For The Love Of Port

This was one of the dozen assorted bottles I brought back from South Africa last summer. I opened this one as I noticed it had started to leak - when I opened it I found the bottle had been sealed with a T stopper.

The wine in the bottle had thrown an incredible amount of sediment. Most of the inside of the bottle had been covered by a thin layer of deposit as well as there being some fairly large lumps in the bottom of the bottle.

The wine was decanted at 9am and tasted at 2pm.

A ruby colour, clear but dull looking. None of the brightness I have seen in other wines. Slightly watery at the rim and a definite brown tinge to the colour.

On the nose a strong smell of alcohol and the smell of strawberry sweets.

Sharp into the mouth, off-balance with considerable acidity and bitterness. The mid-palate develops heat but also brings fruit with it and a strange burnt butter flavour. Fairly complex with considerable layers of flavour coming through in the mouth.

The aftertaste is very long but also odd - vaguely tasting of burnt rubber as well as red fruits. I'm not really sure what to make of this. Different - certainly! Enjoyable - not sure yet. 80/100.

Alex

My one experiance of an SA "port" was broadly similar. I was not persuaded to buy more!

The sickly strawberry flavour was memorable...

- I'll stick to the real McCoy!


Tom

Trying one of the better producers, some of the vintage can be very good. I have done a vertical tasting from one producer and tried many others as well. Not too many offer inspiring wines.

However, some of the greatest port-style of wines from SA are the Tawnies. I have had them from KWV 1926 and 1939 that were different to be sure, but every bit as tasty as excellent Portuguese Colheitas.

This wine was actually much better the following day, it seems to have settled down and lost its burnt tones.

Interestingly, I would say that it is now much more similar to a Madeira than a Tawny. It's structure comes from its acidity and not any tannins that I can sense. However, it is fruity, balanced and has reasonble length. It is lacking in complexity but probably deserves 85/100 rather than its original score. It is perfectly decent now - as my wife damned it with faint praise, "Its OK" and shrugged.

Alex