The 6 best dessert wines to buy right now (& puds to pair them with)

What are fortified wines?

Many sweet wines are ‘fortified’ with neutral grape spirit, killing off the yeast during fermentation and leaving residual sugar and more alcohol than in normal table wines. Red and tawny ports, sweet sherries, madeiras and French vin doux naturel (VDN) dessert wines are made in this way – match with richer desserts and chocolate.

Six of the best dessert wines

Finest Dessert Semillon 2019, Riverina, Australia 9.5%

A really useful little bottle from Down Under – luscious honeyed layers of barley sugar, caramelised oranges and cooked peaches make this a star with richer fruit puddings, like tamarind toffee apple cake. Chill it lightly. £6.75 for 37.5cl, available from Tesco

Muscat de Saint-Jean de Minervois NV, Languedoc Roussillon, France 15%

A fortified VDN , golden-hued with a fresh note of green grapes mingled with candied citrus and honeysuckle. Another one to match with fruit desserts or blue cheese (try with Debora Robertson’s pear and roquefort tarte tatin). £7.99 for 37.5cl, available from Waitrose

Château La Rame Gourmandise 2021, Sainte-Croix-du-Mont, Bordeaux, France 13%

Bordeaux’s famous sauternes are pricey, so here’s a bargain from nearby. Fresh, tangy, yet honeyed with ripe apricot, it’s a classic with blue cheese or pâté, but I’m chilling it for apple pie. £13.99 for 75cl, or £11.99 as part of mixed six bottles, available from  Majestic

The Best Aged Tawny Port, Douro, Portugal 20%

Packed with sweet cinnamon and gingerbread notes and rich with raisins and toffee, this 10-year-old tawny is made by port shippers Symington for Morrisons and is a star turn with choc puds. Chill very lightly. £15 for 75cl, available from Morrisons

Gonzalez Byass Matusalem Oloroso Sherry, Jerez, Spain 20.5%

Deep mahogany and beautifully smooth, 30-year-old Matusalem has complex flavours of toasted nuts, raisins, cloves, molasses and more. A serious treat to sip with dark chocolate and/or nutty puds. £27.95 for 37.5cl; available from Master of Malt or The Whisky Exchange

Sainsbury’s Asti, Castel Boglione, Piedmont, Italy 7%

Served ice-cold, Piedmont’s sweet asti fizz is the perfect match for lighter, fruitier desserts – think sorbets, meringues and delicate pannacottas. There’s a kiwi fruit tang to this one, with a soft spritz and honeyed finish. And it’s low alcohol too. £4.75 for 75cl, available from Sainsbury’s

Discover the rest of our drinks recommendations, from the best Italian wines to our top bottles for recovering from a wine rut.