NV De Krans (Die Krans) Cape Tawny Port

Community Tasting Notes (3) Avg Score: 88.5 points

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  12/20/2023 - jac-aranda Likes this wine: 91 Points

  This was such a treat, a limited release wine tasted at the beautiful cellars at the vineyard in Calitzdorp, surrounded by hanepoot vines. Deep tawny copper-gold, a really attractive wine. There's glacé orange, nuts and raisins on the nose, and a bit of spicy frutcake in the background.
  
  The first sip is a delight; lots of complexity from walnut, buttery fudge flavours, caramel and naartje peel. Lovely long finish. Quite a lot of sherry oxidation. Great balance of acidity and sweetness, this is a really grown-up wine - I get the comparison to Madeira that another reviewer made. I didn't get any sense of heat from spirit, really smooth integration.
  
  A pleasure to get a bit more insight into the wine and its origin while we were tasting. The grapes for De Krans port are grown further away from the cellars, which are built on comparatively rich, riverbed soil. The port grapes thrive on the scrappier, thinner soils here on the western edge of the Klein Karoo desert region. I think they use the richer riverbed soils near the cellars to cultivate hanepoot grapes (Muscat d'Alexandrie), apricot and peach orchards. Although the tasting notes online for De Krans Tawny refers to five-to-15-year-old wines, there are apparently some much older wines (significantly older!) in the blend; and that helps to explain the complexity and long finish.
  
  I was privileged to taste this port in the location where it's grown and made. You're guaranteed a warm, friendly welcome from the team at De Krans in Calitzdorp if you have the good fortune to be able to visit.

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  1/9/2013 - Biglama wrote: 89 Points

  prima port, over langere tijd gedronken, nu is fles op

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  5/3/2006 - cofidis2 wrote: 89 Points

  Color: meduim red center fading to orange at the rim.
  nose: Nuts and spices
  Palate: very smooth on the front of the palate, the mid-palate was interesting. The flavor really changed to more of a madeira type nuttyness and VA. However, this lasted just a couple of seconds and then on to the back of the palate where a bit of heat showed. normally this would probably detract from the overall experience, but I actually think it helped the finish a bit.
  
  Overall: This is one of the better tawny's I have had in a while. Very much in line with a Douro tawny. Matter of fact, had I not known, I would have sworn this was from Portugal not SA.
  
  For a $11.00 (US) tawny I will buy more. Here is some info on it

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