You know the old saying, make sure you have a port in every girl…
Quinta Da Romaneira 10 Year Old Tawny Port $64.90
Da Romaneira are one of the oldest Quintas in Portugals’ Douro Valley and this 10 YO Tawny is produced from a blend of old ports made from Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Barroca that have an average age of 10 years before bottling. Russet-coloured, perfumed with caramelized raisin, roasted, nutty notes, dried fruit and mixed peel, with a long, succulent, beautifully balanced finish.
Sip with: Old fashioned, cinnamon-dusted apple pie.
www.winecircle.co.nz
Quinta Da Romaneira Late Bottled Vintage LBV 2012 Unfiltered $54.90
This Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) is made from Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesca and Tina Cão grapes harvested in 2012. Then it spent around five years in oak cask before being bottled without filtration (to preserve the fruit intensity). I love the crazy walnut and blackcurrant aromas that wash into a rich, seriously spicy, berry-driven mid palate and a marathon-like length of flavour.
Sip with: Black Forest gateaux.
www.winecircle.co.nz
Mazuran’s Vintage Port 1974 $P.O.A
Mazuran’s on Lincoln Road, West Auckland have been crafting port wines since the early 1940’s, and magnificently, have vintage ports still available to buy dating back to 1942. They are the only New Zealand winery to distil its own grape brandy for fortifying its wines, many of which are made using 79-year-old vines. 79! I purchased this bottle back in 2007 and it cost me $95. It’s, dark, topaz-coloured, perfectly caramelised, nutty, luxuriously silky and creamy to drink. It’s a crazy thing to be able to buy and drink something from your birth year.
Sip with: Who cares. The port is the hero.
www.mazurans.com
