Cold to the bone, battered by storms and shovelling snow: there’s not much to recommend about winter. Except for this: it is an excellent time to open a bottle of port.
There’s lots to recommend about port, the fortified wine from Douro, Portugal. Not only is it warming and delicious, but it can be one of the best values at the LCBO. Plus, most ports keep over the course of a few weeks, so it is ideal if you just want a fortifying tipple to get you through February. Finally, unlike most red wines, port harmonizes with strong cheeses, especially stinky blues like Stilton.
If there’s one problem with port, it is simply that there are a bewildering selection of types: White Port, Ruby Port, Reserve Port, Tawny Port, Vintage Port, Late Bottled Vintage, Crusted Port… where’s a wine lover to begin?
Easy. Begin with Reserve Ports (also called “Vintage Character Ports”) since they are round, approachable and smooth. Reserve ports are a blend of wines from different vintages that are combined to create a consistent taste from year to year. Reserve ports spend 4-6 years aging in barrels, maturing them quickly so you don’t have to cellar them yourself. This distinguishes them from their more expensive cousins, the Vintage Ports. Vintage Ports spend much less time in barrels, which leaves their power and elegance pristine, but also means they must cellar for decades in the bottle to reach their peak (like the bottle of Graham’s 2000 Vintage Port that I’m saving until the end of my mortgage).
What are the best Reserve Ports? Here are four in order of excellence:
Graham’s Six Grapes ($22.75 [Ed. note: No longer available], Vintages, LCBO #208405) is the richest and best textured Reserve Port at the LCBO. On the nose, there’s dried rose and spice. On the palette, dark chocolate and toast segues into a terrifically long finish of hot chocolate and oranges.
Warre’s Warrior ($9.95 [Ed. note: No longer available], LCBO #170928) was hands down, the niftiest bargain at the liquor store. Though there’s still some around, it’s been discontinued by the LCBO. I guess they really do hate cheap wine. Although it’s lighter and less profound than the Six Grapes, the Warrior makes up for it with the unmistakable taste of a country diner’s cherry pie.
Fonseca Bin 27 ($16.95, Vintages, #156877) has bright, attractive berry flavours dusted in chocolate and cinnamon, but lacks complexity or idiosyncrasy. Still, a good value – and goes splendidly with a cigar.
Dona Antonia Ferreira ($19.00, LCBO #157586) is fruity and light with a hint of summer wildflower, but it is also diluted and superficial. It’s tasty without the risk of being too tasty.
Well, the wind outside is howling, and I think I might crack into some more of the Warre’s before bed. I hope you do some experimentation yourself, and find your own port in the storm.
Matthew Sullivan is a lawyer with the Department of Justice in Toronto. He writes a weekly blog entry here on lawandstyle.ca. The Short Cellar column appears in the print edition of Precedent. Matthew can be reached at matthew@lawandstyle.beta-site.ca.