The Cellar: A Wine For Cold Winter Nights

Friday, February 27, 2015

Steffen Rasch, GoLocalProv Wine Writer

I find it difficult to match wines with the kind of frigid cold weather we are experiencing these days. When it is warm outside and the sun is shining any crisp white will do, but sub-zero temperatures and several feet of snow? There is one wine however that accompanies sitting in front of the fireplace and looking at the mounting snow: that wine is Port. The Port that I am sipping on these days is the absolutely delicious 2008 ‘Late Bottled Vintage’ Unfiltered Port from Fonseca.

About Port

Portugal’s famous fortified wine ‘Port’ comes in slew of different styles; Ruby, Tawny, Reserve, LBV, Vintage, etc. While the color and taste may vary, not to mention the price points, all Port wines start their life as any other regional red wine. They are made from grapes sourced from the hot and arid Douro Valley. Each Port house has their own signature blend. While often a secret most of them are based on the traditional regional grape varieties Touriga Nacional , Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cão, Tinta Roriz (aka Tempranillo) and Touriga Francesa. During fermentation grape brandy is added to the fermenting must killing all the yeasts bringing fermentation to a screeching halt. The result is a densely colored red wine that is high in alcohol, as well as high in non-converted residual grape sugar. What happens after this point will determine the final style of Port.

The Wine

For people just getting into Port, I often recommend seeking out a ‘Late Bottled Vintage’ example. These wines are usually more complex than your ‘entry-level Ruby’, still moderately priced and come ‘pre-aged’ so it is ready to drink right away. The wines used to produce Fonseca’s ’08 LBV were drawn from a reserve of some of the best full bodied red ports produced on the 2008 harvest, from grapes grown on Fonseca’s own vineyards and on other top properties in the Cima Corgo and Douro Superior areas of the Douro Valley. After blending the wine was then aged in huge 4000 gallon wood vats for five years! The result is a stunning Port, which has since been awarded 93 points from Wine Spectator and a Gold Medal from Decanter Magazine.

What I like about this Port is that it drinks almost like a normal red wine. Sure it is sweet and rich, but the flavors are savory and wine is so well-balanced that neither the sugar nor the alcohol is overly pronounced. The wine shows exceptional length with lingering flavors of reduced dark plum syrup, bitter dark chocolate and savory spice. At $24 per bottle this is an absolutely steal of a value.

Try it!

Steffen Rasch is a Certified Sommelier and Specialist of Wine. Feel free to email him at [email protected] with any wine-related question or learn about wine in person by signing up for one of his tastings through the Providence Wine Academy.

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