Armilar 10 Year Old

Armilar 10 Year Old

This ten year old was ridiculously cheap in a certain discount supermarket. The colour was a deep amber with a hint of redness. The nose was light but contained a good mix of sweet spices and oak. Tasting revealed a full bodied richness with a good balance of sweet dried fruit flavours and astringent oak. This wasn't the most complex 10 year old port that I've tasted but it didn't disappoint. How they can sell it at such a bargain price I cannot imagine.

Fletcher's Ruby Reserve

Fletcher's Ruby Reserve

Deep ruby colour with a lightly fruity nose. This port had a soft and fruity character. It had a good balance of fruit flavours and tannins within a gentle rather than rich body.

Taylor's LBV 2017

Taylor's LBV 2017

Inky dark ruby colour with a fruity and alcoholic nose. The taste was a balance between rich fruity flavours and a marked spiciness. This was a smooth and rich port which was eminently drinkable but lacked character.

Taylor's Golden Age 50 Year Old

 Taylor's Golden Age 50 Year Old

 Deep reddish brown colour with a nose strongly reminiscent of an old wine cellar combining a sweet fruity element with a mellow mustiness. Tasting revealed a complex mouthful of flavours having a dry oakiness to the fore. This was followed by a rich fruitiness consisting of dried fruits, plums and walnuts. As you would expect the after taste was rich and long lived.

Maynard's Colheita 2004 bottle in 2019

Maynard's Colheita 2004 bottle in 2019

Deep reddish brown colour with a hint of amber on the rim and interesting woody elements in the nose. Tasting revealed and rich and full bodied port having a long finish. The flavour was a complex and satisfying mixture of sweet plummy and dried fruits mingled with deep dry oak flavours derived from the barrel. This was certainly a port to savour.

Kopke Tawny Reserve (2023)

 Kopke Reserve Tawny (2023)

Well it looks like I last reported on this in 2009. We've found a supplier in the UK, which is great as we've always had a soft spot for Kopke's tawnies. This time we have a deep clear reddish brown colour with hints of amber. There is a hint of oaky richness on the nose. Tasting reveals what could be the ideal port for everyday drinking. It is smooth and sweet with plummy and dried fruit flavours nicely poised over a subtle dry oakiness.

Vieira De Sousa Colheita 2003

 Vieira De Sousa Colheita 2003

There was no indication as to when this was bottled so the length of its time in the cask is a mystery. It had a strange colour with ruby, tawny and amber in approximately even measures. It was quite turbid. There was quite a lot of fruit on the nose alongside subtle hints of oak. The flavour had a significant amount of plummy fruits tempered by some dry oak astrigency suggesting that this port had spent a fair bit of time in balseiros rather than pipas. Still it was pleasant enough to quaff.