2008 Cruz Colheita Port

[Will W.]

When I purchased this bottle, the 2008 Cruz Colheita had already been heavily discounted for some time in local supermarkets. This fact suggested to me that it had still earlier been found by the producer to be unfit for inclusion in the Gran Cruz 10 Year Old Tawny - a port which amounts to little more than potable rubbish. In the event, this colheita did not clear even that low bar.

The bottle did not indicate the year that it had been filled, though circumstances would suggest a 2019 or 2020 bottling. In the glass on 20 January 2021, the wine did not look at all disagreeable, showing as it did reddish-brown hues redolent of a more mature wine. The nose was less appealing, the prominent notes being damp undergrowth, soap residue and heat masquerading as spice. However, where the wheels really fell off this wagon was at the mouth, to which the port provided something of an unpleasant shock. At the fore palate, a whiff (albeit not more) of prune was discernible, giving way to bitter grape stem and, in turn, stale spices. The finish was evocative of aguardiente, the most distinguished aspects of which were the lack of bite and not unpleasant warmth. There was little in the way of tannic structure to this wine, which pointed to the producer’s use of grapes fit for no more than the production of a basic ruby - a conclusion which, if correct, would explain why the wine appeared in the glass to be older than it was. After the second pour - to confirm how bad the port was for the purposes of preparing this tasting note - the remainder of the bottle was offered to the bacterial life inhabiting the municipal sewers.

-80 points

[Andy Velebil]

Makes you wonder how the IVDP approved it in the first place.

[Will W.]

My vague understanding is that when it comes to a colheita the producer need only prove that the wine was laid down at a given year. Or have I got that wrong, Andy?