2004 Ramos Pinto LBV Port

[Michael Hann]

2004 Ramos Pinto LBV: unfiltered, bottled 2008

Decanted and found sediment in the last 2 ounces in the bottom of the bottle. Washed out bottle and found some sediment cake come free from the wall of the bottle and wash out into the sink. Driven cork.

I tasted 3 hours after decanting. Garnet red color, good color but not purple or noteably deeply red. Nice nose that was more distinct and noticeable than I usually find with LBVs. Having said that, I cannot describe the nose other than to say it was pleasing and generally fruity. The immediate sensation I had was of tannin. Very fruity flavor and good sweetness, somewhat more sweetness than I find in some other LBVs, but balanced by acid, not excessive. I happen to like Port with this kind of sweetness versus a drier style. A lush blackberry taste and some mint, some cherry, some spiciness. The after taste was moderately long for an LBV.

I drank this with figs and walnuts. The figs really made the fruitiness of the wine come out and, for whatever reason, made the tannin disappear. When I drank the Port by itself, the tannin would again come to the fore. This was not an excessive amount of tannin, but I don't like to sip wine that is tannic by itself, I need to drink that kind of wine with a steak, an elk roast, lamb chops, or, as in this case, figs.

I liked this LBV Port very much and found it better than most I have had over my short acquaintance with Port. I'm guessing this Port can improve for 8 years.

I completed the remainder of this Port two days after opening. I decanted 8 hours before drinking, just to see how this would effect the taste. This seemed to knock off some of the tannic edge of the Port when sipped by itself, unaccompanied by figs or walnuts. Additionally, the taste seemed to deepen -- to have less obvious fruitiness, though this remained there -- and to have a more rich, integrated flavor. There was another fruit flavor that came more to the fore, but I can't identify it. This Port tasted distinctly better for this long decant time. My wife joined me in having a bit of this Port last night, and she liked it very well also.

I would rate this 90/100. This seems a bit high -- I'm not really dialed in on the norms for such numerical ranks of Port yet -- but I found it to be clearly the best LBV I have tasted.

[Roy Hersh]

This great tasting note epitomizes why I spend more time reading tasting notes on FTLOP than any other part of this Forum. I really get a kick out of people's descriptions and observations. Michael, my sincere thanks for posting this and also being so attuned to the morphing of the RP94 LBV with both air time (in decanter) and with the figs. You've provided us with key information showing how decanting works to soften the tannins of a young Port, as well as how a specific food pairing can change the impressions that a Port can leave on the palate. I love when that happens!