Old wines? I love them. And some of the best old wines are fortified wines: Madeira, Vintage Port, Tawny Port and VORS Sherry.
This is a 60 year old single-vintage Tawny Port (the official name for vintage dated Tawnies is Colheita), released to commerate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. It’s fabulous and expensive, but good value when you compare it to other fine wines with this much complexity and interest.
Graham’s Colheita 1952 Douro, Portugal
Brown colour with bronze and red hints. Sweet, intense nose of old wood, old furniture, raisin, spice and some floral grapey notes. The palate is rounded, intense and lively with warm, complex, almost impossibly intense flavours of raisin, spice, herbs and citrus fruits. Rich, warm and sweet but beautifully linear. A little goes a long way, and the acidity is high enough to provide a foil for the richness. Power and precision. 96/100 (£275 Berry Bros & Rudd from May 1st)
Just happened upon your blog, very interesting, you have a more relaxed and friendly approach to wine blogging.
Well, as a confessed Newbie wine lover, I’ve not tried port! I have a few bottles in the basement, but my palate is just finding its own comfort zone with wine: love Brunello, Chianti, Zinfandel, mostly in a style that doesn’t knock you over with alcohol or as a Big Fruit bomb, but rather whispers to you, e.g. Cakebread Zin, more recently Tenuta LA FUGA 2006 Brunello di Montalcino. Well, my question is, with that in mind, do you have a Port recommendation or am I in the wrong ball-field?
Sincerely,
Dennis
I would certainly recommend old, elegant vintage Port, if you are lucky enough to get to taste it – e.g. Niepoort 1970, Fonseca 1970
Also 10 year old and 20 year old tawnies from the major shippers – these are all quite elegant
Jamie-so a 10 to 20 year tawny port is good to go (Drink now) port that has elegance and is suitable for a newbie as me? I’ll take that as a go; when I try one I’ll let you know what the outcome was.
Thanks,
Dennis