Playing Catch-up pt. 2

THE PORT TASTING

Recently, I got the chance to go through a pretty reasonable selection of vintage ports and red table wines from the Duoro. Interesting and educational.

The first three were red table wines from the Duoro region, which I didn’t particularly care for. It seems that if you’re going to get a red wine, you should look for something that isn’t so heavily limited in varietal and climate as these. The table wines are still thick and almost too rich, reflecting some of the heavy residual sugar of actual ports, while missing that comfortable full roundness of something like a California zinfandel.

The vintage ports were certainly great. The quality was instantly noticeable, especially to someone like me who had previously only sampled shiraz- or zinfandel- based ‘port’ wines from outside of Portugal. These wines are great, but often leave a thick sugary finish that can get pretty cloyingly sweet. It was quite interesting to note how age affected the ports over the years. They start off as a balance of fruit and sugar and full body. First the fruit falls back in the mix to expose something more subtle, like spice and chocolate. The wine stays balanced as these complexities emerge, around the ten or even twenty year mark. After that the more intricate complexities also fall out, making the older bottles a sort of a disappointment. The sweetness lingers as the other flavors fade back and the port actually seems to thin. This leaves something less than perfect, like drinking a sweetener with little other flavor.

The following is pretty much a direct copy of my notes, only transcribed into readable sentences:

Dow’s 2004 Vale do Bomfim Douro Reserva

Ruby colored. On the nose, a floral hint, and the usual smell of generic red wine. Noticeably less sweet than regular port. A little thin on the mouth, with very little acidity. Dusty soil and thin fruit, with slight but present tannins.

Post Scriptum Douro 2004

Again, ruby colored. This one has more structure but still isn’t huge by any means. Oak is present on the nose and in the mouth. This wine is also a bit soft. Our speaker compared the bottle to a tempranillo feel with less oak.

Chryseia 2001 Douro

Ruby. Much more fruit on the nose of this wine! The nose of jammy sweetness. The mouth is more full with a nice finish. In contrast to the nose, there is less fruit on the palate. Deep, dark fruit under a soft wine with tannins far below everything else.

Dow’s Qinta da Senhora da Ribeira 2004 Vintage Port

Finally some port. This has a deep ruby color. On the nose, alcohol. Rubbing alcohol, and a little subdued fruitiness. The mouth has tons of residual sugar and heavy, ripe fruit. This wine seems comparable to a young, heavy, sugary California zinfandel.

Graham’s 2003 Vintage Port

Alcohol on the nose, but much less. The wine is quite sweet and sugary. Rich. A huge finish.

Dow’s 2003 Vintage Port

Even less alcohol on the nose. The flavors are more subtle, round and underspoken. Slightly spicy on the finish.

Dow’s 1994 Vintage Port

The color has now shifted to a dusty, brick red. Again, alcohol is more noticeable on the nose, along with some spice and fruit. The flavor is perhaps herbal, and perhaps a bit burnt, like raisins out in the sun too long.

Graham’s 1991 Vintage Port

Dustier in color. Something like chocolate with a hint of spice, and perhaps a bit metallic on the finish, with lots more spice.

Graham’s 1983 Vintage Port

Brick red, in contrast to the burnt sienna colors of the previous two. Again, softer with some chocolate. Maybe herbs, or even grass.

Dow’s 1977 Vintage Port

Sediment is present. Much lighter in color, almost clear at the very edge of the glass. The nose has cinnamon and other spices, and a honey-sweetness is very heavy (The speaker disagrees with this, suggesting that this port has no sweetness on the nose). The mouthfeel is much softer, very light. The flavor is thin yet explosive, with an alcohol presence. Very long finish.

Graham’s 1970 Vintage Port

Again sediment, colored a light brick fading to orange. There is a disintegrating sweetness on the underwhelming nose. The wine is thin but still quite sweet. Any trace of berry fruitiness has disappeared.

Graham’s Six Grapes

Quite thick and dark. A little more cloying sweetness than even the ’03 and ’04 ports. Still a very good bottle of port. I’ll have to recommend it to anyone who doesn’t want to pay eighty dollars a bottle for a vintage port.