2004 Robert Pecota Muscat Canelli Moscato d'Andre

The winery's website lists this at $18 and this is a half bottle.

Peach and some floral notes on the nose. On first pour, there was an odd, almost turpentine quality but it blew off after an hour or so. Still....strange.

No turpentine here - peach, pear, nectarine, apricot, orange blossom, and apple liqueur all blend together on the palate. By all means, this is a dessert wine - it's quite sweet - but there's also a huge amount of acid which give this a very interesting balance.

Orange blossom, peach, chamomile, and apricot linger for an impressive length - the floral notes linger for almost a minute.

Tasty overall with very nice depth - I enjoy this quite a bit.


Score: 93

2008 Two Hands Brilliant Disguise Barossa Valley Moscato

I got this for about eleven bones (500 ml bottle) on sale - it normally goes for around fifteen I think. This was tasted in less than ideal circumstances - at Ravinia with less than ideal stemware, so perhaps the brevity of my notes reflects this.

Everything here - nose, palate, finish - brings out an artificial peach quality, not unlike a peach Jolly Rancher. The body is fairly light and the sugar isn't terribly cloying, but the wine is fairly one dimensional.

It really depends on your enjoyment of peach Jolly Rancher - they are, believe it or not, my favorite flavor so this worked for me very nicely, but for $11 I can buy many months worth of the candy. A glass with (or as) dessert and you'll probably be alright - so maybe a bottle for the next family gathering would work, but for two people it's simple enough that I can't get too excited.

Wine: 6
Value: Pass

2007 Triebaumerg Muscato Gunter Triebaumber

An Austrian Muscato? Hmm. I don't recall the exact details on what I paid, but I do recall it being under $15.

A bit of honey and orange - sort of like an orange jam.

There's just a bit of fizz in this one despite the sparkling wine packaging. Sweet to be sure, but not cloying, mostly peach, but some apple - varying between golden and the lighter red varieties, all with a bit of some mild citrus qualities. You know, with just a bit of air this is really coming alive - almost a fruit salad - there's nectarine and pear, even a bit of honeydew melon.

I'd say mostly apple notes on the finish.

I would consider this a dessert wine and would not recommend as a table wine unless you are really into sweet stuff. That being said, it's a damn good dessert wine and easily on the list of the best muscato we've had.

Wine: 8
Value: Yes

2005 Trader Joe's Late Harvest Moscato Paso Robles

I saw this one for $5.99 at Trader Joe's and figured it would be worth a shot. The only “bad” dessert wine we've had was still perfectly drinkable, so I'm all for the gamble.

Orange on the nose.

Orange blossom, sweet tangerine, a bit of honey, and nice zing of acid. Very nicely balanced and not over the top sweet.

Maybe some floral notes on the finish, but that's a bit of a stretch – it disappears quickly.

For $6, why not? It's a simple dessert wine, not a whole lot of complexity but nice and drinkable after a meal – perhaps with a bit of ice cream. I'll probably be buying this again.

N/V Candoni Moscato d'Italia Terre di Chieti

Fran was reading a wine book – I forget which, but some sort of “beginner's guide” of sorts – and in it, the author mentioned that as a very broad rule the more subtle the wine label the more expensive the wine. I present you with this Moscato from Italy that I picked up for $6 on a whim.

A bit of orange on the nose and not much else.

Citrus notes on the palate – orange, grapefruit, some tangerine perhaps. This one has a little bit of fizz that gives it a nice extra dimension. At only 6.5% alcohol, one can indulge in this one.

Not much finish except for some lingering honey-tinged sweetness and maybe, you guessed it, some citrus notes.

For $6, you really can't go wrong. It's a simple, quaffable wine that I can't argue with...great by itself on a hot day, with dessert, or even with spicy food.