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Posts Tagged ‘Wine’

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: 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!

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Review: Quinta de la Rosa Late Bottle Vintage Port (2007 )

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 18, 2013

SAM_0749 Quinta de la Rosa LBVQuinta de la Rosa was established in 1906 when the Port house was given to Claire Feueheerd as a Christening gift. Although the family rum Port shipping company was shut down in the 1930s, Claire maintained the vineyards and ran la Rosa. In 1988, Claire’s Grandaughter, Sophia and her father, Tim Bergqvist decided to relaunch Quinta de la Rosa as a small family run winery producing a variety of wines including Port.

Quinta de la Rosa Late Bottled Vintage Port wines are produced from grapes grown in a single year at Quinta de la Rosa. They are matured for between four and six years; but they are not filtered prior to bottling. In the case of the 2007 LBV, this wine was produced from grapes harvested in mid September 2007, and it was bottled almost four years later  in July 2011.

Normally, I would leave a bottle like the Quinta de la Rosa LBV 2007 in my cellar (actually it is a cold room) for several years before I would open it to receive the benefit of bottle aging. However, the particular bottle I have pictured below was given to my by the folks at Thristy Cellars for the purpose of a review. I would expect that whatever scores I assign during this review would actually increase if I were to allow the wine to mature in my cold room.

You may click on the following excerpt for my full review:

Review: Quinta de la Rosa Late Bottle Vintage Port (2007 )

“… Over time some faint raisin and cherry notes arose, alongside some some sort of mealy vegetal aroma. It was obvious to me that this wine was going to require a lot of time to bring forward the rush of berry and fruit sensations which I relish in a good Port. So I waited …”

Please enjoy my latest Port Wine Review from the small house of Quinta de la Rosa.

Posted in Dessert Wine Review, LBV Port, Wine Reviews - Port | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Quinta de la Rosa Late Bottle Vintage Port (2007 )

 
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