All Saints Estate Rutherglen Museum Muscat 500ml, Rutherglen

A fortified that belies time or any single vintage. With more than 100 years in the making, this comes to remind us of the role of great fortifieds to take us to a special place. Concentrated, ethereal and intense, all rolled into a luscious sweetness that takes us from Nanna's Christmas cake, cracked walnuts, roasted nuts and honeyed figs to caramel toffees and an enduring undertone of rose oil. Superlative. So, too, the fortified blender's art on show here, which continues to inspire younger generations.

100 points Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion 

All Saints Estate has been a fixture at Wahgunyah since 1864, when Scottish brothers George and John Sutherland Smith established their vineyard and winery. The grand castle may be the first thing visitors notice, but for wine lovers the real attraction is hidden away in the old fortified barrels. Museum Muscat draws on mature stocks built up over many years, giving a wonderfully complex expression of the luscious style that made Rutherglen famous around the world.

Muscat à Petits Grains Rouge revels in Rutherglen’s warm, dry summers, reaching extraordinary ripeness before being fortified to retain its natural sweetness. Extended maturation in seasoned oak gradually concentrates the wine through evaporation, while fresh grape characters evolve towards dried fruit, caramel, nuts and spice. Museum Muscat has serious richness, but the best examples retain enough acidity and savoury complexity to keep each mouthful beautifully balanced.

Dark mahogany with amber and olive gold at the rim, the bouquet is wonderfully intense. Raisin, date and dried fig lead into burnt orange, molasses and dark caramel, followed by walnut, espresso, cocoa and Christmas cake spice. The palate is dense and velvety, with raisin and fig flowing into treacle and toffee before roasted nuts, coffee and bitter chocolate provide a savoury counterpoint. A thread of acidity keeps the sweetness in check, leading to a long, warming finish of orange peel, walnut and spice.

A dark chocolate and hazelnut tart would be superb here, alongside sticky date pudding, espresso panna cotta, roasted figs with mascarpone or blue cheese with walnuts. Our pick is the espresso panna cotta. Bitter coffee, cool creamy custard and all that raisiny, caramel richness should make a rather spectacular end to dinner.

Cellaring: Beautiful now and capable of holding for many years unopened. Once opened, store somewhere cool and dark and enjoy over several months.