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Posts Tagged ‘Port Wine’

Review: Sandeman Late Bottled Vintage Port Wine (2007)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 16, 2013

SAM_0753 Sandeman 2007 LBVThe House of Sandeman traces its history all the way back to 1790 when George Sandeman, an Scotsman from Perth, started a wine business in London. He borrowed £300 (which was quite a sum of money back then), purchased a wine cellar, and began to sell Porto and Sherry from Tom’s Coffee House in London. He expanded his company by establishing an agency in Cadiz, Spain in 1795, and by 1811, he had purchased a wine cellar in V.N. Gaia, Portugal. Although the House went public in 1952, and is no longer a family owned Wine Bodega (House), in 1990 George Sandeman (the seventh generation George Sandeman) reunited the company with the Sandeman family by becoming the managing director. In June 2002, Sandeman became part of the Sogrape Group who also own the Port companies Ferreira and Offley.

Sandeman Late Bottled Vintage Ports are produced from the grapes of a single year. The resulting wine is aged for about four years, and then bottled following a slight tuning when it is deemed mature. According to the Sandeman website, their LBV wine is ready to be consumed directly from the bottle, although it may contain some sediment if left unopened for a longer spell.

(Note: I was provided a sample bottle of Sandeman Late Bottled Vintage Port Wine (2007) by Charton Hobbes, who are responsible for its importation here in Alberta.)

You may click on the following excerpt to read the full review:

Review: Sandeman Late Bottled Vintage Port Wine (2007)

“… I nosed and sipped very sparingly on my glass and discovered that it took about 20 minutes for the glass to begin to bring forward a fruit filled bouquet of Bing cherries and ripe red raspberries, although that mineral quality I noticed earlier clung resolutely to the breezes as well. Very faintly, I notice some nice plums and raisin meandering within the scents of the bursting red fruit …”

Please enjoy the review and for those Dads reading my blog, Happy Father’s Day!

Posted in Dessert Wine Review, LBV Port, Wine Reviews - Port | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Sandeman Late Bottled Vintage Port Wine (2007)

Review: Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage 2007 Port Wine

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 31, 2013

SAM_0751 Taylor Fladgate 2007 LBVThe Fladgate Partnership owns three important Port houses, Taylor’s Port (Taylor Fladgate), Fonsecu, 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 2007 Porto blend are drawn from a reserve of full-bodied red ports which were produced from the 2007 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 2012.

(Note: I was provided a sample bottle of Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage 2007 Port by Pacific Wine & Spirits Inc, who are responsible for its importation here in Alberta.)

You may read my full review by clicking on the following excerpt:

Review: Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage 2007 Port Wine

“… The initial scents in the breezes reflect a restrained nose. I sense more tannin within this LBV Port than others I have sampled recently. Smells of raisins, figs and dry black fruit are prevalent. Some dark fudgey scents crawl out of the glass, as well as impressions akin to black Chinese tea …”

Please enjoy my review (and have a great weekend)!

Posted in Dessert Wine Review, LBV Port, Wine Reviews - Port | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage 2007 Port Wine

Review: Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage 2006 Port Wine

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 24, 2013

SAM_0752 Dow's 2006 LBVDow’s is one of the Port Houses belonging to the Symington Family whose ancestry in the Port trade spans a period of over three and a half centuries. This family’s association with Dow’s began in the early 1900’s when Andrew James Symington, became a partner in Warre & Co, the first and oldest British Port company established in Portugal. The Warre Family at the time owned Dow’s; but apparently had little interest in managing the company and invited Symington to manage the vineyards and lodges of Dow’s as well those of Warre & Co.. In 1912, Andrew Symington, acquired 30 % ownership of Dow’s, and later, in 1961 the Symington Family gained full control and sole ownership of the entire company.

Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port wines are produced from grapes grown in a single year from Dow’s best vineyards. The wine has been matured for between four and six years and is filtered prior to bottling. Because it has been matured and then filtered, this style of Port wine is ready for immediate consumption and will not require decanting or filtering of sediment before serving.

(Note: I was provided a sample bottle of Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2006 by The Bacchus Group, who are responsible for its importation here in Alberta.)

You may read my full review by clicking on the following excerpt:

Review: Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage 2006 Port Wine

“… As you let the wine breathe the fruity smells begin to grow slowly seeping into the air with smells of blackberries, plums and dark red cherries. There are hints of dry fruit, as well as grape skins and stems adding to that earthy quality underneath …”

I hope you enjoy this review of what I consider to be an outstanding Late Bottled Vintage port.

Posted in Dessert Wine Review, LBV Port, Wine Reviews - Port | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage 2006 Port Wine

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

Posted by Arctic Wolf on April 12, 2013

SAM_0699 Graham's Six GrapesThe subject of this review, is a bottle of Graham’s Six Grapes Reserve Port Wine. Six Grapes 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).

You may click on the excerpt to read the 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 of this dandy Port wine.

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