Rivesaltes is different from muscat: before the oxidized hot wines dominated, although today they do not have nearly the same popularity as in the past. However, this also means that the prices are moderate in relation to quality as well as production costs.
There are different versions of Rivesaltes; this sweet mulled wine is of the ambre type, which is the amber-colored and lightest of the oxidatively aged versions. For novices, for the sake of overview, Rivesaltes ambre can be compared to tawny port, but Rivesaltes has a lower alcohol content as one of several differences, and it appears less brackish, with fresher acidity and is often more elegant than its Portuguese celebrity cousin.
Haute Coutume Rivesaltes Ambré 1986 is made from the grape varieties Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris from different grape growers and terroirs in Roussillon.
After the harvest, the grapes were pressed immediately after arrival at the winery, and fermentation was stopped with 96% grape spirit when the wine contained the desired amount of residual sugar.
Aging took place oxidatively in old, not fully filled foudres, where the wine has spent a long number of years before bottling. Essentially, the aging itself gives the wine its character.
Smell and taste have a wealth of oxidative aromas: powdered sugar, nuts, candied orange peel and dried apricot. Through considerable evaporation during storage, more concentration has been achieved in the wine, the sweetness of which is kept in check by a balanced, volatile acidity.
Served at around 10-13°, this is a lovely meditation wine, but also remember that this type of wine goes well with crema catalana, crème caramel, crème brûlée, foie gras terrine and generally desserts with chocolates, nuts and other aromatic components, found in the wine.
Furthermore – and more curiously – it is praised as a good partner for a cigar, as well as a conversation about why the world is no longer what it used to be.
Rivesaltes Ambré stays fresh long after the wine has been opened: months rather than weeks.
The wine can also be bottled and will keep for years with the age profile with which it was bottled.
