Port

This is in a great place right now.  Mature but still fresh with good fruit.  Purple/ruby  in color.  The nose has chocolate, cherries, raisins and slight alcohol.  On the palate, the chocolate covered cherries predominate but some raisin and a but underneath char.  slight heat but just barely.  Sweet but not a lot.  Long finish.  No hurry on this, it has a while but at a very pretty stage.  Great on its own, it will work with cheese, or chocolate desserts.

This is a very nice Tawny that, considering it is a 30 year, is a nice value.  Light brown with orange swirls in color, clear and bright.  The nose has some toffee, figs and slight raisin notes.  On the palate, this is slightly sweet.  Viscous.  Enough acidity.  Long finish.  This will, of course, last a long time.  It is great on its own but would work with dried fruit desserts that are not too sweet.  

This is a "Port" like wine from Israel.  We served it at our Seder with a flourless chocolate tort and it was an excellent match.  This is made from Petite Sirah grapes.  Purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, dark chocolate, alcohol and raisins.  On the palate, this is sweet but not cloying.  It does have a fair amount of heat but it settles a bit with air.  Some depth.  It is a very interesting wine and proved popular at the table.  Our wines were limited to Kosher and from Israel, so this was a nice find.  Perhaps a bit pricey, but so it goes.  

From a 375ml bottle.  A bit of Port at the end of a nice dinner with a bit of chocolate is a lovely treat.  Since I didn't plan ahead, this was pop and pour and really deserved better, but so it goes.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  Even from this format, this bottle was not showing much age at 28 years from vintage.  The nose has cherries, milk chocolate covered raisins and slight dried cranberry notes.  On the palate, this is sweet, but not as much as expected given the producer.  Lively acidity.  Nice cherry fruit.  Some heat on the finish (air will help this).  Probably at its peak

This is labeled as Red Wine, but it is a Port styled dessert wine from Sonoma.  A blend of 25% Tinto Cao, 25% Tinta Madeira, 25% Touriga Nacional, and 25% Sousão:  it checks in at 18.3% abv.  Deep ruby in color.  The nose has a lot of alcohol along with some raisins and slight chocolate.  On the palate, this is slightly sweet.  Viscous.  Some cherry fruit.  A good bit of heat on the finish.  A very interesting take but a little goes a long way.  It is a members only wine.

Opened at a 40th birthday party as this was bottle in 1979.  This bottle seemed tired and over the hil but it was pop and pour.  Sometimes, older Port's need a bit kinder treatment.  Perhaps some slow oxidation would have put this in a better place.  Ruby in color.  The nose shows a lot of alcohol but also some dried fruit.  On the palate, this is shrill.  Tart cherries, slight tannins.  Really not pleasurable at this point.  Not sure how representative this bottle is at age 42, but if opening a bottle, it's probably a good idea to check it first and give it time to revive.  

Light brown/ruby in color.  The nose has a lot of volatile acidity and alcohol which is unpleasant.  There is some soy sauce, and a slightly nutty quality as well.  Better on the palate.   Thick texture.  Slightly sweet.  Nutty.  Heat on the finish.  This is for after dinner and food pairings might be a bit difficult.  Perhaps some nuts.  It's possible that this was not a proper bottle or had been mis-stored at some point.  It is not bad, but one would expect a bit more.  

Pop and pour, this may have benefited from a decant.  From a 375ml.  Purple in color.  The nose has black cherries, some dust and a bit of chocolate.  On the palate, the black cherries and chocolate carry thru.  Nice texture.  Finishes a bit hot but that was saved by serving it with vegan salted caramel pecan ice cream and a brownie.  Over all this is very good if not at the top level of vintage ports.  

Grahams is one of the top Port Houses.  Stylistically, it is usually one of the sweeter Ports of those top houses.  2003 was a very hot year in Europe.  Oddly enough, that meant many of the wines either got too ripe or they vines shut down and the resulting wines did not have enough stuffing.  This wine is in the former category.  How that plays out depends on your personal tastes.  Deep purple in color.  The nose is jammy with black raspberries and black raspberry candy.  On the palate, the jammy candied quality continues.  Lots of black raspberry fruit.  Not a ton of depth but some.  Some

From a 375ml.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose is dusty with black raspberries.  On the palate, this has sweet black raspberry fruit.  Still drinking young.  Layers of fruit along with char.  Long finish.  Not overtly sweet but a bit sweet.  Plenty of time based on this bottle.