Ashes and Port

Just watched the last of the Ashes highlights. These have been staple viewing over the last couple of months - I think I've only missed two of them. And how depressing for England cricket fans like me to see such abject capitulation.

Still, let's put it in perspective. We have an averagely good England side up against an awesomely good, ruthlessly professional Australia side - who would hammer any other test side at the moment, the way they are playing. Credit is due to the likes of Warnie, Ponting and McGrath for being so good. And England didn't help themselves with their amateurish preparation for this series.

To console myself, I cracked open another 2003 Vintage Port. This time it was Cockburn's Quinta da Canais 2003. It's very enjoyable even at this early stage, with dense, spicy dark fruits. There's good structure here, but also a little bit of a green streak, which will no doubt mellow with age, but I reckon will cause this wine to be a solid mid-term drinker rather than a truly serious Vintage Port for the long haul. Score-wise, I reckon perhaps 90/100, which recognizes the admirable density and oomph, but also acknowledges the lack of real class and finesse that would take this wine into the premiership.