Royal Oporto Rosé

Royal Oporto Rosé 

Bright reddish pink in colour with fresh cherries and strawberries on the nose. Moderately rich and hitting a good middle point on the sweetness scale the predominant flavour was of cherries with other summer fruits in the background.

Porto da Casa de Taberninha do Manel

Porto da Casa de Taberninha do Manel 

Reddish brown colour with a very sweet nose. This port was the sweetest tawny I had ever tasted. The cloying suggary sweetness overwhelmed anything else that might have been going on but I guess there was some fruit and wood in there somewhere. Can't complain though as it was given to us after we paid the bill.

http://taberninhadomanel.pai.pt/ 

Cockburn's Vintage 2007

Cockburn's Vintage 2007 

A deep rich ruby colour prefaced the substantial and plummy nose. This had a robust and fruity body with a lot of tannin quite forward in the taste. It will take longer to mature than the single quinta offering but has the potential to become a more full bodied wine once the tannins have faded.

Quinta dos Canais Vintage 2007

Quinta dos Canais Vintage 2007 

Deep and rich ruby colour combined with a good fruity nose. There was a substantial mouthful of rich plummy fruit flavours which will come to the fore as the residual tannins fade.

Cockburn's LBV 2008

Cockburn's LBV 2008 

Deep ruby colour and a light fruit on the nose. The taste had a well structured combination of fresh berry flavours and tannins in a satisfyingly full body.

Cockburn's Special Reserve

Cockburn's Special Reserve 

Bright ruby colour with a fresh and fruity nose. Youthful and fresh with strong fresh grape flavours and a lot of harsh tannin.

Cockburn's Fine White

Cockburn's Fine White

Bright yellow colour with a gold tinge. The nose was clean and fruity with a distinctively citrus character. The citrus theme carried through in the tasting as the sweetness of this port revealed fresh orange flavours combined with a honey warmth.

Graham's Tawny 20 Year Old (Bottled 2013)

Graham's Tawny 20 Year Old (Bottled 2013)

Clear mid-brown colour which was just a little paler than the 10 year old. The nose held a lot of promise being richly filled with the smell of a Christmas pudding cooking. The taste did not disappoint combining dried fruits and orange peal with dry oak and a hint of molasses.

Graham's Tawny 10 Year Old (Bottled 2012)

Graham's Tawny 10 Year Old (Bottled 2012) 

Clear mid-brown colour with a full nose of woody dried fruits. This was a full bodied port with rich dried fruits tempered with a woody astringency.

Graham's Quinta dos Malvedos Vintage 2001

Graham's Quinta dos Malvedos Vintage 2001 

Lightly oxidised ruby in colour with a richly plummy nose. Beautifully rich and full bodied with well developed fruit flavours.

Graham's Crusted Port (Bottled in 2004)

Graham's Crusted Port (Bottled in 2004)

Slightly oxidised ruby colour. The nose was quite full with a predominance of plum jam. On tasting it came across as being like a slightly corked vintage. The body was full and fruit but there were hints of aldehydes giving it a noticeably medicinal edge.

Churchill's Tawny 10 Year Old

Churchill's Tawny 10 Year Old

Deep well oxidised brown colour with a surprisingly light nose. This was quite dry which held back the usual dried fruits and oak flavours. As a result it was not dissimilar to an aged dry white. From this tasting it appears that Churchill's house style is towards the dry end of the spectrum so if you prefer your ports dry it would be worth giving them a try.

Churchill's Ruby Reserve

Churchill's Ruby Reserve

Bright ruby colour with a light but plummy nose. Moderately sweet and fruity but somewhat spoiled by a preponderance of young vegetable elements. Perhaps this has been emphasised by the relatively dry style of this wine.

Churchill's Dry White

Churchill's Dry White

Bright golden colour with a floral nose. Quite dry with only a little fruit coming through. There was a noticeable contribution from the wood though.

Cálem Tawny Reserve

Cálem Tawny Reserve

Deep clear brown colour with rich fruity molasses on the nose. There was a substantial fruity body carrying a complexity of sweet dried fruits and dry slightly burnt oak elements.