Dessert and fortified wines encompass some of wine's most distinctive production methods and longest-lived styles.
Sweet wines can achieve concentration through noble rot, late harvesting, drying, cane cutting or freezing grapes on the vine, while fortified wines are defined by the addition of grape spirit during or after fermentation.
The collection spans Château d'Yquem Sauternes, Royal Tokaji Aszú, Australian botrytis and cane-cut wines, Canadian Icewine, Rutherglen Muscat and Topaque, aged Tawny, Port, Sherry and vintage fortified reds.
Sweet & Dessert Wine
Sweet wine can be produced in several ways, but the underlying objective is to retain or concentrate grape sugars while preserving enough acidity and structure to keep the finished wine balanced.
Sauternes is one of the best-known examples. In suitable conditions, Botrytis cinerea, or noble rot, concentrates the grapes while contributing distinctive aromatic complexity.
The collection has particular depth in Château d'Yquem, with multiple vintages extending from recent releases to back-vintage 375ml bottles.
Hungary provides another important sweet-wine tradition through Tokaji, including Royal Tokaji 5 and 6 Puttonyos Aszú and late-harvest releases.
Australian Sweet Wine
Australia has its own significant traditions of concentrated sweet wine.
De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon is one of the country's best-known botrytis wines, while Henschke Noble Semillon provides another expression of the technique.
Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling and Pooley Butcher's Hill Cane Cut Riesling use cane-cutting to concentrate grapes before harvest, while Rockford PW Mayflower Cane Cut Semillon applies the technique to Semillon.
Late-harvest and iced styles broaden the range further through wines including Cullen Late Harvest Chenin Blanc and Frogmore Creek Iced Riesling.
Icewine, Vinsanto & Dried-Grape Wines
Other regions achieve sweetness and concentration through very different methods.
True Icewine is made from grapes that freeze naturally on the vine before being harvested and pressed while frozen. The collection includes Pillitteri Estates Vidal Icewine from Canada.
On Santorini, Vinsanto is traditionally produced from sun-dried grapes, represented by SantoWines.
Dried-grape traditions also appear through wines such as Dal Forno Romano Vigna Seré Veneto Passito Rosso and Prophet's Rock Vin de Paille.
Fortified Wine
Fortified wine is made by adding grape spirit to wine, either during fermentation or after it has finished depending on the style.
When spirit is added before fermentation is complete, remaining grape sugar can create a naturally sweet fortified wine. Other fortified wines ferment dry before fortification and may subsequently undergo extended ageing.
The collection includes Rutherglen Muscat and Topaque, Australian Tawny and vintage fortified reds, Portuguese Port and Spanish Sherry, spanning very different levels of sweetness, oxidation, ageing and structure.
Rutherglen Muscat & Topaque
Rutherglen in north-eastern Victoria has one of Australia's most important fortified-wine traditions.
Rutherglen Muscat is made from Muscat à Petits Grains Rouge, historically known in Australia as Brown Muscat, and develops remarkable concentration through ripeness and extended maturation.
Topaque, historically known as Tokay in Australia, is traditionally based on Muscadelle and offers its own distinctive spectrum of richness and complexity.
The collection includes releases from Chambers Rosewood, Morris and Campbells, from regional styles through to older and more concentrated expressions.
Tawny, Port & Vintage Fortified Reds
Long maturation in barrel gives Tawny its characteristic development towards dried fruit, nuts, spice and oxidative complexity.
Australian examples include Penfolds Grandfather 20 Year Old and Great Grandfather 30 Year Old, Rockford P. S. Marion Tawny and Galway Pipe 12 Year Old Grand Tawny.
Portuguese Port is represented by Quinta do Noval, including 10 and 20 Year Old Tawny Port.
Vintage fortified reds take a different path, spending less time in barrel before developing primarily in bottle. Australian examples include multiple vintages of Rockford Shiraz VP.
Sherry & Pedro Ximénez
Sherry encompasses both dry and sweet fortified styles from Jerez in southern Spain.
The collection includes Oloroso alongside intensely sweet Pedro Ximénez, or PX, made from the Pedro Ximénez grape.
Producers represented include Toro Albalá and Barbadillo, illustrating another important fortified-wine tradition beyond Port and Australian Tawny.
Choosing Dessert & Fortified Wine
For concentrated sweet wine balanced by acidity, explore Sauternes, Tokaji, Icewine, botrytis and cane-cut wines.
For richer oxidative character, aged Tawny, Rutherglen Muscat and Topaque offer dried fruit, spice and developed complexity.
Vintage fortified reds provide a more structured, cellar-oriented style, while Sherry ranges from dry and savoury to the intense sweetness of Pedro Ximénez.
Shop Dessert & Fortified Wines at Kent Street Cellars
Explore dessert and fortified wines from Australia and around the world, including Château d'Yquem, Royal Tokaji, De Bortoli, Chambers Rosewood, Penfolds, Rockford and Quinta do Noval.
Delivery is available Australia-wide, with same-day delivery also available across eligible Sydney metropolitan areas.
