The Gentleman’s guide to fortified wines

[danek]

The first in a series of articles covering fortified wines is my interpretation of the most famous fortified wine, Port. Since I am far from an expert, I am going to keep this simple and focused on the most common aspects of Port. This is certainly not intended to address all of the complexities of this distinguished industry, feel free to offer corrections or further explanations if something is incorrect or missing.

To correctly be classified as Port, this fortified wine has to come from grapes grown in the Douro Valley in northern Portugal, much like Cognac has to come from the Cognac region of France and Scotch must come from, well, Scotland. The most popular Port is produced from red grapes although white Ports are gaining in popularity. For our discussion, we will be focusing on the red style.

How Port is made:
Port starts out like any wine. When fruit sugars are at targeted levels, the grapes are harvested and their stems are separated. They are then crushed and the juice (skins included for red Ports) is allowed to ferment in vats.

While typical wine is allowed to ferment completely (all available sugars are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide) brandy (styles vary by producer) is added to the wine destined for Port, thus halting fermentation before all sugars are converted. The addition of liquor makes this a fortified wine, significantly higher in alcohol by volume. Because the fermentation was halted prematurely, it is also much sweeter than normal wine. Both of these factors allow Port to age very slowly and have a very long cellar-life.

Styles:
Basically, there are two styles of Port: Barrel-aged (generically referred to as Tawny) and Bottle-aged (generically referred to as Ruby).

The movement of the wine in and out of the wood of the barrel imparts a caramel color and complex flavors including those of vanilla and nuts.

Aging them in glass bottles, without exposure to air or wood keeps the vibrant “wine” colors and flavors intact much longer and the “soul” of the grape is more distinguishable than in barrel-aged Ports.

Fined and Filtered:
Traditionally, Ports are not fined (particulates are removed via chemistry) and filtered. This means that Ports need to be decanted to be enjoyed sediment-free (many aficionados let the bottle stand still, upright, overnight to help collect fines in the bottom of the bottle). Manufacturers started to fine-and-filter wines and added a stopper rather than a traditional cork to promote longer life when repeatedly opening and re-corking (like in a restaurant).

Barrel-aged Ports: We’ll discuss the two most common.
Tawny: The best commonly known (at least in my part of the world), it is a blend of several vintages, all aged in barrels a minimum of 7 years. If 10, 20, 30 or more age is indicated, all wines blended are at least this old.

Colheita: (kul-YAY-tuh) At the time of harvest, most wine makers know that a particular year will be especially good. After spending the minimum 7 years in the cask, if the wine is deemed to have aged as expected, it will not be blended, but usually left in the cask even longer before bottling under the specific vintage, or year it was harvested. Many Colheitas are left to age in the cask for 20 years or more.

Bottle-aged Ports: We’ll discuss the three most common.
Ruby: The most extensively produced, Ruby is a blend of unaged wines from many different vineyards. It is usually fined (particulates are removed) and doesn’t improve with age.

Late Bottled Vintage (LBV): Seen more commonly on restaurant wine lists, an LBV is a Ruby left in the vat longer than originally planned (usually due to market cycles). This wine is typically bottled 4-6 years after harvest. LBV's are also typically fined and filtered and sealed with a stopper to promote longevity after original bottle opening.

Vintage: Recoginzed immediately that a particular year is/has produced an outstanding wine, it is bottled after a short time (1-3 years) in sealed stainless steel or concrete vats (to 'rest' without air or wood). This wine is bottled with the vintage proudly displayed on the lable. Roughly, only 2% of Ports qualify for this distinction and are generally not released to the consumer market for many years after bottling.

 

[ouch]

Nice!

Well done, Danek.

Port rocks.

Sorry, but this is the only port pic I have handy.

 

[Greyfox]

Nicely done.

 

[castlecraver]

This is a fantastic post. Port, for all my barroom credibility, is something my knowledge and experience sorely lacking on. It's something I'd like to get into. Can you recommend any ports that'd be particularly accessible for the neophyte? Something analogous to the Macallan in scotch.

 

[danek]

Pat, as always, that's a gonna be a tough one for anyone to answer for you. It mostly is dependant on if you prefer the more prominant flavors of the wine, or if you like the more vanilla, carmel notes. Compare it to the flavors imparted in a deeply oaked bourbon or a less oaked wisky like Highland Park.

Often, I prefer the brightness and lighter profile of a Ruby, to a sweeter and more carmel-y tawny. Considered the best of each category (and the most expensive) are the Colheita tawny, and the Vintage ruby.

I would suggest that you start with two inexpensive, half bottles of a common tawny and a common ruby, from a large producer like Dow's or Taylor-Fladgate. This should give you a good indication of which style you prefer. From there, you can ramp up your experiments with something that you're sure to enjoy. In a very short time you will become a very knowledgeable aficiando compared to the common man, and you will be able to share your new-found knowledge with acquaintances.

Old tawnies are usually the most preferred and easiliest accessable by the masses, especially young women (at the risk of profiling) due to it's very sweet and carmel nature. You can't go wrong with a 30 year old tawny, sure to impress your guests. Don't forget to decant and serve in small, delicate, sophisticated glassware.

Edit - I haven't found a port yet that I really didn't like.

 

[krevo]

Nothing fancy, but I usually enjoy this with my good after dinner cigars.



Yalumba Museum Reserve Antique Tawny Port

Rating: Robert Parker Robert Parker 96 Points
The non-vintage Museum Reserve Antique Tawny is a concoction of multiple grapes from a 16-year-old solera. It exhibits a medium amber color, fabulous ripeness, and a huge bouquet of honeyed fruits, prunes, plums, and a hint of figs. This gorgeous Tawny is appropriate to drink as dessert rather than with dessert. This wine does not improve in the bottle, but it will last for many years.

 

[danek]

You will notice that nowhere is "Port" listed on this bottle or in the descriptor by the producer. That is because this is an Austrailian wine, not Portuguese. That is not to say that it's not any better or worse, just not Port.

The solera mentioned above is an aging system that is more accustomed to Sherries, which I was planning to talk about in a later article. To give you a sneak-preview a solera is a series of barrles, each one siphoned into the next, whereby the exact amount that enters the beginnning of the "barrel conga line" must be removed at the far end.

 

[krevo]

You will notice that nowhere is "Port" listed on this bottle or in the descriptor by the producer. That is because this is an Austrailian wine, not Portuguese. That is not to say that it's not any better or worse, just not Port.

The solera mentioned above is an aging system that is more accustomed to Sherries, which I was planning to talk about in a later article. To give you a sneak-preview a solera is a series of barrles, each one siphoned into the next, whereby the exact amount that enters the beginnning of the "barrel conga line" must be removed at the far end.

Yah, I think to be classified as port it must be made in Portugal. It fits the floral profile of the La Gloria Cubana MdO habanos very well though.

 

[Jac]

You will notice that nowhere is "Port" listed on this bottle or in the descriptor by the producer. That is because this is an Austrailian wine, not Portuguese. That is not to say that it's not any better or worse, just not Port.

The solera mentioned above is an aging system that is more accustomed to Sherries, which I was planning to talk about in a later article. To give you a sneak-preview a solera is a series of barrles, each one siphoned into the next, whereby the exact amount that enters the beginnning of the "barrel conga line" must be removed at the far end.

Awesome.