For The Love Of Port

My Port Group had two prior tastings (Preliminary heats) with the top two advancing to the finals. Added four others; here's the line up

Morgado: Round 2 Winner
Noval: Round 2 Runner Up
Croft: Round 1 Winner
Portal: Round 1 Runner Up
Niepoort: Round 2 3rd place, but strong showing
Ramos Pinto: Flawed Bottle is Round 1, so tried another
..and two others because they were convenient to obtain:
Q Santa de Eufemia
Quarles Harris

We tasted in two flights of four, all blind of course. The results were surprising. Morgado was the consensus winner (A Trader Joe offering, paid less than $13.00 with tax) but was my least favorite. Croft, a winner before, was nobody's favorite.

These tastings were very difficult. The wines are not aged enough to be overly complex and the differences can be very hard to discern.

Scores and comments below are mine.

Morgado: Flight 1. Bottled 2014. WOTN but my worst. Reddish amber. Nose: Sweet cherry steeped with vanilla. First sip is bright and harsh cloyingly sweet, baked oak. Very different than the nose, tart and acidic. Finish bites/acidic. 83 Points

Quinta do Noval 10 Year Tawny: From 10 Yr Tawny Finals. Flight 1. Bottled 2014. Darkest amber color of flight. Nose of light butterscotch and raisin. Taste gives raisin/prune with an orange finishing note. Touch white pepper. Monotone. 86 Points

Quinta do Portal 10 Year Tawny: From 10 Yr Tawny Finals. Flight 1. Bottled 2011. Lightest amber of flight. Nose emits caramelized sugar with orange peel. Sweet side yet finishes dry. Currants with note of caramel. Has some complexity. My second favorite and groups 2nd favorite. 90 Points

Quinta Santa de Eufemia 10 Year Tawny: From 10 Yr Tawny Finals. Flight 1. Bottled 2013. Orange amber. Stewed cherry nose & alcohol. Light orange, touch acidic up front. Sweet and forgettable finish. Lacks depth. 86 Points

Croft 10 Year Tawny: From 10 Yr Tawny Finals. Flight 2. Bottled 2010. Amber color. Bright sweet raisin nose. A bit too sweet, with hazelnut and touch of citrus. Spicy finish. OK, but not great by any means. 88 Points

Niepoort 10 Year Tawny: From 10 Yr Tawny Finals. Flight 2. Bottled 2014. Lightest Amber color in flight. Stewed veggies, touch of grass/briar but in a nice way. Lovely viscosity. Bit tart upfront with orange zest and crushed hazelnuts. The finish is fair and not up to the beginning. 89 Points

Ramos Pinto Quinta da Ervamoira 10 Year Tawny: From 10 Yr Tawny Finals. Flight 2. Bottled 2013. Amber color. Nose of vanilla caramel; feels warm. Can smell the alcohol. Lovely vanilla and orange zest, coffee, hint of chocolate. There's a complexity here not in the others. Good finish. My WOTN. 91 Points

Quarles Harris 10 Year Tawny: From 10 Yr Tawny Finals. Flight 2. Bottled 2014. Amber color. Nose has distinct candied walnut fragrance, touch earthy. Lots of deep orange, white pepper. No nuts at all. 85 Points

Very interesting results! I'd have never predicted that - on either end. In fact the Niepoort 10-yr old is one of the few that I actually enjoy. But I'll have to stop by Trader Joe's and get a bottle of the Morgado to try now!

Good results, and thank you for sharing.

The Mogrado and Quarles, both found at Trader Joe's, are "house pours" for me.

On the other hand, the Mogrado Ruby is an entirely different story.

Awesome recap! May have to try the morgado to test as a potential house port. I'll split all the notes out into their own so everyone can search them easier later.



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Andy Velebil wrote:Awesome recap! May have to try the morgado to test as a potential house port.

Wow, Morgado use to be a bad joke... Interested to try again; been about 6-7 years since I tried their tawny.

I am shocked myself. Twice we had and twice it won the night---but each time I personally had it ranked it near or at the bottom. Hey, for $13 with tax, its worth a try.

Andy Velebil wrote:I'll split all the notes out into their own so everyone can search them easier later.

Done!

Thanks for posting. At $13, I will definitely have to try the Morgado.

Thanks for posting! I've used the Quarles Harris 10y as a generic drinker a few times over the last couple years and I've found it similar to your impressions, serviceable and budget friendly. I've always avoided the Morgado next to it on reputation, but I guess I should give them a shot!


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Glenn E. wrote:

Andy Velebil wrote:I'll split all the notes out into their own so everyone can search them easier later.

Done!

Thanks