For The Love Of Port

Hi João I've learned a lot from reading the questions and your answers, thank you for participating here. Your wines and Ports do not seem to be widely available in the Seattle, WA area so sadly, I have not had the opportunity to taste many of them. Can you tell me who my local importer / distributo...

Andy - Still drinking Port, though beer, cocktails and cars have held my interest the last few months....

Glenn - This was at the Uptown Hideway and arranged by McCarthy & Schiering wine shop.

Did anyone make it to the tasting at World of Wines? How was it?

I would think you could do an interesting twist on any cocktail that calls for sweet Italian Vermouth by substituting a young Ruby Port for the Vermouth.

My local wine shop put together an informal tasting with the distributor of Kopke and Rocha, and Sandra Marques, the export manager for Porto Kopke and Porto Rocha. Since it was an informal affair and it's difficult to take notes while standing and holding a glass of Port, here are a few brief impre...

I wish I could be there but I already have plans that weekend.

Dark purple color. A little heat on the nose. Flavors of coco and red fruit. Moderate firm tannin with nice acidity. A bit of heat on the finish. 88 points

Soft tannins with a nice level of sweetness. Aromas and flavors of chocolate, raspberry, and cinnamon. Fairly sweet. Drink now. 89 points.

4/30/2010

Dark red. Aromas of cherry, strawberry, and black pepper. Well integrated alcohol. Moderate tannins that are slightly chalky and leads to a dry finish. Might need a couple years for the tannins to soften. 90 points.

4/30/2010

Bottled 2005. Walnuts on the nose. Reddish tint and very clear. Good complexity on the finish. Rich, full bodied and sweet. Low to medium acidity. Just a little tannin showing. Finishes with a rancio character and caramel / vanilla. 92 points

4/30/2010

Bottled 2004. Lovely nose of butterscotch and almonds. Lively acidity with medium to full body. Very nice flavors. "Pecan pie in a glass" was mentioned and that describes this very well. Very nice lingering finish with a hint of dried orange peel. 94 points

4/30/2010 Medium dark red. Surprisingly not as dark as the 1980 Graham tasted alongside. Lovely perfumed nose with hints of dates and plums. Fine grained tannins with well integrated alcohol leads to a subtle warm finish. Nicely complex, finishing with some cigar smoke / sweet tobacco and showing so...

4/30/2010

Dark red color, nearly opaque and looks young. Moderate tannins that are a bit coarse. Medium weight. A little bit of cherry on the otherwise reticent nose. A little heat on the finish. Finishes spicy with a hint of raspberry. 92 points

4/30/2010 Clear medium ruby color. Nose of cinnamon, and raspberry. Smooth and sweet on the palate with flavors of chocolate and strawberry. A little heat with a nice warm finish. A little tight initially, this needed more air. A couple hours into the tasting it really started to open up. Gaining co...

Glenn,

I'm in. Please send me your address.

I have a slight preference for Saturday, May 1 but Friday works too.

1996 Grahams Malvedos Very dark color. The nose was very primary with lots of fruit, blackberry, cherry, and mocha. Huge firm structure. Moderate acidity, nice sweetness. A great finish with lots of fruit, plum, and pumpkin pie spice. This wine was really open and drinking amazingly well. Lots of li...

1985 Grahams Lighter than the 1996 Malvedos but not a lot. The nose on this was tight and not revealing much. Some cherry and light chocolate scents. The palate was rather nice, smooth, rich, and voluptuous. Well integrated tannin and nice subtle acidity. Some heat showing which leads to a warm figg...

Todd, It looks like we're holding down the fort this month. Here is a quick taste note on the 2000 Ramos Pinto L.B.V. (bottled 2005, unfiltered). This is my second time with this vintage of the Ramos Pinto LBV. I have also tasted the 1998 Ramos Pinto LBV which I enjoyed very much. The color is dark ...

1995 Warre's Late Bottled Vintage Porto Unfiltered. Bottled 1999. I've tasted this over a dozen times. Needless to say, this is one of my favorite LBV's. The color is still dark red and not really showing any signs of age. The nose is showing some high-toned alcohol, maybe a touch of VA. It's in the...

Derek, I hope you can forgive me but I opened up a 2003 VP. In my defense the store I purchased it at does not have any "off" vintages of VP. Also, in my opinion, it is not a major producer of VP although they make some mighty fine Colheita's. 2003 Kopke On initial opening it shows signifi...