what to do when there is too much HEAT

[John F. Newman]

I opened up an LBV a couple days ago, and finding it having too much heat (maybe 4-5 days later) I popped in an ice cube. Well, the cube is actually plastic with some sort of liquid captured inside of it (I got those for the kids years ago, so they are shaped like various fruits). When this sort of unexpected heat happens, I generally pop in one plastic cube which does not seem to get the port too cold, but simply cools it a bit and takes away that extra bite. If I had thought about it, I guess I would have popped the bottle in the fridge for a short period of time before attempting to consume.

What do other people do when they discover the port they just poured is too damn hot!

The port in question is the 2007 LBV unfiltered from Fonseca. Upon opening, it was a wonderful explosion of berries with very little heat, rich, full mouth feel, fruity nose, mid-tannic. I'm afraid I didn't drink this one fast enough. I really enjoyed it on day 1 and 2, but forgot about it and got hit with the heat.

[Miguel Simoes]

Am surprised by what you mention.
I had many of them over the last year including some that I left open several weeks and was actually surprised to find how well they held up.
Perhaps a matter of letting it sit a bit longer?

[John F. Newman]

I might be off in my estimation of how long its been sitting, but not by much. I still have a 1/3 of it left. I haven't touched it in several days, and I won't be drinking any tonight... so I'll let you know how it is later this week. It'll probably be at least two weeks from first opening when I return to it.

[Roy Hersh]

You guys have a lot more patience than me. I never have a Port bottle hang out for two weeks and even have trouble avoiding Madeira for that long.

That being said, when a bottle shows too much heat, especially two or three days later, I then will definitely chill it down in the fridge and drink it at about 52-55 degrees F depending on the time of year.

[Paul Fountain]

With the exception of winter, I'll be keeping any bottles I've opened in the fridge anyway, and I'll let them come back to room temp to drink. If I've found something is a bit hot on opening, I'll certainly drink it a few degrees cooler.

[Tom D.]

Although I'm typically the first person to complain of heat or booziness in any type of wine, if air doesn't help I'm usually inclined to just tolerate it rather than resort to chilling. I don't like to lose the other aromatics.

[John F. Newman]

I drank some last night. It was still bearing too much heat for my liking, so I popped in two plastic cubes (one did not cut it). I understand Tom's concerns, but I prefer the coolness over the heat.

[Moses Botbol]

I just keep the open bottles in the wine fridge. Madeira I will leave out; I don't like that most Madeira chilled.

[Andy Velebil]

Although I'm typically the first person to complain of heat or booziness in any type of wine, if air doesn't help I'm usually inclined to just tolerate it rather than resort to chilling. I don't like to lose the other aromatics.

I'm right there with ya. I can be very sensitive to overt spirit poking through on any wine, Port included.

If chilling a little and decanting doesn't help I'll tolerate it and finish my glass or eventually the bottle. Unless it's so bad that I no longer enjoy the wine and I dump it out or cook with it.

the cube is actually plastic with some sort of liquid captured inside of it

Never thought about this, but it sounds like a good idea to quickly get a single glass to cool down a bit without diluting it as would happen by adding an actual ice cube. Or in the summer, maintain a cooler temp without the whole bottle getting too cold. If I remember, I'll have to get some and try it this summer.