For The Love Of Port

I bet this is a VP that Roy has never had the chance to taste.

I decided that I would sacrifice my own personal well being by trying this "own label" supermarket vintage port. This is only the second time that I have tried an own label VP, the previous occasion being the half bottle of Berry Brothers 1997 that I wrote a TN for in November.

From the label, the wine was selected and bottled for Tesco (one of the UK's leading supermarkets) by Quarles Harris.

Decanted about 12 hours before this note was written. (Pretty rough when tasted immediately after decanting.)

Significant amounts of sediment left in the bottle, few large lumps but plenty of finer sludge.

Rich, ruby red with a pale rim. Surprsisingly developed colour for a 10 year old wine. None of the youthful purple seen that I've seen in other '95 ports.

Strange and very subdued nose. Tarry notes, maybe a hint of mushrooms that caused me to worry if this wine was corked. Bit of VA, very little fruit.

Initially smooth and sweet into the mouth, then the supporting acidity comes through on the side of the tongue. Sweetness and acidity are nicely balanced. Not a lot of fruit on the initial taste but dusty cherries and chocolate come through on the midpalate. I think this is slightly corked, but not so much as to make the wine undrinkable.

Length is very good - 30 to 40 seconds. Sweetness and fruit stays in the mouth. Aftertaste doesn't develop, just slowly fades away.

Overall, a simple but well balanced wine with a lovely mouth-feel. Scored at 87/100. Good value for money at £13 a bottle and a good nomination for a "house" VP.


Alex

I had this port tonight very very light in body and grip, inoffensive in every way a bit disapointing even in price.A better buy would be for a simialar price Quinta de la rosa 96 or the star of off recent vintage for me so far Burmester 89.

I must say that Alex is right when he points out that Tescos have a very good and varied port selection for a supermarket,from crusted to lbv to tawnys better than asda (wal mart)

Interestingly, I showed one of these wines at a tasting I organised last week. This time the wine was clearly spoiled with a bitter, "off" smell and an unpleasant taste.

Alex

Believe it or not, I made it a point to check out a few Tesco and Oddbins when I was in London in 2003. I spent a half of a day exploring wine shops which ended with BB&R and another great one across the street. Unlike the USA, where BOB or "buyer's own brand" wines are very rare, the UK is very well known for these and prior to the cask/bottling law changes of 1974, it was even more commonplace there.

I know that So. African producers have a field day with BOB wines in the UK market too. I have spoken to some of the Portuguese producers about how BOB wines in the UK erode their profitability, and drive down their margins.

I am sad to hear that the Quarles Harris you opened was not showing well and for that price it is certainly worthy of a punt, given what LBV costs. I'd certainly rather drink a quality 1995 VP than most LBVs.

Since posting my original tasting note on the Tesco port, I have opened two other bottles.

The first of these was the one I have mentioned previously, opened as part of the small tasting I did for one of our legal teams. This was a spoiled bottle and I took it back to my local supermarket to get a replacement. The spoiling took the form of an unbalanced acidic taste and an unpleasant, rubbery smell.

The replacement bottle was opened yesterday. This was suffering from severe bottle stink and took 24 hours to recover. It is not a great wine, has poor levels of fruit, is sweet and simple and has no length to speak of. Very disappointing compared to that first bottle I opened.

Having had a failure rate of 2/3, I won't be buying any more of this wine. I suspect that the handling of the wine has been sadly lacking as I feel that it could have so much more to offer.

Alex

Alex,

The problem with buying wine or Port from a supermarket is the storage conditions. If a bottle of Port has been exposed to warm conditions, harsh unnatural light, for weeks if not months, than this will affect the condition. This is why I virtually avoid buying any wine or Port from them, no matter the price.

Cheers.
Nicos

Nicos,

I think you are spot on. These ports had been standing upright on the shelves in Tesco for some weeks, if not months, before I bought them and I think the wine has degraded as a result.

By contrast, when I bought the Dow 1983 halves from Sainsbury, I cleared the shelf within days of them having been put out for sale and they were delicious.

I think I will still occasionally buy from supermarkets but will aim to buy only wine which I know has only just been put on the shelf and will resist offers for wine that could have been on the shelf for a while.

Alex