you get rid of any lumps.
  9. Chop milk chocolate into chunks on a board.
  10. Break eggs into a large bowl and tip in golden caster sugar and whisk until double in volume.
  11. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggy mousse, then gently fold together with a rubber spatula.
  12. Hold the sieve over the bowl of eggy chocolate mixture and resift the cocoa and flour mixture, shaking the sieve from side to side, to cover the top evenly.
  13. Gently fold in this powder. The mixture will look dry and dusty at first, and a bit unpromising, but if you keep going very gently and patiently, it will end up looking gungy and fudgy. You don’t want to overdo this mixing.
  14. Finally, stir in the white and milk chocolate chunks until they’re dotted throughout.
  15. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, scraping every bit out of the bowl with the spatula. Gently ease the mixture into the corners of the tin and paddle the spatula from side to side across the top to level it.
  16. Put in the oven and set your timer for 25 minutes.
  17. In a medium pot, cook apricots, in water and sugar for 10 minutes. Then place it in a blender and blend until smooth.
  18. Serve brownies with apricot puree and toasted hazelnuts.