Lets try to be a little technical for this month Virtugal Tasting. We did not reach a majority on the topic suggestions, so I've pick a little of everything to make an interesting VT.
You can pick wathever tawny style port you want(white, red, colheita) and you'll have to report you impression of the drink at two differents stages. Lets compare our impressions of the tawny when it is chilled, 10-12 celcius VS when it is at room temperature 16-18 celcius. How is the acidity, the sugar, the complexity, the flavours between the 2 temperatures. Of course let us know at which stage you did prefer it.
Have a good VT !
July 2008 VT : Chilled VS Non-Chilled Tawny
Moderators: Glenn E., Roy Hersh, Andy Velebil
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Frederick Blais
- Posts: 2708
- Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:07 am
- Location: Porto, Portugal
July 2008 VT : Chilled VS Non-Chilled Tawny
Living the dream and now working for a Port company
Re: July 2008 VT : Chilled VS Non-Chilled Tawny
I think it will be very interesting to get the comparative impressions at room temperature vs. chilled. Pay close attention to the dynamics that Fred has mentioned, to truly sense what the differences are. I look forward to reading this thread over the course of July! Thanks Monsieur Blais.
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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Frederick Blais
- Posts: 2708
- Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:07 am
- Location: Porto, Portugal
Re: July 2008 VT : Chilled VS Non-Chilled Tawny
Shy to be the ice breaker? 
I'll give you my impression on Kopke Colheita 83 that I did share with Luc "peanut butter" Gauthier.
I did let the bottle in the freezer prior to open it so I was sure I got a few glasses of chilled port as the weather in those days here is really intense.
When the port was chilled, it was displaying quite a mute nose, mainly buttery hazelnut with some grilled caramel. The palate was shy on first touch to deliver some very sweet flavours and a lingering finish as the wine heats up on the palate.
On the other hand, the room temperature glass was displaying the same aromatic profile with more amplitude and definition, but still it was not as much expressive as it would be. The palate felt more on the acidity side than sweet sugary texture, with a very long and complex finish.
If the room temperature glass was more complex and the flavours more focus, the chilled version was more balanced showing absolutly no heat and the texture was lovely.
I'll give you my impression on Kopke Colheita 83 that I did share with Luc "peanut butter" Gauthier.
I did let the bottle in the freezer prior to open it so I was sure I got a few glasses of chilled port as the weather in those days here is really intense.
When the port was chilled, it was displaying quite a mute nose, mainly buttery hazelnut with some grilled caramel. The palate was shy on first touch to deliver some very sweet flavours and a lingering finish as the wine heats up on the palate.
On the other hand, the room temperature glass was displaying the same aromatic profile with more amplitude and definition, but still it was not as much expressive as it would be. The palate felt more on the acidity side than sweet sugary texture, with a very long and complex finish.
If the room temperature glass was more complex and the flavours more focus, the chilled version was more balanced showing absolutly no heat and the texture was lovely.
Living the dream and now working for a Port company
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Frederick Blais
- Posts: 2708
- Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:07 am
- Location: Porto, Portugal
Re: July 2008 VT : Chilled VS Non-Chilled Tawny
Anyone having a chilled tawny that they can let slowly warm in their glass this summer?
Living the dream and now working for a Port company
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Glenn E.
- Posts: 8172
- Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:49 am
- Location: Sammamish, Washington, United States of America - USA
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Re: July 2008 VT : Chilled VS Non-Chilled Tawny
I will be this weekend!
It's not planned, but somehow I'm always "late" with the monthly VT. I never get around to it until the 2nd half of the month!
It's not planned, but somehow I'm always "late" with the monthly VT. I never get around to it until the 2nd half of the month!
Glenn Elliott
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Andy Velebil
- Posts: 16626
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- Location: Los Angeles, California, United States of America - USA
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Re: July 2008 VT : Chilled VS Non-Chilled Tawny
I must apologize, this has been one of those super busy months, and for the first time in a very long time, i have had way more dry wines than Port. So much so that I really havn't had much at all, sans the 1966 horizontal recently. I will try to get back to this months a little late, probably the first week of august.
Andy Velebil Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used. William Shakespeare http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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Todd Pettinger
- Posts: 2022
- Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 7:59 am
- Location: Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada
Noval 10 Yr Tawny - Chilled VS Non-Chilled
Noval 10 Year Tawny - chilled
I poured half of a bottle of this into an empty half and threw it into the refridgerator. While I cannot claim to know the exact temperature of the fridge, it is a standard, residential fridge on a medium cold setting (the settings on the fridge are 1 -7 where 1 is 'least cold' and 7 is 'most cold.' My own is set to 4.) Roughly 24 hours was allowed to elapse prior to the TN being taken.
Cold and refreshing on a hot day, this Port gave a nose of muted butterscotch. A slight odour of varnish showed late into the smell, almost lingering in the background. Not much expression. A bit of spirit present on the nose and some refreshing acidity shows through in the mouth. Chilled, it is muted, biting the tongue with muted caramel and butterscotch. Seemed to be a bit thinner than the same Port at room temperature.
I did allow one sample glass to warm to room temperature where it showed much more expression on the nose, much like it's room temperature partner.
Noval 10 Year Tawny - room temperature
This tawny was left in the original bottle and allowed to come to room temperature from cellar temp. Again, elapsed time before this TN was taken was roughly 24 hours.
