For The Love Of Port

This used to be a real favorite of mine, but somehow I did not taste it for three years or so...so this was a good excuse to open a bottle. Bought the day of tasting (E 14,95), opened and tasted non-blind from the IVDP-glass. Looks good, dark, with a ruby red rim. Nice nose: quite potent, fresh, wit...

D’Oliveira 1900 Malvazia Reserva (Madeira) – I had two glasses left of this Madeira, which I had opened a few months ago. I poured it blind for the others. I think I turned some people on to Madeira with this wine…and I enjoyed it tremendously as well. This tasting note is one of several related ta...

Senhora do Convento NV 10 Year Old Tawny – bottled in 2003. Orange / red colour, a bit cloudy. Nice nose, if somewhat light. Thick bodied, with a creamy mouthfeel. Somewhat diluted as well: the amount of flavours (nice caramel and citrus, apple syrup) do not match with the structure of this wine. B...

Kopke 1986 Colheita – bottled in 2005. Rather brown. Quite fresh on the nose, with a whiff of VA. Medium bodied, hot and very sweet with overripe if not rotten fruit. Weak finish, but with a nice chocolate touch to it. 76 I’ve had the Kopke ’86 a few times now from several different bottlings, but ...

Kopke 1998 LBV – bottled in 2003. Mature in both the appearance as on the nose: dried fruits, dades, fresh, but a bit alcoholic as well. Thin to medium bodied, with an odd apple touch. Bitter and hot finish. Yet another disappointing Kopke LBV. 76 This tasting note is one of several related tasting...

Fonseca 1999 LBV – bottled in 2004. Good colour, still surprisingly dark. Wow, that nose! Alcoholic beyond believe, it made my eyes water. Thin bodied, but with loads of coarse tannins – not a good balance. Not as hot as other Fonseca LBVs. The palate is mostly about red cherry, but keep it longer ...

Dow’s 1995 Qta. d. Bomfim VP – This should have been decanted a bit longer, as it was still somewhat closed. Nice fruity nose, that seems to continue on the palate. One of the sweeter Bomfims. Well-integrated tannins. Long, warm finish. Obviously very young, but enjoyable as well. 91 This tasting n...

Heredias 1997 VP – This VP had a great nose upon decanting, but when this was poured it had closed up completely. Well structured, fresh, fine tannins, smooth. On the sweet side. Very accessible already. Not very complex, but a Port with everything in the right place. 88 After some feeble LBVs from...

Qta. d. Javali 2001 LBV – bottled in 2005. I won’t provide a TN, as Ronnie and I are the Dutch importer of this LBV…but the fact that we finished close to three bottles of this LBV leads me to believe that the other like it quite a bit… This tasting note is one of several related tasting notes. Cli...

Messias 1995 Quinta do Cachão LBV – bottled 1999. Not very outspoken on the nose, but good: dried figs, rosebuds. Somewhat alcoholic (although this blew off with some more waltzing). Medium bodied, well structure and great balance. This is fully mature, with secondary flavours dominating the midpal...

Quinta das Heredias 1995 LBV – bottled 1999. Impressive, extremely impressive…how can one manage to make a Port THIS awful? Ridiculously disgusting – utter crap. Time has not been kind to this LBV; when I tasted it last in May last year I gave this 68 points…now it receives 58. Avoid! This tasting ...

Quinta do Passadouro 1995 LBV – bottled 1999. Ah, we’re home again! The three of us had just to sniff this to identify this as the Passadouro (we tasted it a few times already). This still smells young, in fact it open up considerably in glass. Loads of dark berry fruit. Supple structure, good frui...

Quinta do Castelinho 1995 LBV – bottled 1999. Unhealthy brick red. Not very outspoken on the nose, artificially sweet, chemical fruits, somewhat dusty (but not corked). Medium thick, glycerolic. Very sharp on the midpalate, and lacking in fruit. Very sweet and hot going down, some acidity and a gre...

Quinta de la Rosa 1995 LBV – bottled 1999. Showing some maturity, but still very dark. Very strange nose: this smelled like the beach – silt, floodline, wet wood. Not unappealing (in fact I liked it), but not something one expects to find in a Port. Pretty thin bodied, but still with some tannins l...

1995 Ferreira VP – now this smells young. I mean, REALLY young. The palate is not much different: full, rich and primairy. A good balance, but also a bit “angular”, if you know what I mean. Supple finish with yummy red cherries, lingering and warm. I was impressed – really impressed – with this Por...

b]1997 Sandeman VP[/b] – not the Vau. Nose: closed. Palate: well structured, thick, with a backbone of very ripe fruit. Good finish, tannic. This Port seemed to be almost completely closed to me. Revisit in 5 years. This tasting note is one of several related tasting notes. Click [here] to see the o...

2003 Noval VP – Stop spitting and start drinking. Droooooool. Repeat.

This tasting note is one of several related tasting notes. Click [here] to see the original note in context.

1994 Offley VP – wow, this smells minty…odd. Some dark fruit aromas, but it’s mostly mint, mint and mint again. Well structured, good balance, juicy red fruit if a tad medicinal. The finish was a let-down, though: very, very sweet with artificial fruit candy flavours lingering on. I did not like it...

b]1989 Gran Cruz VP[/b] – what fun to see this wine in the line-up! I was very interested to find out how this would taste after the stories of the Crusting Pipe offline. I did not find the nose that enchanting – it did not give much. Supple bodied, nice structure, but a bit medicinal tasting. A sli...

1985 Poças VP – a pleasant surprise! Licorice on the nose, with still some fresh red fruit. Almost fresh. Medium bodied, bordering the full. Spicy and smokey, with a hint of dades. Smooth caramel on the nice finish. Good wine, drinking very well now, but capable of additional aging. This tasting no...