For The Love Of Port

My dessert wine for the evening before heading up to bed...

I can not call this a "port" but the bottle (gold flake writing on a jet-black 500 mL bottle which is very elegant looking and classy) states:
"This award-winning after dinner wine is handcrafted from individually selected barrels of wood-aged <not-ports> from the vales of South Australia.

Maduro is a unique blend of two distinctive <not-ports> including a 20-Year-Old Tawny. Both <not-ports> are made from the Shiraz (40%) and Grenache (60%) grapes that flourish in this prestigeious area. The <not-ports> are brought to our facility in Sonoma for final aging, blending and bottling.

Rich, smooth and layered with flavors (sic) of caramel, honey and orange zest, Maduro will add an exclamation point to any fine dining experience."


While they may not be right in using the word "port," they are right in the descriptors of caramel and orange zest.

Cloudy, orange-red in the glass, browning towards the center. Gigantic tears, consistent with other aged tawnies that I have had.

The nose is a dusty creme brulee, perhaps butterscotch pudding. Creme caramel wouldn't be far off. Anticipating huge sweetness.

I am not disappointed, this is a massively sweet wine, with a huge opening of caramel, butterscotch and honeysuckle. Orange zest and a dull taste of something that could be oak or cedar. Brown sugar and raisins dominate the second wave of palate. Mouthfeel is fairly thick. (I have only had one <not-port> that I can claim was more viscous than this.)

The alcohol is present only once the wine is held in the mouth and allowed to sit for an extended period of time. Very well integrated.

This is not a bad wine. I would serve it again, although it offends me that it dares call itself "port." There is very little fruit remaining in what once may have been an interesting blend of grapes to make a fortified wine.

Todd

Todd,

IIRC, Aussie fortifieds can no longer call themselves "port" on the label. I believe this Aussie regulation change happened about a year ago or so??? However, they can still use the word "tawny," IIRC.

Interesting Andy. I wasn't aware of any crack-down on this...

Although this one is definitely labeled as Port. (Although much like the nomenclature name change between "Special Reserve," "Vintage Character," etc I imagine that labels produced prior to XXX date wouldn't be sought out and stripped for simple relabelling purposes.)

I received a bottle of "Galway Pipe" which is another tawny style <not-port>. On the bottle and the surrounding tube (think scotch-like tube) it is plastered with the word "port."

I'll check the bottling dates on both when I get home.

Todd

Follow-up: Bottling dates are not evident on either bottle or label.

Although here is an interesting fact that I discovered while examining the label: the Maduro is actually an American product labelled as an Australian product. I've included the description on the bottle itself (above) but it also has a website... check out the details on the website.

Caveat emptor indeed! Here I thought I was drinking an authentic Aussie product. Nationality doesn't change my opinion... it is just interesting to see this misdirection. :)

Todd

Todd,

Knowing the Aussies/Americans forthrightness in most things, and the accents, do you think this bottle is called 'Maduro' after how 'My Douro' would sound. I visited the Barossa Valley once. Worth a visit, but my, is it all mechanised. It was like visiting Chemical Factories! Enjoyed drinking the result and the sunshine though.
I'd love to try the Californian version one day.

Alan

Alan C wrote:Todd,

Knowing the Aussies/Americans forthrightness in most things, and the accents, do you think this bottle is called 'Maduro' after how 'My Douro' would sound. I visited the Barossa Valley once. Worth a visit, but my, is it all mechanised. It was like visiting Chemical Factories! Enjoyed drinking the result and the sunshine though.
I'd love to try the Californian version one day.

Alan

Hmmm, good eye Alan - very possible too. It didn;t even occur to me. (I have to say I was actually taken aback that it ended up being more American than Aussie...) I was pronouncing it mah-DER-oh myself, but no pronunciation guide on their website, so who knows?

Regardless of how it is spelled or pronounced, it's a good dessert wine.

Todd