De Bortoli’s Noble One is quite a phenomenon. Born out of a wonderfully opportunistic piece of winemaking by Darren De Bortoli in 1982, it has defined, refined and maintained its own style for over twenty years. While their immediate youthful appeal is obvious to most who taste them, their longevity is what constantly surprises me. They certainly develop hue and depth of colour significantly more quickly than either Sauternes or Barsac, but I am constantly amazed by the ability of older vintages to retain fruit freshness and sweetness. They ‘dry out’ a little with advancing age, becoming slightly more savoury and spicy as they do, but full bottles (750 ml) of the 1982 vintage that I extract from my cellar are still anything but dead in the water. Over the past two weeks I have had the opportunity to experience several 750 ml bottles of the 1994 vintage, sourced straight from the maker. This wine began its life voluptuous, oily and concentrated, and judging from the ten or so bottles I recently tasted, it remains in wonderful nick. It hasn’t entered the ‘drying out’ phase, but remains concentrated and perfectly presented, delivering mountains of luscious fruit before finishing with a clean, but lingering sweet finish. It avoids the overt marmalade qualities of some Noble Ones, and remains a classic dessert wine of immense appeal.
