De Bortoli Noble One 2007 375ml
"Reserved and complex, still deep fruited three fruits crystallised citrus and pure botrytis sea saltiness. Fine and pure in the mouth too, creamy down the middle with concentrated glace pear and peach flavours. A long, lush finish with just the right balancing acid and oak nuttiness to close. Smart sweet wine this, which will evolve well for a decade." 10/10 Tim White, The Age, September 2009
"Wet spells led to good botrytis and this is very citrus and fresh with grapefruit as well as rounder, honeyed peach and tropical pineappley/rum baba notes. Long, long finish. 10%, residual not given. Great potential. (100% screw cap)" Sarah Ahmed, The Wine Detective (UK), September 2009
"The 25th vintage is a cracking rendition of Australia's most famous Botrytis Semillon. Citrus zest, peach and apricot freshness offset its honeyed, crème brûlée richness. The balance of tight acidity and sweetness is spot on." 95 points Tyson Stelzer, WBM Magazine, August 2009
"This is the wine Prime Minister Kev gave the Pope on his recent visit to Rome. Well, almost - it was the 2006 vintage, in fact. Now in its 25th year, Noble One has established itself as Australia's premier sweet white. This is lush and decadent, with mouth-coating honey and marmalade flavours. Grab some blue cheese and you can't go wrong. That's what the Pope told me, anyway." Rick Allen, Manly Daily, July 2009
"This is the 25th vintage of Australia's best known and most highly regarded sweet wine, which has won 104 trophies and 352 gold medals since the release of the 1982 vintage. Brilliant green-gold, it has all the luscious intensity expected of the wine, ranging through citrus, cumquat and vanilla bean, yet is not over the top. Its best features are its balance, line and extreme length, similar to that of 02." 95 points James Halliday, Weekend Australian, July 2009
"I reckon the 2007 Noble One, as a young wine, is the best yet. There is a taste of dried fruit, but it is subtle. The mandarin characteristics, which tend to dominate with age, are restrained, as is the honey and the acidity already in balance. If you haven't tried it, please do so with your favourite end-of-dinner food. This is a world-class wine, and you won't be disappointed." Jeff Gordon, Melbourne Weekly Bayside, July 2009
"The 25th vintage of this classy botrytised semillon shows dried apricot, peach, honey, spice and vanilla oak on the nose and palate with a cleansing acid finish. It's delicious already with desserts or blue cheese but will be even more luscious in another five years." 94 points Mike Frost, Courier Mail, June 2009
"Wonderful example of this great wine. Aromas of nectarine, honey and stone fruits on the nose with a lift of light citrus. There is a little obvious vanillin oak infused into the rich honey and concentrated stone fruit on the palate. A wine of texture and sublime depth and lusciousness." 93 points Ray Jordan, The West Australian, June 2009
Darren De Bortoli developed Noble One during the 1980s with the first successful vintage being the 1982 Botrytis Semillon Sauternes. It created an immediate sensation in the wine world winning a clutch of trophies and medals both in Australia and at prestigious international wine shows. Since 1990 as a result of a bilateral trade agreement between Australia and European Economic Community countries in which Australia agreed to phase out the use of geographic regions and expressions on wines labels, the wine has been designated Noble One and has become the benchmark Australian dessert wine.
Since its release Noble One has been awarded over 76 Trophies and 287 Gold Medals.
"The undisputed King of the Stickies"
James Halliday, Top 100 Weekend Australian, December 2001
De Bortoli makes a brilliant sweet botrytised semillon that is as great as the best Sauternes from Bordeaux"
Oz Clark, Essential Wine book 1996
"Without doubt it is in the class of the best French sauternes, and one of Englands finest wine judges confided to us that he kept a stock in his cellar "for my own enjoyment and to confound my friends.'"
Winewise, 1990.
"I have no problems in placing the De Bortoli sauternes alongside Penfolds Grange Hermitage, the great north-east Victorian fortified mucats and tokays, the 20-year-old Lindemans semillons, the similarly aged Leo Buring Rhine rieslings, and the best Petaluma chardonnays, as Australia's greatest winestyles."
James Halliday, Top 100, Weekend Australian, December 2001
"This wine single-handedly changed the way Australians thought about sweet white table wines, introducing botrytis cinerea to the mainstream winemaking..."
Australia's Top 20 Benchmark Wines, WINE Magazine, Dec/Jan 1999/2000
The undisputed king of the world of stickies since it was first made in 1982. A classic wine, without question the foremost example of barrel-fermented, wood-matured Botrytis Semillon in Australia. Every vintage made has won at least one trophy and innumerable gold medals. James Halliday
Originally a commercial winemaker, this producer has become an innovator at the top end: firstly, through the creation of Noble One Botrytis Semillon, a richly exotic, sweet, dessert wine that has set the pace for well over 15 years; and, secondly, through investment in Victoria’s Yarra Valley. De Bortoli remains a family venture. The De Bortoli Noble One is the only dessert wine in Langton’s Classification. These are beautifully made wines with intense honeyed apricot aromas and a luscious sweet, highly viscous, but beautifully balanced and uncloying palate. Andrew Caillard MW
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