PORT WINES

PORT WINES

PORT WINES

Port hails from Portugal, where it is made in the hot, arid Douro Valley to the north of the country.

Here the vines cling to steep, rocky slopes either side of the wide river and yield small amounts of tannic, concentrated red. Don'tPORT WINES expect to find a port made from well-known international grapes,

such as Merlot or Cabernet. The vineyards in the Douro Valley are planted with a mixture of Portuguese varieties, including Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz, which bring unusual flavours to bear - wild herbs, tar, chocolate, fruitcake - as well as the usual red and black berry fruits.

All port is made in a similar way - at the beginning, that is. The grapes are crushed - sometimes by foot in traditional stone tanks called lagares, but usually by machine these days, and fermentation begins. This fermentation process is then effectively halted by the addition of grape spirit, which means any sugar that has not turned to alcohol remains in the liquid, hence the sweetness of port.

PORT WINES

 At this point, the resulting liquid could go on to become one of two styles of port: ruby, or red, bottled fairly early and aged in glass; or tawny, which is placed into casks for long wood-ageing before bottling, so therefore takes on a more oaky character. Within these two categories there are several different types of port. Do try as many as you can (except the very basic ruby, which can be skipped) to grasp the range of port available and to get the right one for every occasion.

VINTAGE PORT WINES

  Made from the wine of one fine year, vintage port is considered the most serious and complex of all ports. It is not made by each port shipper every year. Instead, connoisseurs have to wait with bated breath to see if a year has been considered good enough for a 'declaration' from their favourite house, in other words, an announcement that a vintage port will be made that year. On average a declaration is made three times a decade and, for obvious reasons, most houses declare in the same years when the conditions have been well above average. That said, there is the odd aberration.

Cynics will point to declarations from houses that need a boost for some reason (perhaps it is a special anniversary year and it would seem a shame not to

celebrate it). This method of sporadic declaration means stocks of the top vintage ports are strictly limited and prices remain high. It also follows that the quality should be pretty good for a universally declared vintage.

PORT WINES

It's expensive stuff, then, in high demand, so what is so great about vintage port? It's bottled after just two years in cask and often seems unapproachable when young: tough with tannins, hard and unyielding, its fruit masked by sweetness, firm body and high acidity, elements which have not melded properly but stand apart. It often takes many years for a vintage port to seem well-knit and for its rich, plummy character to become appealing. When you choose to crack it open is up to your individual taste, of course. Most would agree that a serious vintage port only starts to loosen up and become drinkable at around ten years of age, and only softens to a truly delicious degree after fifteen, twenty or even thirty years. At that point expect a rich mouthful of fruitcake, black berry fruits, hints of herbs, tar, chocolate, mocha and spice. 

 

PORT WINES

Decant vintage port carefully before drinking, as it will have thrown a heavy sediment (see pages 174-175), and perhaps serve with the finest cheeses. Great port producers include Taylors, Dow, Warre, Graham, Niepoort and Noval. Recent top years include 2000, 1997, 1994, 1991, 1985, 1983, 1977, and 1970.

SINGLE QUINTA PORT This is vintage port from just one estate, or quinta, usually produced in years not considered fine enough for the regular flagship

vintage port. The fruit from the single quinta often forms the backbone of the vintage port, so it may well make an excellent wine even in a less-than-perfect year. Single quinta ports tend to be not quite as rich and tannic as vintage ports, as they are made in lesser years, but they can be excellent value for money and offer you some of the joys of vintage port at a fraction of the price.

LATE-BOTTLED VINTAGE port wines

 Late-bottled vintage, or LBV, is usually another good-value port. It's made from a single year's wine, which spends five or six years ageing in wood casks. Still in a ruby style, LBVs are ready to drink earlier than vintage ports. The best are most impressive; however, a few are uninteresting and not much better than premium ruby. Choose carefully from a reputable producer (see those mentioned above) and don't cellar for long. LBVs may throw a sediment so pour the dregs carefully or decant.

RUBY PORT WINES

PORT WINES

A port labelled as ruby is usually a cheapish wine bottled after two or three years in a large oak cask. It can be attractive for its youthful, lively,

cherryish fruit attack. Drink it unmixed while fresh and young, but never keep a bottle, opened or unopened, for too long. 'Premium ruby' and 'vintage character port' are supposedly superior rubies; they are,

generally speaking, a little more concentrated and interesting than basic ruby. A decent ruby is best served at room temperature on a cold winter's evening to put fire in your belly. Graham's Six Grapes is one of the best premium rubies.

TAWNY PORT WINES

PORT WINES

Tawny port is quite a different creature to the ruby, or red, port styles. It is aged in oak for many years until it evolves into a soft, rounded, amber- coloured port with a hazelnut and sometimes lightly spiced character. You can buy ten-, twenty-, thirty- and forty-year-old tawnies; it is well worth buying one that is at least twenty years old for its extra-mellow and intensely nutty quality. Ramos-Pinto, Fonseca and Sandeman are names to go for.

 

Storing and serving port wines

It's a myth that, once opened, all fortified wines keep perfectly well for years in the drinks cabinet. If you want to enjoy them at their best, most fortifieds need drinking up within two to three weeks. Dry, pale sherries should be finished within a week or two at the most. Madeira is an exception, however, as it keeps for months once opened. Unopened bottles of fortified wine do keep for several months, except dry, pale sherries that need drinking when young and fresh. Vintage port is released young for you to age; cellar for many years before opening.