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.