Burmester LBV 2019

Burmester is one of the oldest port houses, founded in 1750 by the Englishmen Henry Burmester and John Nash and run for over 250 years across successive generations. This Late Bottled Vintage comes from the single 2019 harvest in the Douro Valley, where native grapes including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Amarela grow on steep slate and granite terraces. The schist soils retain heat and drain freely, ripening the fruit fully while the wide day to night temperature swing of the upper Douro preserves acidity and aromatic lift. As with all port, fermentation is stopped early with grape spirit, leaving natural sweetness and raising strength to 18.5 percent. The wine then spends around four to six years in wood, longer than a vintage port, which softens the tannins and rounds the fruit before bottling, so it is ready to drink on release. The colour is deep ruby with a garnet edge. The nose offers ripe plum, dark cherry and a hint of chocolate. The palate is full and sweet, with smooth tannins, a touch of black pepper and a long, warming close. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees. It is a natural match for chocolate puddings and mature blue cheese.