All Saints Grand Tawny Half Bottle 375ml, Rutherglen

Winemaker Nick Brown has certainly dipped into his impressive cellar's fortified solera to produce this wonder of taste, age and style. It hums along beautifully with leading nutty rancio characters indicating age. Raisins, dried fruits, vanilla, spice, grilled nuts and aromatic spirit are all woven into one delicious whole that lingers long. Puts a smile on your face.

97 points Special Value Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion 

All Saints Estate has been part of Rutherglen since 1864, when Scottish brothers George and John Sutherland Smith established their vineyard at Wahgunyah. Its remarkable castle like winery remains one of the region’s landmarks, and generations of fortified wine slowly ageing in old barrels form an equally important part of the estate’s history. Grand Tawny comes from mature stocks selected for their richness and complexity, sitting firmly in the luxurious end of the Rutherglen fortified world.

Time in seasoned oak is the key. Years of gradual oxidation and evaporation concentrate the wine while transforming primary fruit into the wonderful spectrum of nuts, dried fruit, caramel and spice associated with aged Tawny. Blending across barrels and vintages is essential, bringing together freshness, richness and mature complexity rather than allowing sheer sweetness to dominate.

Deep tawny mahogany with amber at the rim, the bouquet rolls through dried fig, raisin and date into burnt orange, caramel and roasted walnut. Toffee, espresso, fruit cake, cinnamon and dark chocolate emerge with air. The palate is rich and velvety, with dried fruit and treacle balanced by savoury nuttiness and enough acidity to keep everything moving. Walnut, coffee and caramel gather through the middle before a long warming finish of orange peel, spice and roasted nuts.

Pour it alongside pecan pie, crème caramel, coffee and walnut cake, aged cheddar or blue cheese with quince paste. Our pick is the pecan pie. Toasted nuts and caramel meeting mature Tawny’s walnut, dried fruit and burnt sugar flavours is not exactly an exercise in restraint, but restraint seems rather pointless here.

Cellaring: Beautiful to drink now and will comfortably hold for many years unopened. Once opened, store it somewhere cool and dark and enjoy over several months.