Quinta do Portal Vintage 1999

16.5 / 20

Producer: Quinta do Portal

Region: Porto

Country: Portugal

Good, dark ruby color when poured in the glass, the nose is filled with spices, raisins and dried plums and apricots. Also present in the background are cocoa and coffe and, at times, some ripe red berries also come up.

Its 13 years have erased most of the rough edges, the wine feeling very round in the palate, the tannins very integrated into the set, just present enough to give it some bite, and the ripe red fruits not overpowering the other components of the wine. Nevertheless, a full bodied wine, still very imposing where dried fruits and spices mingle with the ripe red fruit to create a good taste. Finish is quite long.

Feels ready to drink and enjoy right now - at its price, a really enjoyable Vintage.

Tasted on 2012-09-09

Quinta dos Malvedos Vintage 1999

17.0 / 20

Producer: Graham's

Region: Porto

Country: Portugal

In the years when there is no general Vintage declaration and the classical vintages are not bottled, single quinta vintages are usually produced - at least recently. More easily approachable in their youth than the classical vintages, these usually offer great value for a lower price than their classical cousins - and sometimes they're every bit as good as them (I'm thinking Quinta do Vesúvio right now).

This port is the single quinta from Graham's. The grapes used for this wine are usually the backbone of the great Graham's vintages. I had the opportunity to taste this wine a year and a half ago in a wine fair in Oporto and was completely blown away by it - amazing aromas and flavors and an amazing depth and complexity.

This time, the wine felt more restrained and closed than before. Although allowed a good decanting time, it never seemed to get to that level of expressiveness that I remembered. Lots of plums in the nose, a touch of oak/smoke, some raisins. Feels very young and restrained, as if the full set of aromas are there but unable to break out.

Still impressively structured in the palate, with really velvet smooth tannins and a good acidity, it shows some meaty red plums - also some dried plums and raising give it some residual sweetness. Really good persistence.

I'd say that you should not drink this right now. It's probably going through a closed phase right now - not uncommon in vintage Port. Hold on to it for a couple of years more - it should be worth it.

Tasted on 2012-07-07

Churchill's LBV 1999

16.5 / 20

Producer: Churchill Graham

Region: Porto

Country: Portugal

Dark in the glass, almost black, this Late Bottled Vintage has loads of chocolate and cocoa notes in the nose, along with jammy cherries and blackcurrants. Feeling very closed and subdued at first, with a strong emphasis on the oak side and a slight chemical side, it opens up to a more fruit-forward wine as it breathes.

Brilliantly structured in the palate, with lively, round tannins and very sweet and dense, almost chewy, it does not feel heavy at all since it has a fresh, alive acidity that keeps it very interesting. Again, as in the nose, the first tastes are very marked by cocoa/chocolate and oak that overpower the sweet, dense fruit that can be felt underneath. But given time, things tend to balance out and the fruit appears more to the foreground. Good, long finish marked by cocoa beans finish this up.

A good match for a cigar after dinner, this will undoubtedly last for quite some years in the bottle. If you decide to open it now, give it an hour or so in the decanter before consuming it.

Tasted on 2012-05-05

Quinta da Bacalhôa 1999

16.0 / 20

Producer: Bacalhôa Vinhos

Region: Terras do Sado

Country: Portugal

An eleven year old Cabernet Sauvignon tasted in a magnum format. The color is a beautiful red with a brown margin, showing its age. the nose is already filled with liquorice aromas, along with wood and spices notes. After some time, there is a hint of pepper and vegetable that you would expect from a Cabernet. In the mouth, it is a very elegant wine, with the tannins completely integrated with the fruit and the wood. It has a wonderfully persistent finish. Not sure if it can age much more, but right now it is a very drinkable wine.

Will stand its own with simple roast meats.