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.