Decanting
Vintage Port forms a natural deposit in the bottle and should be decanted. Stand the bottle upright a few hours before decanting to allow the sediment to fall to the bottom of the bottle.
Select Year
2008
Storage
Continues to improve for decades after bottling. The bottle should be kept lain down in a cool place, ideally at a temperature below 16ºC.
Serving temperature
Serve at 16ºC to 18ºC. Vintage Port is best drunk one to two days after opening.
Pairing suggestions
Walnuts, blue veined and other richly flavoured cheeses are excellent accompaniments to Vintage Port; so too are dried fruits such as apricots or figs.
About the Wine
The 2008 winter was drier and colder than normal with only 258mm of rain falling at Pinhão between November and March. Fortunately, a wet April ensured the ground water reserves were sufficiently replenished.
Flowering occurred under wet and cold conditions and as a result poor set affected all grape varieties, resulting in lower yields, but with great concentration of flavour.
The temperatures for the 2008 growing season were remarkably similar to 2007, with lower than average temperatures and a mild August. The final ripening of the grapes was greatly enhanced with rain falling between the 4th and 7th September and a further downpour just before the vintage started. Picking started at Terra Feita de Baixo on 24th September and Terra Feita de Cima on 28th September.
The perfect weather conditions of hot days and cold nights allowed for a balanced harvest across the quinta. With low sugar levels at the beginning of the harvest, these gradually increased producing wines with great balance, structure and depth of flavour.
Tasting Notes
Inky purple black centre with a narrow violet rim. From the first moment the nose is drawn into a complex and powerful vortex of dense creamy blackberry, raspberry and cassis aromas fused with subtle notes of gumcistus and mint. This is classic Vintage Port with its extraordinary quality of fruit, combining power with refinement and complexity. The thickly textured tannins provide body and structure and the palate is brimming with fine concentrated black fruit flavour which flows over into the long finish.
Jamie Goode, Wine Anorak