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- wondersofwine - 02-24-2004
and others like Bucko that acknowledge a fondness for Port.
As part of last weekend's Triangle Wine Experience benefiting The Frankie Lemmon School (for children with special needs), I went to a session called "Port Demystified" at the Second Empire Restaurant in Raleigh. (The restaurant is a converted older home, quite elegant and has autographed photos from previous diners--Neil Sedaka, Richard Chamberlin, etc.) Session led by Todd and Bernice Cromwell (based in Seattle) and representing Rocha Porto (a Portuguese owned Porto house with a long history). We were given a two-page handout that contrasts Colheita or Reserve Port (always a Tawny) with Vintage Port (red port aged in bottle if it notes "Vintage" on label). It gives little comparative factoids (aged in wood or in bottle; filtered or nonfiltered; flavor components; food affinities of each, etc. He also told us how long to age different types of Port and that Ports of today are made in a less tannic style than those of ten years ago so may not age as long.
This is my second seminar on Ports and I still don't have it downpat, but now I can refer back to the handout.
We first had two red wines from Portugal (nothing too special in my book--I poured part of the first one out). Then a "white" Port. This was suggested as a refreshing summer drink (aperitif) or to use instead of vodka or gin with tonic water. White port can be dry or sweet (sweet is often called Lagrima). The dry white port is the one for mixing with tonic. The Lagrima is more like a Sauternes.
Ruby Port
We had a Rocha 2000 Vintage Port (a step up from a late bottled vintage). Opaque, very dark red, brick rim. Nice taste but I felt the alcohol. Ripe red plum, jammy, viscous, with a long finish. May peak in 15 years according to Mr. Cromwell. I believe he said a .375ml bottle retails for about $23.
Reserve or Colheita Port is only about 1/2 of 1% of total Port production. Vintage rubies are about 2% of production.
1994 Colheita Tawny Port--due to its youth its on the "ruby side" of tawnies. Light clear red--looks like a young ruby port; more tawny in flavor than appearance. Medium body. Very nice indeed. Suggested retail $14 a bottle--I'd certainly pay $14 for this wine!
1983 Tawny Port--light tawny color, clear.
Slight amaretto nose. Dried fruits and nuts on the palate. (We had toasty bits of bread, cheese, dried fruits including apricot and possibly golden raisins and red currants, and three chocolate puff confections--cocoa powder coating--to eat with the wine. The dried fruits went nicely with the 1983 Port. I really like this 1983. It retails for about $25. A bargain in my book.
20-Year Rocha Tawny Port--I knew from a previous Port tasting that the blend of vintages averages about 20 years and meets the standards of the Portuguese Wine Board or Institute--not all wines in the blend are 20 years old. (I think most of the Ports were 20% alcohol by volume). Medium tawny color, darker color and more aged aroma than the 1983 vintage Tawny. Again the dried fruit characteristic. I found this more subtle and enjoyable than my previous experience of a 20-year Port (which may have been from Graham's but I'm not sure). It wasn't as thick or concentrated, but I think it was a nice style. Again the suggested price was $25. I've paid more than that for a Cockburn 10-year tawny port.
We were treated to a 1966 Rocha Tawny Port (5-star vintage according to Michael Broadbent). Darker tawny color, clear. Tastes quite young and fresh. Has some viscosity. Suggested retail: $66.
Also saw (didn't open the bottle) a promotional 3-Century Port of 1975 vintage, 20-year old Tawny, and blended with 1900 vintage. Retails at about $140-$150.
Suggested food pairings besides the traditional Stilton cheese, walnuts, chocolate and Creme Brulee--pork loin, duck with Port reduction, Asian fusion foods, shrimp with coconut, etc.
I liked all the Tawny Ports (and thought the one Ruby Port we tried, the 2000, was good for its type). Rocha is not as well known a name in the States as some but that may contribute to the reasonable prices. I will be on the lookout for Port from this house in the future. The name of the house is pronounced something like Roe sha (with a rolling 'R'; not a hard 'c' like Roe ka).
[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 02-24-2004).]
- winoweenie - 02-24-2004
This house is a newbie for me. Sounds like they have some lovely stuff. I'll look for this in a couple of weeks when I'm in San Diego.. With their office in Wash they probably have distribution in Calif. WW
- Bucko - 02-24-2004
Rocha has been around for quite a while. Never a stellar house, they make decent Ports. Their Colheitas and Tawnies are their best offerings IMHO.
- Georgie - 03-02-2004
Thanks for the report on what sounds like a wonderful event! My mouth is watering....
- Tastevin - 03-02-2004
Wonder it sounds as though you had a great time; I must confess to being a bit envious. I am a bit puzzled however, hopefully you will help me. You refer to the 2000 Vintage under the classification (style) of 'Ruby'. Vintage Port is classified as 'Vintage Port', whilst Ruby being the most basic and least expensive style of Port comes under the heading 'Ruby'. Is the 2000 Vintage referred to as 'Ruby' in the literature Rocha gave you please? T.
- wondersofwine - 03-03-2004
I'll try to remember to bring the handout with me tomorrow and answer your question. I think it was described as a ruby port (aged in bottle, not in wood; filtered) as contrasted to a tawny port which is aged in barrel and usually not filtered, etc. As I said, I don't have all this downpat yet and have to refer to the notes.
- wondersofwine - 03-04-2004
Okay, Tastevin.
Basically the handout divides style of port into white (dry or sweet) and tawny ports, and red ports. Of the red ports they can be (depending on Port Intsitute regulations) labeled as vintage character, late bottled vintage, ruby, or vintage port. It says a vintage port is always a red port aged in bottle if it notes "VINTAGE" on the label. I guess I confused red port with ruby. A port with a year noted (but doesn't say VINTAGE" on the label) is always a tawny port. The example they gave is PORTO ROCHA 1991 COLHEITA PORT. Often these are called Colheita or Reserve. As I had learned earlier, both red and tawny ports are made from the same grape varietals--the difference is in how they are vinified.
[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 03-04-2004).]
- Tastevin - 03-05-2004
Thanks Wonder, I knew someone had got it wrong. True, both red and tawny ports are made from the same grape varietals - the difference is in how long they stay in wood after the wine is made. By the way, when you next fancy a drink on a hot day, try a Ruby with a couple of ice cubes in it; delicious! The more Ruby, the more ice cubes. T
- winoweenie - 03-05-2004
WOW is that the port someone asked about in the Collectibles thread? Memory's the 2nd thing to go!ww [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]
- wondersofwine - 03-05-2004
Nope. This is a continuation of the thread I started describing the "Port Demystified" session with Mr. Cromwell representing Rocha Porto house. Apparently a few mysteries haven't been completely demystified for me yet.