For The Love Of Port

Long hot day at work today meant a well chilled Port when I got home, so no formal notes on this, but....plenty of dark blackberries, tempered spirit, and eucalyptus. A nice way to wind down for the evening.
87 Points.

I am assuming you had one of those 375m bottles we got a month or so ago. I actually would rate this a little higher. (Side Note: did you open this at least a few hours before or just pop and pour? And are you putting this in the fridge? I tend to like to open these 4 hours or more before and serve at room temp/cellar temp which for me is about 60 F.)

Is it just me, or does the recent round of Bin 27 taste a little better than it did a couple of years ago? Our port club has had this and the TNs from then are worse than I would rate/describe this now. It just seems better integrated.

John M. wrote:I am assuming you had one of those 375m bottles we got a month or so ago. I actually would rate this a little higher. (Side Note: did you open this at least a few hours before or just pop and pour? And are you putting this in the fridge? I tend to like to open these 4 hours or more before and serve at room temp/cellar temp which for me is about 60 F.)

Is it just me, or does the recent round of Bin 27 taste a little better than it did a couple of years ago? Our port club has had this and the TNs from then are worse than I would rate/describe this now. It just seems better integrated.

Yes this was one of those 1/2 bottles many of us got. It was in the fridge overnight so was very well chilled, but even with the a/c on it warmed up quickly. I normally prefer them not quite so cold, but when it's that hot well chilled is the way to go since I work most of the day outside.

And yes, this latest round of Bin 27 (from both 750 and 375's) seem to show less heat on them what occurred after the change earlier around 2003/2004 when it got quite lean and hot (something many of us have talked about). This latest round seems to have less heat and richer fruit. I'm glad this is the case and it used to be a favorite of mine, then I lost interest when it got hot and lean. But the recent improvement is why I've gone back to drinking it regularly. Oh, and the question was posed to David Guimaraens HERE i've also included part of his answer below....

The style change that you refer to I believe is a result of the development in the fortifying spirit we use, and the positive contribution the piston fermenters have had on the production of our base Ports for Bin 27. The spirit we use further enhances the freshness of fruit that is so characteristic of a young vintage, and the piston fermenters ensure we get Ports with great extraction, but still keeping the tannins in balance.