Kopke 10 Year Old

Kopke 10 Year Old

It's been eight years since I last had some of this so it is time to see if there have been any changes. Deep reddish amber colour with a distinguished nose of old wood and dark sugar. Oak flavours were very much to the fore in this full bodied and complex port. They were tempered by the sweet taste of dried fruits and orange peel. I have always been impressed by the robustness of Kopke's aged tawnies and this one certainly lives up to that reputation.

Barros 10 Year Old

Barros 10 Year Old

Well it's been ten years since I last tasted this one so let's see if anything has changed. Clear reddish amber in colour with fruit and dried peel on the nose. The taste was rich and smooth combining dried fruits and oak with notable citrus hints. It was the striking presence of orangey flavours that differed from the previous tasting. Overall they contribute to making this a fine port indeed.

Quevedo Colheita 1996 bottled in 2016

Quevedo Colheita 1996 bottled in 2016

The last Quevedo Colheita from 1996 that I tasted was bottled in 2013. This offering was very different in character which just goes to show what an interesting subject colheita ports make. The colour of this one was quite red but with a brownish tinge whilst the nose was surprisingly plummy. Rather than the dried fruits and oak that one might expect the predominant taste was of rich cooked plums tempered by a complex oakiness. I had this on taste alongside a single quinta 1997 vintage at a show; it was surprising how similar the fruit flavours in this colheita were to those in the vintage. Altogether this made for an intriguing and enjoyable port.

Poças Pink

Poças Pink

This port had a deep red colour halfway between claret and dark cherry. The nose was not striking but hinted at cherries. Similar to the nose on tasting a somewhat characterless wine was revealed. There were hints of richness and fruit flavours but nothing really stood out.

Niepoort Colheita 2005 Bottled In 2017

Niepoort Colheita 2005 Bottled In 2017

Deep reddish amber colour with a light plummy nose. This port had fruit flavours very much to the fore suggesting that a significant part of the ageing had been done in large vessels. However the sweet fruit elements were pleasantly balanced by more than a hint of dry oak giving a pleasantly balanced and elegant effect.

Quevedo LBV 2012

Quevedo LBV 2012

Deep but bright ruby colour with a fresh and fruity nose. Tasting revealed a port which exhibited great balance and depth. The sweet grapey fruit flavours were balanced with just the right amount of tanin so that there was a pleasing harmony between the sweet and bitter elements. The fruit was fresh in character but the body was so full that this only enhanced the overall effect.

Kopke Colheita 1981 Bottled 2017

Kopke Colheita 1981 Bottled 2017

Deep brown with an amber tinge and a spicey alcoholic nose. This port was full bodied and unctious. Rich sweet dried fruits flavours were predominant over a background of dry oak.

Quinta Santa Eufêmia Colheita 2003 Bottled 2017

Quinta Santa Eufêmia Colheita 2003 Bottled 2017

Deep clear reddish brown colour with a rich nose of molasses. This rich port was satisfyingly sweet and woody. It exhibited the finesse of a colheita in the balance it achieved between fruit and oak.

Quinta Santa Eufêmia Vintage 2014

Quinta Santa Eufêmia Vintage 2014

Deep cloudy purple red colour with a rich vegetable smell reminiscent of a well trodden lagar. The taste was full bodied and like a spicey alcoholic grape juice. Which was basically what it was.

Vista Alegre Colheita 2004 Bottled 2015

Vista Alegre Colheita 2004 Bottled 2015

Dark ruby colour with a rich complex oakey nose. Full bodied and fruity with strong wood undertones.

Niepoort Colheita 2000 Bottled 2017

Niepoort Colheita 2000 Bottled 2017

Deep brown colour with an oakey nose. This port exhibited a typical colheita elegance exquisitely balancing dry oak astrigency with rich and sweet dried fruits.

Royal Oporto 40 Year Old

Royal Oporto 40 Year Old

Deep amber colour with a moderate oakey nose. Complex and deep harmony of rich and sweet dried fruits with dry oak astringency. This full bodied port was long lasting.

