Election Day (Jan. 22, 2013)

It'll take days until the dust settles,
so for now, just enjoy the landscape of a faraway land...

It's been a while since a local election had any sense of urgency or drama. I decided to watch the polls and returns with a dessert wine, so I'd have something sweet for celebration or for washing away the bile. Or both.

Chateau Bell-Rive, Quarts de Chaume, Quintessence, 2003

What a nose! An amazing, complex nose, with all sorts of goodies: caramelized nuts, spices, earth, marmalade, hints of oxidation, all held in place by a mercurial thread of botrytis funk. The color is golden-brown, like other sweet Chenins I've had. The palate here is livelier than a previous bottle, although it is very rich, almost hedonistic, ending on a long finish laden with orange jam. It offers the same idiosyncratic sense of origin and place that you get in a great wine and makes you sense the tale of the land inside your glass.

Giaconda, 256 NIS for a 500 cc bottle.