NV Cockburn Porto Fine Tawny

Community Tasting Notes (12) Avg Score: 85 points

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  5/24/2023 - StefVl wrote:

  sweet

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  4/8/2023 - passengerpigeon Likes this wine:

  Nose: Out of the bottle, there is a very pleasant bouquet of raisin, figs, blackberry, dark cherry, slight neoprene, honey, a sort of breadiness reminiscent of pound cake, and a touch of salinity similar to that found in cream sherry. Poured into the glass, it's more of the same, but lighter, and with more emphasis on the typical red wine tannins and a new slight hint of lemon.
  
  Taste: Wow, it's a whole lot sweeter and "brighter" on the palate than I expected based on the color, description and nose, with the tannins of red wine being incredibly faint, and the flavors quite hard to pick apart. Maraschino cherries and raisins are the main theme here with additional notes of cranberry, honey and red apple, and a faint hint of vanilla, but it seems very fruit-forward with none of the "nuttiness" mentioned on the bottle nor the caramel and chocolate flavors that a couple of other reviewers have mentioned being discernible. I believe I can also taste the fortifying spirit on the palate, but I think it actually contributes to the flavor profile here rather than being an intrusive flaw like raw ethanol notes in barrel-aged spirits are.
  
  Finish: Some very slight earthy tannins, a whisper of spice, and then a lingering note of more raisins accompanied by apple peel.
  
  Conclusion: This is a good, easy-to-drink, uncomplicated but pleasant dessert wine that is worth the price, even if the flavor profile took me by surprise. I've only had one other port before and that was Taylor-Fladgate Ruby Port; compared to that, Cockburn's Tawny was sweeter with far less tannic character, and had flavors more reminiscent of dried and candied fruits than fresh ones. I was expecting the latter to be true but not the former, yet I still appreciate it for what it is. I am actually glad that I decided to open it now instead of waiting until I had a cute girl to share it with, because it isn't particularly elegant or romantic, and this isn't the wine you'd use to convert somebody who insists that they don't like sweet wines. On the other hand, I feel like Cockburn's statement on their website that port is "for more than just Christmas" has more substance to it than a predictable attempt by their marketing team to shift more of the wine, because the brightness and clarity of this wine's palate unburdened by the heavy notes of added defrutum in cheap sherry make me want to drink it chilled on a sunny summer's day moreso than any California rose does.

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  1/12/2018 - Muledog71 wrote: 87 Points

  Not impressed, too much heat on the palette. Just a touch rough for me without any of the tawny flavors usually repped.

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  6/27/2017 - Paul S wrote: 88 Points

  Our night drink with cheese at Singita Sasakwa. Very pleasant - this had a lovely tawny nose of plums, cherries and figs with a touch of chocolate and a hint of mahogany wood. The palate was round and balanced, with juicy acidity framing nicely mellow notes of whole cherries and a touch of spice. Simple, but a pleasure to drink on a cool African night.

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  1/22/2015 - crsamuel wrote: 84 Points

  Spicy on the tongue but quickly mellows. Light lingering taste but not a lot of warmth going down.

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