Ramos Pinto Late Bottled Vintage Port, Portugal

威比特遲裝瓶年份波特酒

點擊次數：7178

The 2015 Late Bottled Vintage Port is a traditional LBV, unfiltered and bottled with 102 grams per liter of residual sugar and a long cork. It is a blend of Touriga Nacional (62%), Touriga Franca (28%), a field blend from old vines (5%) and dollops of other typical grapes. This was partly (38%) aged in wooden vats for eight to 12 months (depending on lot) and bottled in October of 2019. At this great price, this focused and powerful LBV is classic in every way. The structure is gorgeous and so is the fruit, although it is undeveloped just now. Its precise finish shows grip, length and flavor. This is actually not ready to drink—it's pretty tight just now. It looks like it can age a couple of decades from the vintage date. This is another super LBV from a producer who has a habit of making terrific ones.

The 2014 Late Bottled Vintage Port is a traditional LBV, unfiltered and bottled with a long cork in 2018. It is a blend of 45% Touriga Nacional, 30% Sous?o, 10% Touriga Franca (a very different blend than in 2013, which was mostly Franca and Nacional) and a field blend from old vines for the rest. It comes in with 95 grams per liter of residual sugar. This has the typical Ramos Pinto expression of fruit. The winery's LBVs are typically brilliant, providing expressive and traditional wines that are a cut above. In 2014, though, the vintage conditions were difficult. In flavor and aromatics—expressive fruit was not easy to acquire in 2014—this 2014 is right on the money. It is sumptuous and delicious. In concentration and power, it might be a step or two behind the norm. It is still very good and well capable of aging. Drink this one on the younger side.

The 2013 Late Bottled Vintage Port is a traditional LBV, unfiltered and bottled with a long cork in 2017. It is a blend of 51% Touriga Franca and 36% Touriga Nacional, the rest being Sous?o and a field blend. It comes in with 95 grams per liter of residual sugar. When I saw this the first time around, when it was not quite bottled, it seemed rather fruity and forward for a relatively dry LBV. With some time in the bottle, that has changed, as I expected. It shows beautiful structure now, real but controlled tannins. The fruit has dried a little to give this a somewhat sterner feel, but its exuberant beginnings are nicely replaced by a more nuanced finish laced with blackberries and dried herbs. There are some cistus aromatics up front too. This should develop more over the next 5-10 years and hold for another decade or more beyond that, without problem. This is another fine LBV from Ramos Pinto.

The 2011 Late Bottled Vintage Port is a blend of 55% Touriga Franca, 35% Touriga Nacional, 6% Tinta Barroca and 4% Sous?o, that was aged for four years (2015 bottling) in 15,000-liter casks. It comes in at 99 grams per liter of residual sugar and is unfiltered. A blend of grapes from Ramos Pinto's Ervamoira and Bom Retiro Quintas, this is very serious and very well structured. Its focus and fine finish are lovely. Brooding and stern on opening, it shows little. The next day, it exploded in the glass. Did I mention that it is pretty delicious, too? In structure, concentration and complexity, it is a mini-me of a fine Vintage Port, with everything in fine proportion and perfect balance. I'm not certain if this is my favorite LBV in this report--only because there were so many superb performances in varied styles--but it is certainly on the short list.

The 2009 Late Bottled Vintage Port, bottled in November, 2013, is a blend of 70% Touriga Nacional and 25% Touriga Franca, plus some dollops of Sous?o and Tinta da Barca. It comes in at 94 grams per liter of residual sugar. Compared to its older predecessors in this vertical, this was rather hard to drink until it was retried a few days later. The mid-palate concentration is about the same, but the power on this youthful wine is another issue. The tannins are rather drying and aggressive on first pour, even if the big fruit is also front-and-center. It is certainly a very different vision of LBV Port than a lot of people will be accustomed to, but it does begin to come around with extended aeration (and a couple of days in the fridge). Fragrant and laced with strong fruit flavors, this ultimately showed beautifully. It really needs some more time in the cellar, but it is approachable if you give it some aeration.