1986 Dom Brial, Rivesaltes "Grande Réserve"

 The hills around the ancient city of Perpignon in far southeastern France have been producing grapes for sweet wines since early Roman times, and they’ve been revered for fortified wines for centuries–long before this nation's founders were consuming copious amounts of Port and Madeira. Yet these historic wines, known as vin doux naturel, are all but forgotten in the U.S., but I think that should change! And what better way to advocate for these rarities than a bottle of perfectly aged, 1986 Rivesaltes. A rich, hedonistic, and outrageously complex nectar is here for the taking, and the price is half that of a similarly pedigreed Port or Madeira. Luxurious, liquid gold in a bottle is always a rare treat, and this bottle is doubly so since we have just a few cases and it’s only available right here! The Roman historian Pliny The Elder (who loved to document the production and consumption of fermented beverages) mentions sweet wines from Narbonne–on the northern edge of the current Rives