LBV article by a trusted palate!

[Roy Hersh]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/w ... cation=rss


Paul is a fan of Port wine and I have enjoyed tasting Port with him. This is an excellent basic look at LBV.

Did you enjoy the article or learn anything new?

[Eric Ifune]

Nice overview, but it might have been better if he mentioned the style of each brand he listed.

[dom carter]

Any overview of LBV's is always welcome, as (speaking for myself) these are the ports that get drunk most often - pop and pour! Also unfilterted LBV's are like little baby VP's -

the Warre's unfiltered LBV has gained quite a reputation in those stakes!

Thanks for the article

Dom

[Derek T.]

Vintage Ports are "declared" by the various shippers, and some years may be skipped entirely by certain producers. LBVs are in some sense the leftovers from those declared years as final selections are made from all the barrels initially set aside. So they sop up grapes not deemed worthy of being true vintage, yet which are a bit too good for the lesser "reserve" or blended (formerly "vintage character") Ports.

I don't believe that the grapes/wines that go into the top selling LBVs such as Graham or Taylor are "leftovers". I think that these products are so important to the business model and reputation of the big companies that the wines that go into them will be pre-selected from vineyard to bottle.

If there is a problem with LBVs, it is that they come in a somewhat unpredictable range of styles. Depending upon the house style of the producer, the age at bottling (4, 5 or 6 years) and whether it was filtered or not before being bottled, it may be forward and fruity (like a ruby Port) or wood-aged and showing the character of a true vintage Port.

I must have missed those wood-aged VPs

[Roy Hersh]

Considering all VPs do have 18-30 months of wood aging before being bottled, Paul was not wrong. The fact that you are being "literal" in your interpretation my friend, is another story. Of course he should have mentioned that the VP wood-aging provides very minimal contact and the wood itself is quite "neutral" ... well that would have helped those who are less forgiving.

[Melanie R.]

I didn't necessarily learn anything from the article, but am glad to see Port getting press anytime.

Coincidentally, I'm currently reading through "Washington Wines and Wineries", a book by the author of this article, and have appreciated the insight it's given me into the state of the wine industry in Washington.