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Archive for the ‘Wine Reviews – Port’ Category

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Review: Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage Port (2010)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 24, 2018

The Fladgate Partnership owns three important Port houses, Taylor’s Port (Taylor Fladgate), Fonseca, and Croft’s. Of the three, Taylor’s is the oldest and most influential, founded in 1692 in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal by Job Bearsley. Although ownership of the company has moved through a variety of families, Taylor’s is (and has been since inception) independently owned and managed.

The wines used in the Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage 2010 Port blend are drawn from a reserve of full-bodied red ports which were produced from the 2010 harvest, from grapes grown on Taylor’s own vineyards and on other top properties in the Cima Corgo and Douro Superior areas. This wine remained in wood about five years and was bottled in 2015.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage Port (2010)

“… I taste ripe plums, black raspberries, and spicy raisins which bring a mild impression of cinnamon to the fore. I also taste lightly bitter grape skins (tannins) which pucker my mouth slightly and add to an impression of moderate acidity …”

Please enjoy my first wine review of 2018.

Chimo!

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Review: W & J Graham’s “Six Grapes” Reserve Port

Posted by Arctic Wolf on March 13, 2018

Graham’s Six Grapes Reserve Port Wine is one of the original Port blends (or marques) from Graham’s. It is, you could say, the flagship Reserve Port Wine produced by the company (or lodge). According to the Graham’s website, only the grapes from the finest vineyards are used to produce this marque. The distinctive depiction of grape bunches on the bottle is taken from the identification symbols long used in the Graham’s lodge to identify the wines destined to make up the Six Grapes blend. The wine is sourced from the same vineyards (essentially Quinta dos Malvedos and Quinta das Lages) that contribute to Graham’s famed Vintage Ports in ‘declared’ years. This means that it will resemble Graham’s Vintage Port in that it has a similar rich and full-bodied style. However unlike the Vintage Port, Six Grapes is a blend of different Vintages which have been aged a relatively short period of time (between 3 and 4 years).

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: W & J Graham’s “Six Grapes” Reserve Port

“… The Six Grapes Port Wine looks luscious in the glass. It carries deep red tones at the center of the glass, and a rich plum coloured crest at the top. The aroma has depth, full of the smells of sweetened ripe dark fruit. I am thinking dark ripe BC cherries, wild blackberries and plump purple plums. Subtle notes of raisin, dates and cocoa lurk underneath …”

Please enjoy my review.

Chimo!

Posted in Ruby Port, Wine Reviews - Port | Tagged: | Comments Off on Review: W & J Graham’s “Six Grapes” Reserve Port

Review: Fonseca Bin No. 27 Finest Reserve

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 5, 2017

Although Fonseca is well-known to collectors for their outstanding Vintage Port, the flagship of the brand is Bin 27 Finest Reserve. This blend was launched in Britain about 40 years ago at a time when Port wine was evolving from a style of predominantly young immature wines.

The requirement to decant and finish the bottle before oxidation impaired its flavour meant that Vintage Port Wines were not necessarily the best choice for casual consumption. Fonseca developed a new wine the called ‘Vintage Character’ by blending across different vintages achieving a wine which was consistent in style from one bottling to the next. This new wine shared the same character of the popular Fonseca Vintage Ports; however it could be served directly from the bottle with no need to decant or strain the fines from the bottle.

Fonseca decided to call the new blend Bin 27 and within five years of its introduction it was being sold throughout the World (in almost 30 countries). Today the brand is sold as Fonseca Bin No. 27 Finest Reserve.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Fonseca Bin No. 27 Finest Reserve

“… The nose is rich and fruity with aromas of dark BC Cherries, ripe sliced plums, juicy blackberries and dark black currants. There is a spiciness in the breezes which reminds me of raisins, some twig-like tannins and grape skins as well as hints of cocoa which compliment the ripe fruitiness of the wine …”

Please enjoy this long overdue review of another outstanding Port Wine.

Chimo!

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Review: Fonseca Late Bottled Vintage Port 2008

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 27, 2016

late-bottled-vintage-2008Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port wine is (as the name implies) a style of Port which is bottled later than the more prestigious Vintage Port. LBV Port wine remains in neutral wood between four to six years, rather than 2 years which would be typical for a Vintage Port. Since Port wine matures more quickly in oak vats than it would in the bottle, it is ready to be served when it is bottled.

However, Fonseca Late Bottled Vintage Port, (unlike many other LBV Ports) is not filtered before it is bottled, as a result the Fonseca will continue to age and should continue to improve if stored properly.

The wines used to produce Fonseca LBV were drawn from a reserve of some of the best full-bodied red ports produced during the 2008 harvest. These grapes were grown both on Fonseca’s own vineyards as well as on other properties in the Cima Corgo and Douro Superior areas of the Douro Valley. The wines are aged in wood vats of 50 pipes (27,500 litres) capacity and then bottled after five years.

Here is a link to my review of this outstanding Port Wine:

Review: Fonseca Late Bottled Vintage Port 2008

“… As the glass breathes things change and I begin to taste the fruity flavours ripe BC cherries and fresh plums. The wine continues to open and stronger sherry-like flavours of raisin and dark fruit advance across the palate along with hints of oak and bittersweet chocolate. When I pour myself a second glass, the fresh fruit practically leaps onto the palate this time. The Port tastes sweeter, and now along with impressions of cherries and plums, I taste blackberries and raspberries along with strong hints of bittersweet baking chocolate and black licorice …”

Please enjoy this review of the unfiltered Fonseca LBV Port, a few more Port Wine reviews will follow in the coming weeks.

Chimo!

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Review: OFFLEY Ruby Port Wine

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 22, 2015

OFFLEY Ruby SAM_1643The subject of this review, is a bottle of OFFLEY Ruby Port Wine. The brand traces its history back to 1737, which was the year that Englishman William Offley founded the company. In 1831, Joseph James Forrester, who was apparently a nephew of the William Offley, joined the company. According to the company website, Forrester was the first person to map the River Douro and its region, and his contributions to the development of the Port Wine trade, earned him the title of Baron which was bestowed by the King of Portugal. In 1997 OFFLEY was purchased by Sogrape, and they are the current owners of the brand.

Red Owl Cooler SAM_1667

Red Owl Cooler

Offley Ruby Porto is a young red wine produced in the traditional Porto method. The crushed grapes (produced in the Douro Region of Portugal) are fermented with the stalks removed, and the resulting wine is fortified and left in the Douro region until the following spring. Then they are taken to Vila Nova de Gaia to be matured in oak wood casks at Offley’s centuries old lodges and aging cellars. To make the Ruby Porto, a blend of wines is selected whose ages vary from about 2 years up to 5 years. The resulting wine is then filtered and cold stabilized prior to bottling.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: OFFLEY Ruby Port Wine

“… The flavours that develop represent a nice combination of ripe cherry and plum flavours accented by a light acidity and some raisiny spiciness. There is also a chalky mineral-like quality underneath and a bit of tannin-like dryness that reminds me of grape skins which pucker the mouth slightly. Over-all the Offley Ruby Porto is easy-going …”

Please enjoy my review which includes a recipe suggestion which mixes White Owl Whisky with OFFLEY Ruby Port, I call it the Red Owl Cooler.

Chimo!

Posted in Ruby Port, Wine Reviews - Port | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: OFFLEY Ruby Port Wine

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