All Saints Rare Muscat Half Bottle 375ml, Rutherglen

One of those 'must try' wines to see what all the fuss is about. The producer pushes the average age of the blend out to 40-plus years because it can. Accordingly, expect one smooth-running, aromatically endowed, super-complex and positively thrilling wine experience where sweetness is just one part of a much bigger picture. Sets off with a floral fragrance that entices before settling into an intense richness of dried fruit favours, walnut, luscious treacle, honeyed ANZAC biscuits, gingerbread, dark chocolate and coffee bean, with a light, savoury balsamic note. Delivered on a clean, fresh spirit base that elevates the taste experience. 375ml.

98 points Special Value Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion

All Saints Estate is one of Rutherglen’s great historic names, established in 1864 by Scottish brothers George and John Sutherland Smith. Its extraordinary castle like winery at Wahgunyah has witnessed generations of fortified winemaking, and today the Brown family continues that tradition. Rare Muscat sits at the summit of the Australian fortified hierarchy, assembled from tiny quantities of exceptionally old material patiently matured in barrel for decades.

Rutherglen’s warm, dry climate allows Muscat à Petits Grains Rouge to reach extraordinary levels of ripeness before fermentation is stopped by fortification. From there, time does the heavy lifting. Extended ageing in old barrels concentrates the wine through evaporation and gradually transforms fresh Muscat fruit into something darker, richer and enormously complex. The Rare classification is reserved for the oldest and most concentrated expression, and the 375ml bottle is entirely sensible because a little of this goes a very long way.

Deep mahogany brown with olive gold at the rim, the bouquet is immense: raisin, fig, date and burnt orange mingle with treacle, Christmas cake and toffee. Walnut, espresso, dark chocolate, molasses and warm baking spices emerge underneath. The palate is luscious and viscous, yet there is enough acidity to stop all that sweetness becoming cumbersome. Fig, muscovado sugar and caramel roll into coffee, walnut and bitter chocolate before an extraordinarily persistent finish of raisin, spice and dark toffee.

Pour a small glass alongside sticky date pudding, dark chocolate tart, walnut and coffee cake, blue cheese with roasted figs or simply a bowl of toasted nuts after dinner. Our pick is the dark chocolate tart. Bitter cocoa cutting through that glorious Muscat sweetness is exactly the sort of dessert that makes everyone suddenly forget they were full.

Cellaring: Magnificent now and capable of holding for decades unopened. Once opened, its fortified structure means it will remain in excellent condition for many months if stored cool and dark.