Stanton & Killeen Classic Rutherglen Topaque NV

Light amber glass in colour with a stunning bouquet of malt, caramel, butterscotch and almonds. The palate has layers of caramelized butter, honeysuckle and dried apricots with a long finish of cold tea and marmalade. The Rutherglen range is the youngest and freshest blend with an average age of 2-4 years. The more time it spends in barrel, the more complex and rich it becomes. See our Classic, Grand and Rare Topaques for something older and more developed.

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Viticulture

Muscadelle grapes are picked at optimum ripeness, with high levels of natural grape sugar and the flavours that come from extended ripening.

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Vinification

Muscadelle grapes are picked at optimum ripeness, with high levels of natural grape sugar and the flavours that come from extended ripening. Once picked, they are crushed and kept on skins until fermentation commences, at which point they are quickly pressed and fortified with grape spirit. This early fortification preserves the natural sugars while the short fermentation releases additional flavour from the skins. Once fortified, the wine is stored in large oak casks for three to four years before we assess which of the classifications it fits into. Wines that show “Classic” potential are kept apart in large oak for another few years until they enter the first stage of our modified solera system, where each year wines are drawn off and added to older collections.

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Recommendation

Not only the domain of desserts, this Topaque matches superbly with duck rillettes on brioche toast or Catalan fig tapas.