Port  BACKGROUND
Port is a fortified wine from the single and oldest demarcated area in the world, in the Douro Valley (the orange area numbered 3 on the map), around the east of the small town of Pinhão.
Port as generally referred to is RUBY Port. It includes Vintage Ports as well as Late Bottled Vintage and Crusted. Matured for a short time in barrel any further maturation takes place in bottle. The latter will be limited in the case of filtered Ports such as Taylor's or Graham's LBV for example. But Unfiltered Ports, such as our SMITH WOODHOUSE BOTTLE MATURED, continue maturing in the bottle just as a traditional Vintage Port, to which it is very similar.
TAWNY Port is Port where all the maturation takes place in wood, gradually loosing its ruby colour with time in wood. It is more normal to see a blend such as a Ten Year Old Tawny for example, made of a blend of wood aged ports with an average age of at least ten years on bottling.
*Tawnies from a single year's harvest are called Colheita.
WHITE Port, made from white grapes are carefully blended and bottled for early consumption. Sometimes some receive a little brief wood ageing. Traditional styles such as our DELAFORCE show a little attractive sweetness and a weighty character. |
