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Porto
V: Tawnies
There is a danger in developing a taste for aged tawnies and vintage
ports, namely, that it might leave one less appreciative of younger tawnies and
ruby ports. This nearly happened when Angela and I opened a square-bottled
California ruby from Taylor Reserve (500 ml, $ 7). On first impression, the
color shown a rich red in the glass while the nose was so youthfully fruity that
I was for a moment taken back some decades to the Soulard Farmer’s Market in
St. Louis where the hanger style great roof concentrated wonderfully the aromas
of fresh fruits and vegetables despite the absence of walls. But the taste of
this ruby port was, I felt, disjointed, and my comment to Angela, a bit unfair,
was that someone had simply spiked the grape juice. Of course, one should not
blame a ruby for being a ruby, and the wine held up well over the next week. In
the end we were grateful for the reminder that port represents a marriage of two
flavors, grape and brandy, a union that offers distinct attractions throughout
the length of the relationship.
For a tawny, we crossed the equator. South African wines enjoyed a vogue
for a few years back following the fall of apartheid, but that phase having
passed, they are once again being assessed on the basis of taste instead of
politics. A full tawny from the South African firm of KWV is available under $
10, the adjective “full” being here a designation pride, but otherwise
without settled definition. The first night we opened the wine, its edges seemed
a bit rough to us, but by the second night, it had opened up delightfully in the
bottle, and James Akin made the happy suggestion of trying it over some pipes of
North Sea blend. Regrettably, the wine turned a bit strict over the next week,
and we should have finished it during the octave. Sipping suggestion: let a
glass of KWV serve as the occasion to revisit some of Chesterton’s essays in
opposition to the Boer War at dawn of the 20th century. +++ |
