For The Love Of Port

Decant: 3 hours - South Africa. This decanted very easily. There was very little sediment in the wine and what there was, was small and fine. The last drops came out very cloudy, even through muslin, but were kept separate from the rest of the wine. Considering I was expecting a colheita, I was very surprised at how dark red this wine was. Opaque in the centre, distinctly red but with a brown edge. A very strong small of VA from the decanter - very much reminded me of a madeira rather than a port. After three hours in the decanter I approached it for a taste. A lot of the VA had gone but the wine still had a nose like a very old madeira. I wonder if the wine has been baked in the sun? Nose is very closed and very dull, just a hint of strawberries with a buttery tone. The last of the VA gives a burnt rubber edge. First sip brings a lot of sweetness, very thick wine in the mouth. Not much fruit at first but after the initial impression of sweetness the wine brought a wave of acidity and then sort of unpeeled - bringing different flavours, one after the other. There was a combination of strawberry syrup, burnt sugar, caramel, chocolate and then a surge of heat. The aftertaste was surprising. Short to start with - some chocolate and strawberry which faded quite quickly. But then it suddenly came back with some extra tones. Overall, I would say that this was an interesting experiment, one which I enjoyed but wouldn't necessarily repeat. I suspect that this wine has been spoiled through heat, thus giving the odd madeirised tones. The acidity has supported the wine though. I'll come back to this tomorrow and see if it improves with a little more time in the decanter. 85 points