Royal Oporto Colheita 1976 Bottled 2016

Royal Oporto Colheita 1976 Bottled 2016

Bright amber colour with a light fruity nose. There was a marked woody edge to the taste of this port which nevertheless displayed elegance in the harmony between oak and fruity sweetness.

Royal Oporto Colheita 1977 Bottled 2013

Royal Oporto Colheita 1977 Bottled 2013

Deep amber colour with a moderately rich nose. Fairly light in body but elegantly combining the sweet and oakey elements in a beautiful balance.

Royal Oporto Colheita 1980 Bottled 2016

Royal Oporto Colheita 1980 Bottled 2016

Deep amber colour with a strikingly full nose of rich dried fruit. On tasting one found a full bodied, rich and long lasting port elegantly balancing astringent oak flavours with the fruit derived sweetness.

Royal Oporto Colheita 2001 Bottled 2017

Royal Oporto Colheita 2001 Bottled 2017

Deep brown colour with a hint of amber. Lightly oakey nose. Good body combining a moderate amount of oak with rich dried fruit flavours.

Royal Oporto Colheita 2005 Bottled 2013

Royal Oporto Colheita 2005 Bottled 2013

Bright brown colour with a hint of amber. The nose was light but carried hints of sweet oak. Tasting revealed a well balanced flavour of dry oak and sweet fruits.

Royal Oporto Rosé

Royal Oporto Rosé

Pale pink colour with a light floral nose. The flavour was sweet light and grapey.

Royal Oporto White

Royal Oporto White

Bright yellow colour with a light fruity nose. Moderately grapey with a warming after taste. Pleasant but not distinctive.

Real Companhia Velha Lágrima

Real Companhia Velha Lágrima

Pale yellow colour with a honeyish nose. Intensely sweet and grapey with a warming richness.

Pacheca 30 Year Old

Pacheca 30 Year Old

Deep golden brown colour with a rich and sweet oakey nose. This port exhibited a profound experience combining bitter wood flavours with sweet dried fruits.

Pacheca LBV 2013

Pacheca LBV 2013

Deep ruby colour with a plummy nose. Sweet and fruity with quite a lot of green tanins.

Fraga d'Ouro Colheita 1986 Bottled 2012

Fraga d'Ouro Colheita 1986 Bottled 2012

Deep brown colour with a tinge of amber. The nose was rich and treacley. Tasting revealed a rich harmony of sweet burnt sugars against a robust oak background. This port had great long lasting depth.

Fraga de Ouro 20 Year Old

Fraga de Ouro 20 Year Old

Deep brown colour with a nose of rich fruit cake. A good combination of dried fruits, burnt sugar and old oak but surprisingly lacking in depth.

Sandemans Tawny

Sandemans Tawny

Deep reddish brown colour with sweet rich oaky nose. This port was sweet and rich giving a good balance between the predominant dry oak flavours and underlying sultana fruitiness.

Quinta do Tedo Vintage 2013

Quinta do Tedo Vintage 2013

Deep ruby colour with a full plummy nose. Marked tanins combined with fresh grapes in this young and undeveloped wine.

Quinta do Tedo LBV 2011

Quinta do Tedo LBV 2011

Deep ruby colour with a subtle grapey nose. Full bodied with significant tanins alongside rich fruit flavours.

Quinta do Tedo Fine Tawny

Quinta do Tedo Fine Tawny

I wouldn't normally recomment on a port but this batch is of exceptional quality. The colour was a deep reddish brown with a rich plummy nose. The taste was remarkably full bodied and rich combining subtly plummy fruit flavours with bitter burnt oak elements.

Martha's Extra Dry White

Martha's Extra Dry White

Deep yellow colour bordering on amber whilst the nose was surprisingly fruity. The taste was markedly dry and spicey with very little fruit flavour.

Martha's White

Martha's White

Clear golden colour with a fresh grapey nose. Very sweet and grapey just the way the Portuguese like it!

Porto Réccua 30 Year Old

Porto Réccua 30 Year Old

Clear amber colour with an oakey nose. This port exhibited an excellent combination of sweet dried fruit flavours and dry oak elements.

