For The Love Of Port

I'm curious how others assess the balance of alcohol in tasting Vintage Port.

Roy, in your Port notes you often mention "spirit" that is too prominent, or excessive aguardente -- is there a difference you could explain to me? I've never tasted straight aguardente, and I'm not sure if spirit = raw alcohol. Others, including me, tend to talk in terms of heat and the occasional raw alcohol smell -- perhaps I need to learn more subtle gradations here. For me, the point at which the alcohol becomes excessive would be the point at which it is out of proportion with the other characteristics of the particular bottle, and heat is the easiest way for me to describe that. I suppose Port lovers have different palates and varying tolerances for alcohol, just as in the endless debates about overripeness and Old vs. New World styles in non-fortified wines.

Another basic question: how do the steps in producing a Vintage Port contribute to the ultimate alcohol level: is it more a function of the proportion of aguardente that is added, versus a non-fortified wine where ripeness of fruit is a critical factor? Other factors?

Any general comments on how this sensation of alcohol develops over a VP's life in bottle? In other words, if my 1985 XXXX VP is seeming unpleasantly hot to me today, is that sensation of excessive alcohol likely to improve or worsen as it ages? I tend to find that it worsens in the case of most non-fortified wines, but perhaps Port is different . On the other hand, I find long decanting can sometimes rein in an elevated alcohol sensation in some Vintage Ports, moreso than in the case of non-fortified wines, at least in my experience. Thoughts?

So anyway, just a stream of consciousness series of questions posted late at night -- any points of view would be welcome!

Thanks.

Hi Tom,

Great questions!

I will try to convey my thoughts on this so that my expression of spirit and heat and their gradations can be better understood from my palate’s point of view, which is not always easy. I typically use adjunct descriptors, for example “youthful spirit” which I use often is meant to imply that the Port is not yet in synch, with the aguardente still prominent aromatically, possibly in the mouth and often highlighted on the swallow. This is something that blows off the nose with extended decanting and may even integrate once the wine is exposed and has a chance to oxidize in decanter. That is not always the case, but the more this happens, the better the chance that the Port will become more harmonious as it ages. For a young Port rarely turns out to be a beauty if not in balance in its youth. I should say that certain producers are known for Ports that are contrary to this rule and can sometimes take a couple of decades to really show their best. Taylor Fladgate comes immediately to mind.

When I mention that a wine is spirity, without the use of the adjective “youthful” it often is an older Port, (usually Vintage) where the fruit has started to recede and the aguardente begins to protrude and will continue to do so until the VP becomes rather hot and spirity, sometimes unpleasantly so, and sometimes the other characteristics can show up and minimize that hot palate impression and still deliver enough pleasure, that the heat although noticeable, can be overlooked, as I think I note in some of my TNs. 1966 Offley Boa Vista and about half the bottles of 1967 Quinta de Vargellas are prime examples (whilst other of these Vargellas bottlings have not shown much at all and are great).

Then we get into the cask samples, or wines near their early twenties or badly made Port that somehow passed by the IVDP tasting panel without being shot down. These are less frequent but definitely rear their ugly heads. Some can rebound from totally out of synch aguardente (as the 1977 Graham’s has done in the past five years). I have also tasted Ports which used aguardente of a lesser quality. These typically appear in my TNs as “hot” or “too much heat” or “distracting levels of spirit,” etc. I am the most harsh point wise when this is the case and it would be very difficult for a wine to even reach the 90 point range, unless almost everything else is aligned properly which is rarely the case.

I will answer one more of your questions and then leave your final paragraph untouched so that others can have an opening to join the discussion too – You wrote:
Another basic question: how do the steps in producing a Vintage Port contribute to the ultimate alcohol level: is it more a function of the proportion of aguardente that is added, versus a non-fortified wine where ripeness of fruit is a critical factor? Other factors?

