jac-aranda
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jenswergeland
15 Tasting Notes
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Member since April 2015
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Member #391,480 signed up 4/26/2015
15 Tasting Notes
This member's profile is not public.
2009 Poças Porto Vintage
3/16/2024 - jac-aranda Likes this wine: 90 Points
An idle weekend and decided to open one of my bottles of Poças 2009 to see how it has progressed. I vaguely remember that Roy Hersh was very approving about the cask samples.
Poças is one of the few Portuguese-founded port houses, and is well-known for its table wines as well as port wine. The 2009 has a deep, opaque crimson appearance and still looks very youthful. There's a slightly spirituous nose, which quickly gives way to concentrated blackcurrant, mace and pudding spice, with rosewater and a fresh, green note like ferns or grass-cuttings.
15-year-old vintage port can often be at an awkward stage of development. This bottle is still quite closed and restrained on the palate after a couple of hours in the decanter; plenty of tannin, but softening, with camphor or mint wafting through the luxurious red fruit. Poças's wines are made in a slightly drier style than wines from many British-founded port houses, which gives it a very welcome freshness. Medium finish, with spice and coffee.
I like this wine, and when I look at the original price it represents jaw-droppingly good value for money. I'm looking forward to trying it again in a couple of years' time, and it'll be interesting to see how it opens up. I think it's going to improve significantly.
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2000 Niepoort Porto Vintage
3/10/2024 - jac-aranda Likes this wine: 94 Points
Deep, intense garnet-red in the glass, with hints of purple that make this look like a much more youthful wine. Even the cork looked youthful! Nose of stewed cherries, Christmas pudding, bitter almonds, espresso coffee and a hit of really expensive English bridle leather. After a day in a decanter there are powerful blackcurrant fruit and fennel seed aromas in there, too.
The first sip is fruit and spices: prunes, morello cherries and mince pies; with a sweet liquorice finish that just keeps on going. As usual with Niepoort, there is beautiful balance. The tannins are perfect, softened after 22 years in bottle, but still giving structure to this lovely wine. The spirit is perfectly integrated, and, while it's a sweet wine, there's no sense of cloying or sugariness.
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2017 Graham Porto Vintage
1/27/2024 - jac-aranda Likes this wine: 94 Points
Tasted out of a half-bottle.
Opaque, deep Tyrian purple. The nose is all sweet fruit: blackcurrant and ripe black mulberry, with a note of heather honey and spicy hints of nutmeg and pot pourri.
Rich, generous fruit on the first sip, coating the tongue, and setting up a very long, silky finish of berries, roses and warm honey. Full-bodied, with sweetness in perfect equilibrium against the firm, fleshy tannins.
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