2007 Ramos Pinto Quinta de Ervamoira Vintage Port

[Glenn E.]

Tasted on 3/12/2010 at my house and then again on 3/14/2010 on Roy's. This is a combined tasting note.

2007 Ramos Pinto Quinta de Ervamoira Vintage Port

Color: Deep purple, very slightly cloudy. It's really just enough to be able to tell the SQVP and the VP apart (the VP is crystal clear).
Nose: Grapey and bright, with a vaguely floral note that Roy says is Esteva. Some blackberry as well.
Palate: Tanky in the mouth, with somewhat rough, chewy tannins that build over time. Raw red fruits almost to the point of being green, but backed up by more sedate purple fruits that give it a rich and meaty tone. There's a nice chocolate element over time.
Finish: Rough, gritty tannins turn into chocolate and beef bouillon. A bit of sharp heat fades away into a pleasant warmth. Tart red fruits have a vegetal/green tone. Good length.

Ramos Pinto bottled both their standard VP and this Q. de Ervamoira SQVP in 2007, which seems to be a more and more common practice. In this particular case I'm not so sure it was a good idea, though, because to me the SQVP out-performs the VP significantly. I rated this 91 points based in part on the hope that it will mellow out a bit with time - right now it seems pretty rough in some ways.