Massandra Wines

[Lancelot]

I am curious if anyone has any experience tasting wines from the Massandra Collection. These wines were initially made for the Czar's in Crimea and sold through Sothebys awhile ago. I was recently given a bottle of 1948 Lavadia Cabernet Tawny Port and a 750 ml bottle of Pink Muscat . I am not sure what to expect or what context in which to consume.

I could guess but experince tasting Eastern European dessert wine is very limited. Thanks

Edited July 30, 2003 by Lancelot (log)

[Jean Fisch]

I only had the regular stuff - the rest is too expensive for me.

The style reminds me of fortified wines à la Moscatel de Setubal, more on the candied fruit / spices part of the spectrum.

Very nice to enjoy on their own, but quite tough to match with food (the least bad match was with a tiramisu...).

[cmben]

I was fortunate to be given six bottles of various vintages and varietals some years ago just after Sothebys auctioned them off. Since then I have used them for special occasions and am down to a 1932 red port and a 1940 white muscat.

Both the white and the pink muscat from the '39 & '40's vintages have been remarkable. A flavor profile of a sauternes {in particular an older Lafaurie-Peyraguey, say a 1950} with a hint of Maderia. Complex, we have drunk them by them selves, as you might with a fine Port.

You are in for a treat. Sothebys may have the monograph that Serena Sutcliffe wrote on the history of the Masandra Collection on thier web site. Worth checking out