2003 Quinta do Portal Vintage Port

[Lamont Huxley]

It's been a while since I've popped a bottle of port and since I didn't have anything of significant age on hand I decided to crack a youngster. Being that I had two bottles of the Portal 03 in my collection and had read such nice things about it I decided to indulge my curiosity.

The color was just what you like to see in a young VP - deep, dark purple, like concord grape juice. With only a few hours of decant time on the first night the nose was like sticking your face into a warm blueberry/boysenberry pie covered in milk chocolate. The palate followed in kind offering gobs of dark berry fruit and undertones of chocolate that completely masked the tannin and spirit but still maintained exceptional balance. Though there were hints of earthiness on the finish, the overall impression was like one big wave of delicious dark berry fruit with a pleasingly long finish.

I didn't note much difference after having a glass the next day, but on day 4 I like this even more than I did at first. The big, delicious fruit is still going strong and the earthy nuance has now become a more pronounced bitter chocolate/coffee aspect that carries through the finish and offers a welcome counterpoint to the sweetness of the fruit. The tannins are still well below the surface but this obviously has the structure for long aging.

At this point in time this is a very enjoyable VP for its decadent fruit and great balance but as it gains secondary and tertiary characteristics with age it should only get more impressive. Excellent stuff that I'd like to get more of. 94pts, Tasted 11/10

[David Spriggs]

Agreed. I like this wine a lot too. It's very very young. I hope I last long enough to see it mature!
-Dave-

[Andy Velebil]

Portal is doing great things and this is a house to keep an eye for sure!