Barros LBV 2011

Barros LBV 2011

Deep ruby colour with a light fruit nose. Young tannins were predominating over fruit flavours suggesting that this might have benefited from a little more time before being bottled.

Quinta do Noval LBV 2011

Quinta do Noval LBV 2011

Deep ruby colour with a grapey nose. Sweet and redolent with fresh grape flavours and a complex tannic body.

Kopke LBV 2012

Kopke LBV 2012

Deep inky ruby colour with a fruity nose. Fat plummy mouthful with soft tannins emerging in the aftertaste.

Kopke Colheita 1937 Bottled 2016

Kopke Colheita 1937 Bottled 2016

Amber with a brown tinge. Light oaky nose. Rich, sweet and complex with the various elements harmoniously combined. Dark oak flavours predominating over hints of citrus fruits.

Kopke Colheita 1978 Bottled 2016

Kopke Colheita 1978 Bottled 2016

Amber with a brown tinge. Rich molasses on the nose. Sweet and complex with bitter oak flavours overlaying coffee, citrus and caramel tastes. It starts off elegant and then produced developing complexity in the aftertaste.

Kopke White Colheita 2003 Bottled 2016

Kopke White Colheita 2003 Bottled 2016

Pale gold colour with a nose of fresh sawn timber. Sweet fruity flavour with a marked overlaying component reminiscent of fresh wood shavings.

Augusto's LBV 2012

Augusto's LBV 2012

Deep ruby colour with a fresh fruity nose. Sweet and grapey but not a lot of depth.

Vista Alegre Tawny Reserve

Vista Alegre Tawny Reserve
It's not often we get to taste a new port from the Vallegre stable as we sell their ports in the UK. Well this couldn't have been experienced under better circumstances as it was served during the interval of Fado Performance for which Maria of Vallegre had arranged the tickets. Both the show and the port were excellent.

Well oxidised reddish brown colour with a nose reminiscent of a fruit cake cooking. Rich, sweet and full bodied taste consisting of cooked plum flavours and tart oaky elements.

Quinta dos Corvos Tawny 10 Year Old

Quinta dos Corvos Tawny 10 Year Old

Deep brown colour with a rich nutty nose. Sweet and full bodied combining dried fruits and nuts in a complexity of oak flavours.

Quinta dos Corvos LBV 2012

Quinta dos Corvos LBV 2012

Deep ruby colour and fruity nose. This was a good rich fruity port matching full grape flavours with a balancing level of tannin.

Quinta dos Corvos Tawny Reserve

Quinta dos Corvos Tawny Reserve

Red with a brownish tinge. Dry fruity nose. Rich and satisfying with a fat fruity flavour tempered with dry oak elements.

Quinta dos Corvos White

Quinta dos Corvos White

Deep golden colour with a grapey nose. Sweet with a hint of berry flavour and subtle oakiness. Claimed to be aged 7 years which was consistent with the colour.

Niepoort LBV 2012

Niepoort LBV 2012

Deep ruby colour with a rich fruity nose. The flavour was full and rich redolent with plummy fruit and mild tannins.

Martha's Rosé Port

Martha's Rosé Port

Deep reddish pink colour. Predominantly cherry on the nose. The cherry theme continued in the taste which was rich with an appropriate level of sweetness. We were informed that the grape variety elegance had been used to produce this distinctive port.

Martha's Tawny 10 Year Old

Martha's Tawny 10 Year Old

Dark brown with a hint of red. Rich nutty nose. Sweet and complex with bitter oak predominating over the sweetness of dried fruits. A refreshingly different example of this style.

Martha's Dry White

Martha's Dry White

Pale yellow colour with a fruity nose. Moderately dry but just enough sugar to allow subtle grape flavours to join the usual spiciness associated with this style. This resulted in an interestingly balanced overall taste.

Quinta da Pacheca Tawny 10 Year Old

Quinta da Pacheca Tawny 10 Year Old

Deep brown colour with a nutty nose. Sweet dried fruits and dry oak. Nowhere near as complex as the 20 and 30 year olds but a good and rich example of its type.

Quinta da Pacheca LBV 2012

Quinta da Pacheca LBV 2012

Deep red colour with a delicately fruity nose. Good rich body with a smooth plummy fruitiness. This port was immediately approachable and enjoyable.

Quinta de Tourais Family Tawny

Quinta de Tourais Family Tawny

This was an unregulated fortified wine for family consumption only so we were privileged to be offered a taste of it. It was slightly turbid with a mid brown colour and sweet oaky nose. The flavour was sweet and fruity with a good dose oak making it reminiscent of a quality rum. All this was carried on a smooth and full body.

Quinta do Sagrado White

Quinta do Sagrado White 

Light golden colour with a sweet honey nose. Being quite sweet with marked grape flavours this was more suitable as a desert wine than an aperitif.

Quinta da Trovisca 20 Year Old Tawny

Quinta da Trovisca 20 Year Old Tawny

Clear bright brown in colour with a moderately nutty nose. The taste combined dried fruits and oak flavours in a moderately complex body. The wood elements counteracted the sweetness from the berries to give a satisfying dryness to the finish.

Porto Sequeira LBV 2012

Porto Sequeira LBV 2012

Deep ruby in colour with a pleasantly fruity nose. Tasting revealed a well balanced port with sweet fruit flavours balanced with a good body and hints of tannins. Whilst not outstanding it was pleasant enough to drink and thoroughly enjoyable.

