Port

Taylor?s Fine Tawny is aged for up to three years in large old oak in Vila Nova de Gaia at the mouth of the mighty Douro River; home to port. 

It is a sweet, medium ruby coloured wine with medium body and finish; a lighter style of port and bottled ready to drink. It does not require any further ageing in bottle and will not evolve in flavour further. 

Drink lightly chilled with tasty cheese and dried fruit or as an aperitif on its own.

Taylor?s Fine Ruby a blend of full bodied Port wines aged for around two years in large oak vats in Taylor?s cellars, or ?lodges?, in Vila Nova de Gaia.  

As they age, they gain smoothness and elegance while retaining their fruitiness, intensity and youthful ruby colour.  They are then blended together for balance and consistency. With its firm tannins and concentrated fruitiness, Fine Ruby is perfect for the classic port-and-cheese combination.

It is particularly good with blue-veined and richly flavoured soft cheeses.  It also pairs well with berry fruit and dark chocolate flavours and, like all red Ports, makes an excellent after dinner drink.

source - www.taylor.pt

Graham?s Late Bottled Vintage Port (LBV) is a superb wine, selected from the finest production of what was a spectacular year. Whereas Vintage Port spends two years in casks and then matures in bottle, LBV is matured in seasoned oak and then bottled at between four and six years of age; hence the term, ?late bottled?. Its ageing process encourages the wine?s development, and as such, at the time of bottling it is ready to drink without the need for decanting.

Kopke is a family owned port producer with a long and illustrious history of making complex tawny ports with long aging time in a range of styles, including this 10 year old, which is where the fun and complexity all begin. 

The average age of each of the component wines in this port is 10 years old, hence the name, which describes the style. It is sweet, richly flavoursome and drinks well either lightly chilled or at room temperature; even better served with walnuts, quince paste and aged cheddar. 

Outstanding Barossa Valley fortified wine, matured in oak casks for several years to  allow the flavours to concentrate and develop complexity. This is a spicy, rich wine with dark fruit and pepper notes.

Rockford Wines' legacy

Rockford Wines is an icon itself and a relatively new one, established in 1971 by Robert O'Callaghan, who has forged a reputation for preserving winemaking tradition and saving many of the world's oldest grape vines from being pulled up in the Australian Government's vine pull schemes of the 1970s and 1980s.

The Rockford vintage shed houses equipment from 50 to 100 years ago, which was discarded by other wineries as modernisation took over.

The translucent copper coloured tone of the wine is matched by the beautiful soft nutty aromas gained by a full twenty years ageing in seasoned oak casks. Otima 20 years is rich and delicate, but never cloying; the tannins and acidity ensure balance and perfect length.

Niepoort is one of the oldest port families in the Douro in Portugal; the home of port and producers of a range of outstanding sweet ports, including this refreshing white. This is made the same way as ruby port, only using white grape varieties, all indigenous to Portugal. 

Serve on ice in a short glass or lightly chilled as an aperitif or late summer after drink. Surprisingly, deliciously different and very, very good. 

This sweet tawny port from Graham's is a blend of ports aged in old oak casks for an average of 10 years. This is where great tawny port starts as it is part of the reserve category of port. This classification includes 10, 20, 30 and over 40 year old designations. 

These age indications allow port producers the freedom to fine tune their wines, which are aged in seasoned oak casks of between 600 to 640 litres in size. This controlled oxidative aging process allows the wines to develop slowly into nutty flavoured, complex tawny ports as the colour fade and esters and acetals develop in the wines. 

Think of this as a great dessert wine or drink it in a more classic style as an accompaniment to an aged cheddar cheese board.