Port Pairing with Desserts

[John M.]

Last night our group met and the host did something a little new. We had 6 Ports, served in pairs with each pair paired up with a dessert; it was a different yet successful night. The one big takeaway was that the Port we generally liked better on its own was not the one that paired better with the dessert. After discussing this phenomena, we thought perhaps the dessert took off the rough edges and hence allowed the inferior wine to shine, and for the better Ports the nuances were lost.

First pair was a 2003 Rocha VP and a 2004 Dows Q. Senhora da Ribeira. Dows was the clear favorite on its own, Rocha was a bit brutish (both need at least another 10 years); served with a dense chocolate torte. This was the most pronounced turnaround of the pairings as it was clear the Rocha was better with the chocolate which offset the tannic nature quite effectively. For those keeping score Dows 93, Rocha 89 as solo.

Next was a 2013 Barros LBV and a 2011 Dows LBV served with a sour cherry pie. The Barros had a powerful floral fruit-bomb nose, the Dows was far more muted. The Dows was more approachable now, the Barros was a bit disjointed and likely should be in the cellar for a handful more years. With the Pie the Barros came out on top. Overall, I thought this was the least successful dessert pairing. On their own Barros 87, Dows 88, Barros has much better long term potential.

The last set consisted of two 2000 Colheitas, a Smith Woodhouse and a VZ (Van Zeller). The VZ was great for a 16 year old tawny, great nose, lots of typical complex flavors. The Smith Woodhouse was shy in its flavor profile, compared to the VZ it came across as tawny-lite. These were paired with a pecan tartlet. As paired the SW showed a smokiness and really enhanced the pecan tartlet and vice versa. With the VZ, the nuanced flavors were lost in palate overload. On their own VZ 93, SW 89.

I would not hesitate to do something like this again, but I would also not use and high end ports. Best for the young and less expensive. Overall we acquired the Ports for $190 all in, or $32/per which was perfect for a pairing.

Also, wish I could get more VZ. Friend went to Portugal and brought it back for me. Cannot find it in the states (any year per Wine-Searcher)--a good Port.

[Andy Velebil]

Cool tasting! It is amazing how some Ports do better with certain foods and others don’t. A fantastic learning experience for Everyone there and me the reader after the fact. Thanks for sharing.