Porto Réccua 20 Year Old

Porto Réccua 20 Year Old

Clear amber colour with a distinctly woody nose. Long taste of dry oakiness balanced with sweet elements of dried fruits.

Porto Réccua 10 Year Old

Porto Réccua 10 Year Old

Bright amber colour with a rich nose of nuts and dried fruits. After the impressive nose the flavour was slightly on the light side with usual combination of dried fruit and oak flavours.

Porto Réccua Tawny Reserve

Porto Réccua Tawny Reserve

Clear reddish brown colour with a moderately nutty nose. Sweet rich and fruity with plenty of dry wood flavours to balance out the sweetness.

Porto Cedro Dry White

Porto Cedro Dry White

Pale yellow colour with a light grapey nose. The taste was no more than medium dry. As a result there was a pleasant combination of spicey flavours alongside those of fresh grapes.

Porto Cedro White

Porto Cedro White

Light golden colour with a sweet honey nose. This was markedly sweet with a rich taste of honey and grapes.

Primes Tawny

Primes Tawny

Oxidised brownish red colour with a light slightly fruity nose. Rich and warming this port combined plummy fruits with light oak flavours.

Niepoort Secundum Vintage 1999

Niepoort Secundum Vintage 1999

Strikingly clear bright ruby colour with a rich and plummy nose. Tasting revealed a delicious combination of jammy fruits. Whilst not the most full bodied of ports the harmony of the sweet fruit flavours and absence of any detracting harshness made this a pleasure to drink. There was the ideal amount of tannic residue to balance the prominent flavour which was akin to that of a jam made out of autumnal fruits. It will be interesting to see how this wine develops.

I have to take my hat off to Niepoort in their choice of bottle and cork. This was one of the easiest vintages I have ever had to decant. I managed to pour practically the whole bottle into a receiving vessel whilst leaving the crud behind. As a result my antique port filter had very little work to do. You can see that the bottle was a little bit dumpy which in my view is an ideal shape for vintage port. As a result of the use of a long cork there were no apparent and unwanted contribution from oxidation.

Augusto's Fine Tawny

 Augusto's Fine Tawny

This was an example of the archetypal portugese tawny port. It had a slightly oxidised deep red colour with a mildly plummy nose. Tasting revealed an excellently balanced wine combining elements of sweet plummy fruits with a long finish of dry oak. It was satisfyingly reminiscent of all those unattributed tawny ports enjoyed over the years in Portuguese restaurants while standing out as one of the best of them.

Martha's Pink

Martha's Pink

Deep cherry red colour with rich grapey nose. This port was satisfyingly full bodied having rich berry flavours combined with more than a hint of black cherry.

Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage 1996

Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage 1996

Deep clear ruby colour with a plummy nose. After about five hours this rich port opened up revealing a moderate body and a sweet flavour principally reminiscent of cooked plums backed by a strong spiciness.

Poças 10 Year Old

Poças 10 Year Old

Clear reddish brown colour with a nose reminiscent of a port wine lodge. By that I mean the smell of old oak moistened for years with sweet port. The flavour was sweet and oaky. This wine was not the richest and most complex example but managed to exhibit predominantly sweet oak flavours with a hint of slightly burnt orange.

Niepoort 10 Year Old

Niepoort 10 Year Old

Moderate brown colour with a lightly nutty nose. The flavour was quite dry and light, which was probably the intention of the producer. This wine would do well chilled as an aperitif. However we preferred the sweetness and fuller, more complex body of the Graham's that we were comparing it with as a digestive.

Quinta Santa Eufémia Rosé

Quinta Santa Eufémia Rosé

 Clear light ruby coloured in appearance, there was a fairly rich nose redolent of cherries. This was a rich rosé with fresh red grape flavours predominating over hints of cherries and strawberries. Although richer than many rosé ports the flavours were so harmonious that the end result was a very fine port indeed.

Now how do I get to photograph the bottle before it is half gone? I must get myself more organised!