TNR: Jonesy NV port

[cfreemott]

Winex has posted that they have this back, Robert parker gave it a 90+ score.

For 9.00 a bottle....can you really go wrong?

Anyone?

thanks in advance

chris

[Frederick Blais]

Hi Chris, this is a fortified wine from Australia. I never liked them very much but for the price it definitively worth a try before buying a few if you like it.

[Andy Velebil]

FWIW, A friend tried it and said it was no where near as good as last years and after trying it he didn't buy any. But, that is only 1 persons opinion, If I get a chance this weekend, I may try and swing by Wine-ex and pick one up, just to try since its so cheap. If I do I'll let you know.

[cfreemott]

andy, i ordered a couple bottles-figured I throw away $50.00 in plenty of ways, why not something that gets such praise and is so cheap.


But, if you get yours open (I asked them to hold due to heat in IL right now), by all means, throw me a TN or post it. Very nice of you.

[Roy Hersh]

From Jan. 20th 2005

OK, I am the last person in the United States to try this wine. Shame on me. If it had not been for someone posting on this back about two months ago, I'd never have even heard of it.

I tried to score some as soon as I read that thread and everyone said, go to WINEX. Well, of course ... ya snooze ya loose. They were sold out and did not expect "to be able to" get any more in. I was further intrigued. An under $10 Aussie Tawny port that seems like it is becoming a cult dessert wine? What's up and how the hell am I going to get my hands on this?

Barret or Barnet from this BB offered me a bottle in that thread (sorry if I have the name wrong ... and thank you!), but I could not take a precious bottle from such a generous guy.

A local WA wine lover who recently was over at my home for a wine gig, told me he knew where there was a stash at $10 per and said he'd be happy to grab 'em for me. I said "at the price, please grab me six."

SO MY SINCERE THANKS GO TO JEFF TWERSKY!

So, these bottles have now been in my hands a full five days and I was really jonesing for this Jonesy, and decided to pop ... er, unscrew one tonight.

Trevor Jones, Jonesy Old Tawny Port - Australia -
I was initially taken aback by the cheap screwcap which nearly folded in half upon opening it. Alex, you'd love this! I had no idea what to expect here but the color was akin to freshly brewed coffee with a tinge of red but mostly yellow on the edge, with full opacity to the meniscus. I obviously did not decant this (but might try doing so with the next bottle), and my initial whiff was met with a punch of alcohol. I decided to give this 15 minutes in the glass before further assessment, to be fair in evaluating this wine.

Fortunately, the alc blew off ... and the real essence of stewed prunes, chocolate pudding and pistachio nuts was pretty intoxicating. I spent plenty of time repeating my check on the aromatics, before delving in to taste this wine.

Although it may look like PX it is neither as viscous or as sweet. Clearly a Muscat base to this wine, (anyone know the varietal makeup here?) it offered a medium-full bodied frame that was rich, yet not quite unctuous, as I had expected from the nose; as it falls short of clinging to the inside of the mouth and a tad short of viscousness. Structurally, there was enough acidity to support the fruit and (Bual) level of sweetness, but there was literally no tannins detectable.

I enjoyed the flavors of figs, prunes and pralines and overall the palate was mostly straight forward if not a bit simple. I enjoyed the up front flavors and there was good length on the finish, but the mid-palate offered little in terms of depth or complexity. This is certainly a fine dessert wine for $10 and I would probably expect a sticky of this caliber to run between $15 and $20. Therefore, I should not be overly critical. I did like the Jonesy and the whole was better than the sum of its parts. 88 pts.

To be fair, I have left 3/4 of the bottle full and will keep it with the cap off and retry this again tomorrow to see if it gains weight or changes in other ways.

--------------------
Roy

http://www.fortheloveofport.com




Roy Hersh


posted January 20, 2005
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Wow!

I just checked winesearcher.com and looked deeper and found a tasting note from Robert Parker. Although I agree with his assessments of Bordeaux in particular, when it comes to dessert wines, we have very different palates.

From his TN, he mentions that this is medium ruby in color. I know it is late at night here but this is a perfect PX look alike and is a rich and opaque brown to me. I see no ruby whatsoever, except if you count the edge which is far more yellowish, but does have a very slight ruby hue on the rim too.

Aromas and flavors we are pretty darn close on, BUT ... Mr. Parker clearly liked this wine far more than I did tonight. Actually, I was quite stunned when I first saw the 93 pt. score he gave it. I immediately took another sip (I have already had two full glasses (maybe 7-8 ounces in total). I will stand by my score though.

Five points of difference is quite a bit (I hope no one accuses me of being jealous of RP ; )
Well, all I can say is that I will try it again tomorrow night and see if some more air time provides any significant changes. As a Tawny, I doubt it, but will keep an open mind.

[Andy Velebil]

Well, i found a bottle today at an obscure little store, so I got one to try.

I agreed with Roy's assesment. A lot of alcohol, which started to blow off after about 20 minutes in the glass. It definitely reminded me of a thin Muscat, but much darker (like Roy said "coffee"). Since my assesment was fairly close to Roy's so I wont rehash.

The Verdict you ask? Well for about 10 bucks, its alright and a decent everyday/house port. I would score it a little lower though, about 85-86. Yeah, If I can find some more at a good price, I would probably buy some for a "house port".


Roy, so how has it held up after a day or so open?