Cockburn's Special Reserve Port Wine, 75cl

Product Information

Vintage Port – Made from the best grapes of a single year, the “vintage” refers to an outstanding harvest. After being aged for around two years, vintage ports are further aged in bottles. The best ones can be aged for decades and are both powerful and elegant. They go well with dark chocolate, blue cheeses or on their own. Tawny Port starts out as Ruby Port, but spends 10 to 40 years in the barrel, rounding out its flavors, oxidizing slightly and taking on a nice mahogany hue from the wood. There are only four ages that a Tawny Port can bear: 10 year, 20, year, 30 year and 40 year. Their long stint in the barrel allows Tawny Ports to shed their fruitiness as they take on a silky mouthfeel, rich, complex flavors and aromas running the gamut from nutty or caramel to chocolate or leathery. Port fell off the map for recent generations of drinkers due in part to its daunting complexity. It’s this very same complexity that makes Port extremely rewarding. To find the best port, the GHI’s panel of 10 WSET-trained experts and consumers tried 32 bottles – from white to ruby – from the leading supermarkets and big brands. Each was tasted blind to prevent brand bias, and they were looking for easy-drinking styles that would work well with a classic cheese board and desserts.

Since the early 2000s, a dramatic improvement in the quality of the fortifying spirit (which, it is easy to forget, makes up 20% of the wine) has altered the flavour profile of vintage Port. The spirit being used to fortify vintage and single-quinta vintage Port has a much more vinous character than in the past. As you’d imagine, the greater the age, the greater the price tag and the more nuanced the flavors. However, most Tawny Port connoisseurs agree that a 20-year Tawny Port provides the best return for your time and money. At this stage, the tannins begin softening up, allowing the flavors to really come forward. Quinta do Portal 20 Year Old Tawny Port and Ferreira Porto Duque de Braganca 20 Year Old Tawny Port are great buys. Vintage Port Tawny ports are paler brown or amber in colour, with a more mellow taste. That typically comes from a longer period ageing in wood, which can impart distinct flavours of dried fruit and nuts.Tawnies may be bottled with an indication of age: 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years old. Even older wines may be designated ‘Very Very Old Tawny’. The age designations are obviously approximations and all wines have to be submitted for tasting by the IVDP for approval. Late bottled vintage ports are of even higher initial quality, and are matured in wood for four or five years. As mentioned above, Ruby Port stays good for about three to four weeks after opening. Tawny Ports can be kept in the fridge for about a month, or two weeks at room temperature. LBVs can last for a week, maybe two if it’s unfiltered. Broadly speaking, there are two main distinctions of Port wine: bottle-aged Port and barrel-aged Port. A more apt term might be “barrel-matured” or “bottle-matured,” since all Port spends some time in a barrel. In general, bottle-aged Port tends to be smoother and less tannic. Barrel-aged Port tends to take on some of the qualities of the wooden barrels, including taste (remember “oakiness”?) and color. Further, barrel-aged Ports (or “wood Ports”) end up more viscous, due to a slight amount of evaporation.

Rosé port – Just like rosé wine, here you can expect to find notes of strawberries and raspberries, alongside a caramel sweetness. Cheese, chocolate, fruity puddings and sorbet are all excellent pairings – serve ice cold for maximum enjoyment. LBV can be bottled filtered or unfiltered (e.g. “crusted”). Crusted/unfiltered LBV has more character, and even improves upon cellaring for up to 10 years. But you’ll want to get yourself a metal wine decanting funnel and a decanter to remove the sediment when it’s ready to drink. You can spend a lifetime exploring the nuance and history of the types Port wine. But all it takes to get started is 10 minutes of reading. Start here. What is Port Wine? Rather like the seven ages of man, vintage Port enjoys a short, fragrant bloom of youth before it shuts down and goes through 10 to 20 years of surly adolescence. Then it slowly emerges as an adult gaining in gravitas until it reaches its peak, often between 20 and 40 years of age. Port is a fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in Portugal. Port is heavily regulated by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto. Unlike Champagne, which has impostors all over the globe, Port must be produced, labeled and marketed according to a myriad of strict rules. For someone learning the ropes, this is actually a good thing.Single Quinta Vintage Port – These ports are produced from a port house’s best vineyards in a great year, but may not be quite good enough for a declared Vintage Port. Great with cheese. For the finest wines the peak becomes a long plateau and old age may not be reached for 80 years or more. Anyone born in one of the great post-war vintages of 1945, 1955, 1963, 1966 and 1970 has a wine to accompany them for life!

Port is a Portuguese fortified wine often enjoyed alongside a cheese board, after a big meal or simply as a relaxing evening treat. Sharing the pinnacle with vintage Port, it has been said that whereas vintage is the ‘king’ of Ports, tawny is the ‘queen’. The ageing process is of vital importance. While a vintage Port will mature for a short time in large wooden vats and then in bottle; tawnies will age for much longer in small casks before bottling. These casks, known as lodge pipes, have 600- to 640-litre capacity. Apéritifs and digestifs are alcoholic drinks served with meals; Apéritifs are served before to stimulate the appetite, digestifs served after to aid digestion. Barrel-aged Port vs. Bottle-aged Port There is a tradition of giving port to a newborn to enjoy years down the line, once they’re old enough to drink it. However, the vast majority of port these days is sold to be consumed immediately, and very few will develop at all once they’re in the bottle – much less improve.

Tawny Port – After being aged in oak barrels, tawny ports are further aged in bottles for periods such as ten, 20, 40 years, etc. The name comes from the tawny colour they develop over time and they tend to be very smooth and mellow, with flavours of fruit and nuts. They go well with cheeses and some puddings. Ruby Port is often filtered (or fined), meaning it’s ready to drink as soon as it’s bottled—no decanting required. This makes Ruby Port perfect for popping open and serving in a small glasses along with fruit, cheese and other desserts.

You might think port lasts forever after it’s been opened, but sadly that’s not the case, though it differs by type. We asked Charles for his tips on choosing the best bottle of port, and explain what we found when we tested supermarket ports.Ruby port – These tend to be inexpensive, deep ruby-coloured, and often associated with the cheeseboard. Within this category, you’ll find your slightly more premium reserve ports, late bottled vintage port (otherwise known as LBV, these are aged for longer but still designed to be drunk young) and vintage ports. How we test port Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port – Aged for 4-6 years, these ports have lots of character but are lighter than traditional vintages. Best with soft cheeses.