Port "descriptors"

[Roy Hersh]

For those of us who enjoy reading Port tasting notes ... what are some of your favorite descriptors or terms to describe Port? Conversely, are there some that really turn you off or leave you scratching your head?

[Lamont Huxley]

I think the most attractive descriptors to me are the floral ones - lavender, roses, violets, etc... - probably because they tend to only show up on the ports that I enjoy the most and for me lend an ethereal quality to the nose that lifts it to another level.

One that always makes me scratch my head is when people describe nutty notes (usually almonds) on young ruby ports. I would never take issue with anyone else's impressions of a wine, after all we all have different palates and different ways of describing what we taste and smell, but I never seem to get that note myself outside of tawnies or old VP/LBV.

[Melanie R.]

Anyone who was at the most recent tasting in the Seattle area knows that I can find "chocolate" in many of the Ports that I taste. My ability to describe what I perceive on the nose and the palate is still very limited and basic.

[Daniel R.]

my favourite descriptor is "christmas cake"

[Lars F]

Like descriptors I can identify myself, and generally dislike the flavors I know but can't identify
It's frustrating when people say strawberry and all I can taste is fruit!

Lars