Christmas Vintage Ports

This is my first post on my newly designed website so I have been holding back on some notes from the Ports that I tasted and drank before and over Christmas. This is something of an omnium gatherum of different wines, starting with a far from basic ruby through LBV to single quinta and a venerable vintage. There are some wonderfully venerable tawnies listed on the next post.

Graham’s Six Grapes ****

This is a supremely good Reserve Ruby Port. It is never the cheapest in the category but consistently out-performs. Made from grapes grown on four Graham’s properties, aged for two years in wood before being bottled: deeply coloured, with bright, vigorous, opulent aromas, full of flavour combining ripe, up-front berry and plum fruit with purity and finesse. Glorious winter drinking. 17

Ramos Pinto 2015 LBV ****

A Gold Medal winner at this year’s Decanter World Wine Awards, this LBV stands out from a large crowd. Mostly Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca (the grapes that give it fragrance), foot trodden then aged for years in wood before bottling this wine has real power and depth with rich, tight knit-fruit and gentle peppery grip. It already shows considerable floral finesse but, bottled unfiltered and with a driven cork, this will age and soften in bottle if laid down for another decade. 18

Warre, Quinta da Cavadinha, 2005 ****

The altitude of this property in the upper /mid-Pinhão valley (a tributary of the Douro) stands it in good stead in a hot, dry year like 2005. Good mid-deep youthful colour; ripe, heady warm-country nose, opulent and with a hint of esteva (gum cistus), similarly ripe and round on the palate, at the same time the fruit is wonderfully fresh, well-defined and focused with a touch of bitter chocolate intensity, well integrated dusty tannins with a supple yet vibrant finish that goes on and on. Simply lovely. 17.5

Quinta do Vesúvio 2003 Vintage Port ****

A hot year throughout Europe produced some exceptional vintage Ports. Still retaining its deep, youthful colour, Touriga Franca is to the fore here with open, ripe aromas of redolent of date and prune; fresher but still opulent in style on the palate, ripe morello cherry sweetness and mouthfilling tannins, good definition, lovely now and with twenty-plus years of drinking life ahead. 18

Warre 1980 Vintage Port ****

From a year when the Symington’s produced some outstanding Vintage Ports (thanks to the Serrodio brothers) that have developed beautifully with age. Amazingly deep in colour for a wine with nearly forty years in bottle, open, elegant and aromatic, lovely sweet berry fruit, mid-weight with just a touch of dark chocolate concentration mid-palate, black pepper tannins, still very fresh with lovely blackberryish acidity on a long, linear finish. Wonderful now but no need to be in any hurry to drink. It will keep for another ten years at least. 18