I meant to review this awesome tasting of vintage port two years ago at the Metropolitan Club in NYC, but life has been a whirlwind! Here is a recap of this informative tasting that helped me get through my WSET Diploma Unit 6 exam on fortified wines.
A bit of history included in the program:
"The Port Wine was in the source of the first Demarcated Region (1756). It germinates in absolutely stunning mountain vineyards, classified as World Heritage by UNESCO, between steep terraces carved into the nature by generations of sacrificed men, a continual challenge of viticulture, where the human hand is a gem, year after year. Time tames the brute force of a single wine, assigning it a number of hues, aromas and palate capable to withstand decades and survive for centuries. The Portuguese wine critic Rui Falcão presents labels that crosses the centuries XIX, XX and XXI."
Speaker of Tutored Tasting - Master Blender of Rozés
The beautiful room where we enjoyed the tutored tasting.
(I have left my notes the way they were written during the flights & lecture. It comes off as more organic, but I understand them and hopefully they will be appreciated here).
Featured Port & Tasting Notes
Quinta do Vale Meão Vintage 2011: Bramble, herbs, dried & ripe dark plums, blackberries, med + acidity, med + tannins (needs age), anise, vegetal, med pepper 2011- AMAZING & one of the best vintages. Elite of the Douro Valley (producer). Not as well known for port. Only started producing port 11 years ago. Ruby port- best of ruby styles (bottle btw 2-3rd year). 100+ grams residual sugar. VERY GOOD! Not for long term - 40 years max. Blend of varieties.
Rozés 40 Year Old: *WINNER!* (AMAZING!) caramel, toffee, golden raisin, white pepper. Nuts on palate, hint of oxidation similar to Madeira --> SO TASTY! Flavors like fino sherry, but sweet! LONG finish. Blend of different ages of wines (another similarity to sherry). Blend must be exact - tough for producer! --> Starting with different wines (need a master blender). 200 bottles total/difficult to make (some are more than 100 years old - 2% or less).
Quinta do Portal 40 Year Old: Rye seed, apricot, caramel. Smoke/mineral on palate, orange rind. Very caramelly on palate. Light sherry notes. Nose more interesting than palate. Eh.
Poças Colheita 1976: Musty, robitussen/golden raisin, apricot on palate. Longer finish than previous port. 35-40 years noticeable bottle age = 1 year barrel age. Delicate, seems like white wine.
Dalva Golden White 1963: Oldest colheita on market. White port! Can't tell by color. Anise, golden raisin, A little fino sherry on finish. Good! 20% abv. Seemingly youthful & flowery.
Graham's Single Harvest 1969: Rich, caramel flavor, lacks complexity on palate. (Better than the next port!)
Taylor's Single Harvest 1964: Musty, not much complexity. One of Taylors 1st vintage tawny release. Eh! (Bought small producers & got tawny stock). Driest of whole tasting.
Kopke Colheita 1937: Oldest producer of Port. Strong alcohol on nose. Interesting, yet unusual nutty flavor on palate. Sherry oxidation very good. (Aging very important in Port).
Sandman Vintage 1945: Sour, smoky nose, musty. STRONG mineral notes, golden raisin caramel, high alcohol. Seems unbalanced. 1945 - one of best vintages! Not appealing, but interesting! 99-100pt rating.
Ramos Pinto Vintage 1924: Peaty scotch note, whisky scent. Tastes like sweet, high alcohol whisky! 90 years old! Not as great a vintage as 1945, but still 98-99 rating. Flew yesterday! Usually it's best to wait one week after plane travel to feature old wines. It could have shown better.
Niepoort VV: Super high alcohol, strong intensity on palate. Very rich & sweet. High acid, fresh. Hot alcohol. Long finish. Rich caramel, golden raisin, bright. VV=old wine. 1863! 1973 barrel.
Notes in the margins: Vintage port - considered the best in US, but not always in the Douro. Aged in Gaia - lighter/less rich. Porto - hot, wilder. Ports can last up to 120 years. English beverage for over 35 years. All wines submitted to Port wine institute for tasting appropriate styles (for approval). Robotic lagares an option, but not traditional. 48-72 hour fermentation - then fortified. Still use foot treading (best extraction). Most ports are made from vineyards of different estates. Sometimes 20-30-40+ varietals in 1 bottle. (The law) always blend Portuguese varietals (many local varietals) only. Very steep slopes. UN Heritage sites, beautiful landscapes. Olives/vineyards only. Only allowed to sell 2/3 of stock. Ports never filtered. Older --> less decant time. (young) 30-40 years - decant for a few hours. *Older vintages 25-30 years develop crust. Vintage port 8-9 years until 15th year shuts down and doesn't show! 9 months freezing cold, 3 months scorchingly hot region. Challenging climates very little rain (sometimes 0 in a year, no irrigation). Douro River and other rivers flow through.