[question] Question submitted by Graeme Newing Any thoughts about rating Australia’s sparkling and dessert wines (stickies, ports, etc)? [/question] [answer] The wines I have historically rated are those with vintage years. That’s why my book and site feature a range of sparkling wines and sweet late-harvest dessert wines, but only those from a single vintage year. Non-vintage fortified wines pose a problem for critics such as me, because while they are not supposed to vary much from year to year (which they typically do to some extent), it is not possible for either critics or buyers to determine which batch is which. In other words, a critical assessment of fortified wines on the market is really only any use for a relatively short time, and only applies to the wines actually on sale at the time. Such an assessment would certainly not apply to wines under precisely the same labels that had been stored in bottle in the cellars of collectors. One of these days, however, I’d like to come up with an intelligent solution! Any ideas would be appreciated… [/answer]
