A good wine is a winter winner

Melbourne Times Weekly, Melbourne

11 Jul 2012, by Ben Knight

Pfeiffer Classic Rutherglen Topaque

"Nothing really compares to the fortified wines of Rutherglen.  I love most fortified styles,but our north-east Victorian producers have the magic touch. This is the Classic Topaque from Pfeiffer in Rutherglen. (Note that the packaging of the Rutherglen Topaque and the Classic Topaque are very similar). The colour has that lovely tawny brassy mahogany shine as it wobbles in the glass. The smell is enough to make you smile. It evokes memories of baking, richness and sweet things. But it is more complex than that. This classic topaque, with an average age of 10 years, rolls out the flavours. It has a nose of honey and burnt toffee, the texture of silk and sweetness, then a nutty character, toast and a final dried fig and more deep raisin flavours.

If Australia stopped making every wine except Rutherglen fortified, we would still be world beaters."

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