Port Tasting
At European Vine Selections
Saturday 2-4pm
January 27th
Come join us on Saturday and try a mouth watering selection of Vintage Character, Late Bottled Vintage and Tawny ports. All ports are fermented until half the sugar is converted to alcohol, then the fermentation is stopped by the addition of clear grape brandy, bringing the alcohol content of the young wine to around twenty percent. It is the aging process that determines the type of port the wine becomes. Vintage Character or Reserve ports are blended from high quality reserve wines from a range of vintages, into a distinct style that varies from house to house. Late Bottled Vintage ports are blended from high-quality, full-bodied wines from a single vintage. LBV is aged for a minimum of four, up to at most six years in wood. The wines are then blended to show the house’s style while reflecting the qualities of the vintage year. Vintage Character & LBV’s are both ruby ports with rich jammy dark fruit flavors. Tawny ports are a blend of several years, with the age on the bottle representing the average age of the wines. The long aging in barrel gives a combination of delicate wood hues, rich mellow fruit and slight nutty flavors. The great thing about all these ports is that they will last for a couple of weeks after opening so that you can stretch the enjoyment out over several evenings. They are also aged so that they are ready to drink upon release. Dan McClaskey will be on hand to tell us more and show off the following wines.
Fonseca, Bin 27, Vintage Character Port, $17 full bottle – $11 half bottle
Bin 27 was created over a century ago for family consumption, and only released commercially in 1972. This rich, velvety reserve ruby port brims with luxuriant blackberry and plum offset by notes of sweet spice and dried fruits, set in a mouth filling texture underscored by ripe, soft tannins. Blended from reserve wines selected for their intense fruit character and depth of color, Bin 27 spends four years in large wood vats prior to bottling. Its well-knit structure, rich, velvety full body and luscious blackcurrant and cherry flavors, also evident in the nose, carry into an intense, lingering finish.
2000 Taylor Fladgate,
Late Bottled Vintage Port, $20
This ripe, full wine, which marries concentrated black currant and plum fruit to intense impressions of licorice, spice and dried fruit in a velvety, elegant texture. Deep purple in color, with intense, jammy fruit flavors and an aromatic nose of berries, vanilla and a touch of walnut, it is best enjoyed with the traditional full-flavored cheeses and nuts, intense desserts or on its own at the end of a meal.
Delaforce, His
Eminence’s Choice 10 Year Old Tawny Port,
$21
His Eminence’s displays silky berry and currant flavors offset by distinct notes of dried fruit, spice and walnuts with a supple, lush texture. It is a good food wine able to complement intense, rich foods such as foie gras, and matches well with soft cheeses, and desserts with light chocolate and caramelized sugar.
Delaforce, Curious
& Ancient 20 Year Old Tawny Port,
$33
This is a refined, silky wine dominated by dried fruit, fig
and raisin flavors with distinct notes of almonds, caramel and mocha in a
refined texture supported by a firm acidity.
The Curious & Ancient is a finely balanced wine of phenomena
richness and complexity. The additional 10 years of aging yields an elegant
balance between the nutty honeyed finish and the vivid raisiny fruit.
European Vine
Selections,
522 15th Ave. E., at Mercer St. on Capitol Hill. 323-3557.
Open
daily, 12-7,
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