NV Insignia 40 Year Old Tawny Port
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:15 pm
My previous tasting of this tawny, taken from a case bottled in 2014 and reviewed at FTLOP, came up short. A somewhat improved performance was witnessed this time ‘round.
In the glass, the wine was brick in colour, bereft of cloudiness and appeared to show a touch of tan on the rim. The lovely, powerful nose evinced notes of vanilla, caramel, citrus, spices and walnuts, with a hint of earthiness which belied its age. As had the last bottle reviewed here, this one stumbled at the palate. In particular, the wine proved to be somewhat thin on entry; in turn, it offered hints of orange peel and spices at the mid-palate, with the walnut and vanilla discerned by the olfactory nerve making an appearance at the back. The finish was warming, of good length and suggestive of a lighter-weight honey.
The weakness of this port at the palate was compensated for by the nose and the finish as well as by the fact that the declining acidity level of this dated bottling has served to bring the acidity and (limited) sweetness levels into harmony. Alas, the 2014 bottling is assuredly on a downward slope and demands near-term consumption.
-90 Points
In the glass, the wine was brick in colour, bereft of cloudiness and appeared to show a touch of tan on the rim. The lovely, powerful nose evinced notes of vanilla, caramel, citrus, spices and walnuts, with a hint of earthiness which belied its age. As had the last bottle reviewed here, this one stumbled at the palate. In particular, the wine proved to be somewhat thin on entry; in turn, it offered hints of orange peel and spices at the mid-palate, with the walnut and vanilla discerned by the olfactory nerve making an appearance at the back. The finish was warming, of good length and suggestive of a lighter-weight honey.
The weakness of this port at the palate was compensated for by the nose and the finish as well as by the fact that the declining acidity level of this dated bottling has served to bring the acidity and (limited) sweetness levels into harmony. Alas, the 2014 bottling is assuredly on a downward slope and demands near-term consumption.
-90 Points