Wine Tasting - Croft Fine Ruby Porto

"A bottle of wine begs to be shared; I have never met a miserly wine lover."

 - Clifton Paul Fadiman

Hi one, hello all!  Find me a finer day than this and I shall call it a different day.  May the world be your organic apple tree and bear ripe delicious fruits of happiness.

Um-um... Port wine is such a special little niche wine.  Bearing strong fruit taste with sugary results of the fermentation process.  Aged in oak for an extensive long period of time.  "We will bottle no port before its time."

Chucky's Point Score:  90

Tiffany's Point Score:  90

Croft Fine Ruby Porto

Appellation:  Vila Nova de Gaia, Douro Valley, Portugal

Grape Varietal(s):  Who really knows?  Over 100  varietals are sanctioned for port production.  But, they all have to be grown in the Douro Valley region of Portugal to be considered Port wines.

Retail Price:  $13.49 @ Eat More Produce

Vintage:  unknown

Producer:   Quinta and Vineyard Bottlers - Vinhos SA

Alcohol:  20.0%

Calories:   > 104 per 4 ounces
Note:  You won't (shouldn't?) drink 4 ounces of port wine in a sitting.

Tasting notes as follows.

Chucky's Tasting Notes

Chucky's Notes:  "Yummy port.  Not too syrupy.  Swish in mouth and over palate to maximize taste.  Elsewise too much alcohol (taste).  Rich dark burnt fruity port.  Quite pleasant on the finish."

Tiffany's Tasting Notes

Tiffany's Notes:  "Wow!  For not being a port drinker this one is a must!  What a wonderful gem we stumbled upon at Eat More Produce!  Very fruit forward bouquet followed by an incredible smooth creaminess for the palate!  Ports I've had in the past usually burn too much going down, but this one is like velvet.  We will definitely by buying these for Christmas gifts for our port loving family & friends!  Love it!  What a value!"

The label simply reads as follows:

"Established in 1678, Croft has been renowned for Ports of distinction for over three hundred years.  This excellent young Port wine has matured in traditional oak vats.  Made from a selection of full bodied and ripe Ports from some of the finest areas of the Douro valley. This wine has sweet red berry fruit flavors inter-twined with blackcurrants.  This Port is ready to drink and does not need decanting."

This is one of those rare instances where both Tiffany and I gave the wine the exact same total score (90).  However, our individual tasting sheets show differences in our areas of scoring.  But, we both agree that this port wine is a true winner.  Inexpensive, a true port wine, delicious and everything one can expect of a good port wine.

Do yourself a favor and see if you can locate a bottle at your nearby wine merchant.  If you like delicious sweet wines, this one is a true winner.  After sipping on this wine selection we revisited an Australian tawny port wine.  What a difference!  The Australian tawny was young fresh fruit tasting whereas the Portuguese ruby port tasted of more mature and aged dark fruits.

Hi-dee hi-dee PORT-means-Place-On-ouR-Table-ho my friend.