It's Shrove Tuesday in just a few days. If you're planning pancakes, and anticipating an abstemious Lent, why not ease the path with a suitably sweet wine?

I have lately tried Australia's most-revered "stickie" the gorgeous De Bortoli Noble One 2007 from Majestic at £16.99 for a half bottle.

Worth it? Absolutely.

It has a deep amber gold colour, a scent of honey laced with apple blossom and tropical fruit, a viscous, sumptuous weight in the mouth (yet just 10 per cent alcohol) and a clean, crisp finish.

It's made from the Semillon grape, the variety that in Sauternes in Bordeaux that makes the world's most expensive dessert wines.

This Aussie pretender comes close to the best that Sauternes can offer.

Torres Floralis Moscatel Oro from Morrisons at £8.05 is another great treat. In a beautifully elaborate 50cl bottle it has an autumn gold colour and perfume as floral as the name suggests: I get everything from roses to lemon verbena. A gloriously honeyed Spanish wine with the grapey richness of the Muscat and a clean finish.