In my opinion, it is a matter of both. As you know the basic recipe for fortification is 110 liters of aguardente mixed with 440 liters of grape mosto. So that is the beginning of where things can become out of synch as I’ve mentioned. Cheap brandy; or some who play with the mix slightly for a stylistic point of view and that’s why we see 19%-21% range. I have a bottle of 2003 Quevedo LBV right now which is at 19% and have had those on the 21% fringe too.
But it also depends on when the fortification process is halted and this too can vary depending on “house style” … and the resulting sweetness as measured in grams/liter (gpl) or dryness for those looking to achieve that dynamic, can also cause the introduction of youthful spirit and even some heat. In this case too it is aguardente driven, but more a factor of the tweaking of the exact moment of fortification.

Of course as you’ve touched on the phenolic ripeness of the grapes can definitely be a factor too. Especially important is not only measuring the Baumé of grapes during the harvest, but actually tasting them, is so very important. One without the other is cutting corners. This can also be “played with” by savvy viticulturists who can remove leaves on the vines to allow the grapes to have more sunshine during cooler weather or after rainfall, but at the same time pruning during the growing season can also have an affect on the ability of the remaining grapes to receive more nutrients and gaining further concentration, but I doubt I am telling you anything you don’t already know. I hope this has begun to provide a decent explanation for you. Hopefully others will chime in too.

Thanks Roy. I appreciate the thoughtful answer. I do read a lot of your tasting notes, past and present, so keeping these things in mind well help me interpret them.

One final question: what does pure aquardente taste like? I gather it is more like brandy than a flavorless spirit like vodka? Does it introduce any real flavor into the must, or just alcohol?

Thank again!

Something Roy didn't mention but which is possible to find in VP as well as other wines and beer is fusel alcohols. These too are sometimes described as hot or spirity. With temperature controlled lagares becoming more common, they should be less of a factor in future Port production, but they can be found in older bottles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusel_alcohol

Eric, thanks for the link. The "solvent-like" characteristic mentioned in the article is something I seem to have encountered in certain Madeira. Interesting.

One final question: what does pure aquardente taste like? I gather it is more like brandy than a flavorless spirit like vodka? Does it introduce any real flavor into the must, or just alcohol?

I have tasted quite a bit of raw aguardente, as well as the great sipping aguardentes going back 80-100 years and greatly prefer the latter to drink. The young stuff which is used for Port, as well as the older ones ... to me, can be aptly compared to Tequila, the only thing that comes to mind when drinking them. They are seriously powerful of course and I would not suggest using them to flambe bananas foster.

The young brandy, (grape neutral spirit) is supposedly tasteless, at least the Port producers seem to believe it is ... ergo "neutral" but to me it does have some flavoring components although that might just be the purest essence of the grapes used when distillation takes place. But this is speculation as I am not as well versed as I should be on the chemistry of winemaking or drinking much in the way of spirits such as Vodka.

Roy Hersh wrote: They are seriously powerful of course and I would not suggest using them to flambe bananas foster.

Well, that sounds like a challenge to me...

Thanks again for the info.

Roy Hersh wrote:

One final question: what does pure aquardente taste like? I gather it is more like brandy than a flavorless spirit like vodka? Does it introduce any real flavor into the must, or just alcohol?

I have tasted quite a bit of raw aguardente, as well as the great sipping aguardentes going back 80-100 years and greatly prefer the latter to drink. The young stuff which is used for Port, as well as the older ones ... to me, can be aptly compared to Tequila, the only thing that comes to mind when drinking them.

The young brandy, (grape neutral spirit) is supposedly tasteless, at least the Port producers seem to believe it is ... ergo "neutral" but to me it does have some flavoring components although that might just be the purest essence of the grapes used when distillation takes place. But this is speculation as I am not as well versed as I should be on the chemistry of winemaking or drinking much in the way of spirits such as Vodka.

Yeap, for me it tastes and smells remarkably similar to Tequila and that is the closest spirit I can compare it to.