Port for your pleasure
Dec 18 2009 by Katharine Everitt, The Journal
The Single Quinta Ports are often bargains. They’re made in the same way as the finest Vintage Ports, but in very slightly less good years. The Single Quinta is an individual named vineyard, often the pride and joy of a great Port house, the wine which forms the backbone of the blend when a Vintage proper is declared.
For example, Fonseca’s magnificent 1985 Vintage Port will set you back £60 at Waitrose, but Fonseca Guimaerens (a Single Quinta) Vintage 1996 is just £25 (and even cheaper at Sainsbury’s or Richard Granger Fine Wines).
Still deep and young-looking, it has a fabulously aromatic, cedary nose combined with ripe raisin and figgy fruit, followed up by a hugely fruity flavour that’s both creamy and complex. It’s superb.
Other great Single Quinta Ports easily available include Croft’s Quinta da Roeda 1997 (£19.99 at Majestic), which in a rather lighter style, has the smell of damson jam and a nice freshness of fruit in the mouth and Taylor’s Vargellas 2001 (around £26.99 at Oddbins, Majestic, Sainsbury’s, Tesco or Waitrose).
Taylor’s Late Bottle Vintage 2003 (reduced to £9.99 at Oddbins) is also very young and deep with lots of ripe black fruit and more than a hint of morello cherries.
By the way, decanting is easy: just stand the bottle upright for a day to allow the sediment to settle and then pour it slowly into a clean container until you see a stream of solids appearing. Keep this gunge to add to your gravy.
Good tawny Port is not prohibitively expensive. An elegant 50cl bottle of Warre’s Optima costs £14.49 at Oddbins. It’s less obviously fruity and more like liquid Christmas cake than a Vintage style.
Taylor’s is my favourite 10 Year Old (£19.99 at Majestic). It’s more like Christmas pud in a glass than cake: a lovely gentle, lingering drink to be savoured slowly – certainly not a whole bottle at a single sitting, unless, in the true Christmas spirit, you share it with all the family. Serve it cool, but not chilled to death.
Wine of the week
De Grendel, Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Oddbins £7.99
Wonderfully refreshing, aromatic dry white from South Africa, it’s riper than most Sauvignon, with gooseberry and green plum fruit and an aftertaste of green pepper. Delicious with almost any fish dish.
