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.