Haut-Mayne Sauternes

Haut-Mayne Sauternes is a fruit dessert wine made in Massachusetts. The name borrows the style of the French sweet wine, but the appellation here is Massachusetts and the United States, and the label doesn't name the fruit. Treat it as a New England sweet wine, not a Bordeaux-style botrytis bottling. Dessert wines from fruit usually show ripe orchard or stone-fruit aromas, a round, syrupy body and little to no tannin. Expect honeyed sweetness with enough acidity to keep it from feeling heavy, and no oak influence. The finish in this style tends to be fruity and moderately long. Because it is sweet and low in tannin, it works best with food that is salty, rich or only mildly sweet. Blue cheeses, aged cheddar and washed-rind cheeses are the classic partners, since the sugar balances the salt. Foie gras, pâté and roast pork with a fruit glaze fit the same logic. For dessert, choose something less sweet than the wine, such as apple or pear tart, almond cake or a simple custard. Very sweet desserts like caramel or chocolate cake will make the wine taste thin. Serve it well chilled, around 6 to 8°C (43 to 46°F). A couple of hours in the refrigerator is enough, and a short rest at room temperature before pouring brings out the aromatics. It doesn't need decanting. Pour small measures of about 60 to 90 ml into a white wine glass or a small dessert wine glass with a narrow rim, which focuses the fruit aroma and keeps the pour modest. The label gives no vintage or cellaring guidance, so plan to drink it soon after purchase. Fruit wines like this are usually made for current enjoyment, not long aging. Once opened, recork it and keep it in the refrigerator. It should hold its character for several days.