Entry for April 30, 2009- A Vintage Year for Port
There’s some exciting news from Portugal besides the fact that it is quickly becoming a major star in still wine production. This is the first time since 2003 that a port wine is being declared a vintage quality wine. The wines from 2007 are so good that the Portugal Wine Institute has chosen 50 wines to be labeled vintage with more certain to follow. In every year port producers will take some of the port wine they have produced and age it for about 2 years. It is after that point when it is decided if the wine is good enough to be called vintage. One of the factors in 2007 that led to such quality wine was a cooler summer with a warm and sunny Autumn. This allowed the grapes to ripen slowly and mature with good sugar and acid content. Most of the 2007 ports will be fruity with nice tannins and not a great deal of sweetness.
Prices for vintage ports are of-course higher than non-vintage averaging between $65-85 per bottle. If the vintage is as good as reported it will be worth stocking up.
Cheers,
The Wining Woman
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