Thursday 26 December 2013

Ramos Pinto Quinta do Bom Retiro Tawny 20 yo

Ramos Pinto Quinta do Bom Retiro Tawny 20 Years Old


Deep amber colour. Rich nose of dried fruits and old wood. Smooth combination of butterscotch, dried fruit and a good chew of wood. Satisfying body in an excellent port.

Quinta de Marrocos Tawny 20 Year Old

Quinta de Marrocos Tawny 20 Year Old

Deep amber and clear. Nose of dried fruits and nuts. Sweet yet quite astringent giving a good balance of dried fruits, butterscotch and oak. Good body in an excellent example of this style of port.

Barros Tawny

Barros Tawny

Deep amber colour. Unrefined sugary nose. Rich, sweet and smooth tasting of spicey dried fruits.

Quevedo Ruby

Quevedo Ruby

Deep ruby colour. Nose had hints of dried fruits. Sweet rich and spicey but somewhat unrefined showing its youthfulness.

Vista Alegre Ruby Reserve

Vista Alegre Ruby Reserve

Deep ruby colour with a fruity spicey nose. Well balanced and smooth combining plummy fruits with a spicey edge.

Sunday 22 December 2013

Quinta do Noval Vintage 1963

Quinta do Noval Vintage 1963


Fortunately I aquired two bottles of this as there was very little of the label left on the bottle I opened. There was sufficient label left on the other bottle to establish that both came from the Quinta's 150th anniversary bottling in 1963. The wine had a clear reddish amber colour with a mature leathery nose a couple of hours after being decanted. The drinking was sweet, plummy and spicey all at the same time. The long ageing had allowed a harmonious blending of the disparate taste elements thus delivering a superbly statisfying drinking experience.

Saturday 14 December 2013

Kopke Colheita 1953 (Bottled 2013)

Kopke Colheita 1953 (Bottled 2013)


We bought this very special bottle of port to celebrate our coming of old age. It was clear dark brown colour with an almost oily rich nose. On tasting the wood elements were very much predominant. However they were pleasantly tempered by just a little residual fruity sweetness. So there was a rich complex oaky bitterness which had the edge taken off it by a compensating sweetness. However words just cannot describe the experience of drinking something like this where the elements have had many years to combine into a harmonious and fulfilling experience.