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 PORT
WINE
Port is a rich, fortified wine from the Douro
region of northern Portugal. It is made by stopping
the fermentation process before it is complete
by adding grape spirit or brandy (known as aguardente).
This leaves the wine with natural grape sugar
and a ripe fruity flavour. It was first known
in England as Portugal wine, and it was only later
that its name was shortened to Port wine. Vinho
do Porto (Port wine) is housed and bottled
in Portugal's second largest city, Oporto, situated
close to the mouth of the River Douro.
Port starts life as a deep, dark full-flavoured
wine, evolving with age into different styles
to suit different occasions. White Port is made
from white grapes and drunk well-chilled as an
apéritif-style wine. Ruby is a blend of
young, spicy Ports bottled after spending around
3 years in wood. The wine has a dark ruby colour
and a full, fruity aroma and flavour. Tawny is
a blend of Ports from a number of harvests aged
for a longer period of time in wood. The wines
begin to shed their deep colours and youthful
spicy character taking on a smooth flavour and
a mature tawny colour. High quality tawnies indicate
their age on the bottle.
Vintage Character is a blended Port of around
4 years of age with the basic characteristics
of a Vintage Port. It has a deep colour with a
full-bodied and complex taste in the mouth, with
a powerful after-taste.
Colheita Port is a single harvest tawny made from
high quality wines, aged in wood for at least
7 years until the wine takes on a rich, smooth
tawny character.
Late Bottled Vintage Port is from a good harvest,
bottled after spending a minimum of 5 and a maximum
of 6 years in wood. These wines tend to have more
depth and complexity than a Ruby or Vintage Character
but are softer than a Vintage Port. Crusted or
Crusting Port is a blend of high quality wines
from a number of years, bottled without filtration
so that the wine throws a 'crust' as it ages in
bottle. These rich, dark, full flavoured wines
should therefore be decanted like a Vintage Port.
Single Quinta Vintage is Port from a single harvest
and an individual wine estate. Bottled as Vintage
Port, the wine matures in bottles and throws a
crust as it ages in bottle. Port from a single
exceptional harvest is sometimes declared as 'Vintage'.
Bottled after spending between two and three years
in wood, the wine continues to mature in bottle
until it is ready to drink. In some cases this
may take two decades or more. As the wine ages
it softens and slowly sheds its deep, dark colour,
gaining in structure and complexity. As Vintage
Port throws a natural crust or sediment in the
bottle, it should be stood upright for 24 hours
and decanted carefully before serving
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