At room temperature this port seems almost to swirl slower and be more viscous than when chilled. The nose is less muted with strong butterscotch, caramel, tar and wood aromas. Some pipe tobacco lingered in the end of the nose but the slight amount of varnish did not seem to be present as in the chilled version.
All along the mouth was much more vibrant with flavours that were more defined than when chilled. I did enjoy the Port more when at room temperature than when very chilled. I believe that the ideal temperature may have been a couple of degrees cooler than room temperature, particularly because "room temperature" was 22 degrees Celcius on a day I did not have the AC turned on.
Interesting experiment. One I duplicated with another Port...
Todd
I poured half of a bottle of this into an empty half and threw it into the refridgerator. While I cannot claim to know the exact temperature of the fridge, it is a standard, residential fridge on a medium cold setting (the settings on the fridge are 1 -7 where 1 is 'least cold' and 7 is 'most cold.' My own is set to 4.) Roughly 24 hours was allowed to elapse prior to the TN being taken.
Cold and refreshing on a hot day, this Port gave a nose of muted butterscotch. A slight odour of varnish showed late into the smell, almost lingering in the background. Not much expression. A bit of spirit present on the nose and some refreshing acidity shows through in the mouth. Chilled, it is muted, biting the tongue with muted caramel and butterscotch. Seemed to be a bit thinner than the same Port at room temperature.
I did allow one sample glass to warm to room temperature where it showed much more expression on the nose, much like it's room temperature partner.
Noval 10 Year Tawny - room temperature
This tawny was left in the original bottle and allowed to come to room temperature from cellar temp. Again, elapsed time before this TN was taken was roughly 24 hours.
At room temperature this port seems almost to swirl slower and be more viscous than when chilled. The nose is less muted with strong butterscotch, caramel, tar and wood aromas. Some pipe tobacco lingered in the end of the nose but the slight amount of varnish did not seem to be present as in the chilled version.
All along the mouth was much more vibrant with flavours that were more defined than when chilled. I did enjoy the Port more when at room temperature than when very chilled. I believe that the ideal temperature may have been a couple of degrees cooler than room temperature, particularly because "room temperature" was 22 degrees Celcius on a day I did not have the AC turned on.
Interesting experiment. One I duplicated with another Port...
Todd
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Todd Pettinger
- Posts: 2022
- Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 7:59 am
- Location: Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada
Portal Fine White Porto - Chilled VS Non-Chilled
Portal Fine White Porto - chilled
I poured half of a bottle of this into an empty half and threw it into the refridgerator. While I cannot claim to know the exact temperature of the fridge, it is a standard, residential fridge on a medium cold setting (the settings on the fridge are 1 -7 where 1 is 'least cold' and 7 is 'most cold.' My own is set to 4. Roughly 24 hours was allowed to elapse prior to the TN being taken.
Ugh. Not a whole lot of notes on this because it was awful. I did give it it's fair chance though... When very chilled, this port is harsh and astringent on the nose. The aromas were not very good when chilled. I honestly did not take many notes or spend a lot of time on this one because it was, in a word, awful when cold.
After an hour had elapsed it was better, just under room temperature. I guess it would be around cellar temperature and that is about perfect.
Portal Fine White Porto - room temperature
This Port was left in the original bottle and allowed to come to room temperature from cellar temp. Again, elapsed time before this TN was taken was roughly 24 hours.
Much better at room temperature. While there is still quite a bit of acidity an d bite at room temperature, it is not so overwhelming as to ruin the tasting experience.
The nose on this port is not great to begin with, most of the aromas I cannot put my finger on, but not entirely pleasant. The flavours do make up for that shortcoming though and at slightly less than room temperature, I like this white Port just fine.
Interesting experiment. Not one I will ever repeat with this particular Port. I can definitely tell you how I will NOT be trying it. (Although I really should find me some tonic water and lime and finally try a Portonic... I'm not much a fan for Tonic Water though, so I'm not really expecting wonderful outcomes. We'll see if I get around to trying this if I have some time and another hot day.
Todd
I poured half of a bottle of this into an empty half and threw it into the refridgerator. While I cannot claim to know the exact temperature of the fridge, it is a standard, residential fridge on a medium cold setting (the settings on the fridge are 1 -7 where 1 is 'least cold' and 7 is 'most cold.' My own is set to 4. Roughly 24 hours was allowed to elapse prior to the TN being taken.
Ugh. Not a whole lot of notes on this because it was awful. I did give it it's fair chance though... When very chilled, this port is harsh and astringent on the nose. The aromas were not very good when chilled. I honestly did not take many notes or spend a lot of time on this one because it was, in a word, awful when cold.
After an hour had elapsed it was better, just under room temperature. I guess it would be around cellar temperature and that is about perfect.
Portal Fine White Porto - room temperature
This Port was left in the original bottle and allowed to come to room temperature from cellar temp. Again, elapsed time before this TN was taken was roughly 24 hours.
Much better at room temperature. While there is still quite a bit of acidity an d bite at room temperature, it is not so overwhelming as to ruin the tasting experience.
The nose on this port is not great to begin with, most of the aromas I cannot put my finger on, but not entirely pleasant. The flavours do make up for that shortcoming though and at slightly less than room temperature, I like this white Port just fine.
Interesting experiment. Not one I will ever repeat with this particular Port. I can definitely tell you how I will NOT be trying it. (Although I really should find me some tonic water and lime and finally try a Portonic... I'm not much a fan for Tonic Water though, so I'm not really expecting wonderful outcomes. We'll see if I get around to trying this if I have some time and another hot day.
Todd