One from Portugal, One from Spain

[wondersofwine]

(Also will be posting in WT101 on Wine Lovers' Community site)

Graham's 1998 Malvedos Vintage Porto
Malvedos is a property owned by Graham. $20.99 for a half bottle (375ml) 20% alchohol
Cork broke in half--pushed lower half down into the bottle and poured twice through a tea sieve to extract cork pieces and sediment.
Deep ruby purple; some sediment.
Leaves "legs" on the side of the glass.
Nose of prunes, flavor of stewed fruits in a pleasant way. Comes across the palate as warming, not "hot." Seems balanced with touch of sweetness but not sugary. I find that I lick my lips and relish the finish. Shows better on its own than side-by-side with the Spanish wine (the sweetness of the Spanish wine probably distorts the flavor of the Port). I have very limited experience with vintage Ports (usually prefering the Colheita or Tawny Ports) and this is the first vintage port I've really liked!

Alvear Solera 1927 Pedro Ximenez from Montilla-Moriles, Spain. 100% P.X. grapes
16% alcohol $19.99 for half bottle
(The solera system for this naturally sweet wine was started in 1927. Grapes at optimum maturity are spread out on mats to dry in the sun until they become raisins. The solera is a blend of many vintages, topping up a series of barrels with wine from previous barrels going back to a small portion of wine started in 1927.)
Gold-brown or umber color. "Leggy" on glass. Caramel, raisin, other dried fruits on the nose. Prune and dried apricot or marmalade on the palate. Some fig and caramel and almond notes. Seems sweeter than the Graham Malvedos Porto.
Prefered the vintage port overall versus the P.X. but prefered the P.X. as a match to Maytag bleu cheese (store didn't have any Stilton cheese). Another common suggestion for enyoying P.X. is to pour it over vanilla ice cream. For the dollar difference, I would buy the Graham Malvedos again rather than the P.X.



[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 12-14-2005).]