Quinta da Trovisca White

Quinta da Trovisca White

Bright golden colour with a sweet fruity nose. This was a sweet and fruity desert style white port.

Quinta de Val da Figueira Vintage 1995

Quinta de Val da Figueira Vintage 1995

Dark brownish red showing a little oxidation. The nose was full and rich with a hint of oiliness. The taste had good body carrying soft sweet fruit flavours alongside dry spices.

Quinta de Val da Figueira Vintage 1997

Quinta de Val da Figueira Vintage 1997

Moderately oxidised brownish red colour with a salty nose. Sweet rich and full bodied having plummy fruit flavours balanced by salty spices.

Quinta do Sagrado 10 Year Old Tawny

Quinta do Sagrado 10 Year Old Tawny

Well oxidised clear brownish Amber in colour with a nutty nose. This port was moderately dry combining dried fruit flavours with dry oak. It had a reasonable amount of body while the dryness emphasised the wood flavours.

Quinta do Sagrado Vintage 2011

Quinta do Sagrado Vintage 2011 

Deep and intense ruby colour with fresh fruit on the nose. The taste was youthful with fresh grapes and tannins carried on a full body. Although this was good to drink now it has the potential to improve over the next twenty years. Put some in your cellar for later and satisfy your current needs with a good quality ruby reserve or LBV.

Quinta do Sagrado Ruby

Quinta do Sagrado Ruby 

 

Rich and dark ruby in appearance with a fruity nose. This wine had a fresh taste with sweet and soft grape flavours mellowed by green tannins.

Adnams of Southwold Reserve Ruby Port

Adnams of Southwold Reserve Ruby Port

Deep ruby colour with a rich and spicy nose. Although young, this port was rich and full bodied with spicy flavours predominating. These were supported by a satisfyingly soft undercurrent of plummy fruits with just the right amount of fresh tannins. All round this was a good example of a reserve ruby considering how it managed to combine fresh fruity flavours with an elegant and rich spiciness. Adnams have done will to track this one down for their own label offering.

Porto Messias Tawny

Porto Messias Tawny

Well here we were in Toulouse and we just couldn't help ourselves but, on the other hand, the meal just didn't feel complete without a glass of port at the end. Interestingly enough, in this French restaurant it was listed as an aperitif. While we were drinking our ports there was a terrific thunderstorm so we were able to linger over our glasses until the rain eased up.

The port was dark and predominantly red in colour with a fresh and fruity nose. The taste was quite unrefined with young berry flavours predominating and undeveloped tannins very much in evidence. There was little evidence of any oak influence but then what can you expect at €3 a glass.

Vista Alegre Coheita 2000 Bottled 2013

Vista Alegre Colheita 2000 Bottled 2013

It is always interesting to see how a colheita develops with subsequent bottlings. This port had a bright clear amber colour with a rich nose redolent with the scent of dried fruits, which was significantly more developed that at our first encounter. The flavour was rich and warming with a subtle sweetness tempered by the astringent oak elements. This was followed by a long after taste marked by a satisfyingly smooth caramel experience.

Quinta de Val da Figueira Vintage 2000

Quinta de Val da Figueira Vintage 2000

Clear very slightly oxidised dark ruby colour with a sweet and fruity nose. On tasting this port revealed an excellent balance between tannins, sweetness and fruit flavours. It was at a really good point as the various elements combined into a satisfyingly rich harmonious composition. Underneath the rich vintage character there were hints of fresh fruit and oak supplementing the predominant but balanced tannic and sweet characteristics.

Barros Colheita 2003 Bottled 2015

Barros Colheita 2003 Bottled 2015

2003 is shaping up as a pretty good year for vintage port. Now what is a good year for a
vintage is not always reflected in the colheitas for the same year so we thought it would be interesting to see what this one was like. It had a typical deep amber colour combined with a sweet oaky nose. The scent was reminiscent of a rich nutty fruit cake. Tasting revealed a rich and full bodied experience of oak astringency balanced with sweet dried fruit flavours. I usually find that, compared with a port of deliminated age, colheitas lack complexity but make up for it in their finesse. This was born out in this wine where the harmony between bitter wood flavours was so well matched by the sweet dried, almost plummy, fruit elements. This was an excellent representative of this style of port at just 12 years of age.

Fonseca Vintage 1985

Fonseca Vintage 1985

This port had a clear inky dark ruby colour. The appearance was matched with a moderately plummy and fruity nose which was still fresh after 30 years. Tasting revealed a pleasantly plummy and smooth port without a great deal of depth. The ageing had removed all the tannins to leave just a pleasantly fruity and sweet drink with a degree of spiciness that was reminiscent of a plum pie served with custard.

The lack of depth meant this was more akin to a typical single quinta vintage than a full bodied vintage from a really great harvest. However it was pleasant enough in its own right and in perfect condition for current drinking.

Quevedo 30 Year Old White Port

Quevedo 30 Year Old White Port

A golden brown colour was accompanied by a distinctly spicey and oakey nose. There was little sensation of fruit or sweetness in the taste as complex astringent oak and citrus flavours were very much in predominance. This made for a very special port experience that could only have developed in a wine made from white grapes; tawnies of this age usually have quite a significant body built on dried fruit flavours derived from the red berries. This is a port to be sipped and savoured at leisure to allow a full appreciation of its unique properties.