Taylor’s Port Select Reserve

Taylor's has produced Port in Portugal's Douro Valley since 1692, and this Select Reserve is a blend of traditional Douro varieties including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cao, Tinta Amarela and Tinta Roriz. The Douro is one of the world's oldest demarcated wine regions, its terraced schist slopes radiating stored heat onto vines rooted in poor, free-draining stone, which concentrates sugar and colour in the small berries. Fermentation is arrested early by the addition of grape spirit, a step that lifts the wine to around 20 percent alcohol while leaving natural sweetness and ripe fruit intact. The blend is then aged in wood, where slow controlled oxidation rounds the tannins and adds depth. The colour is deep ruby with garnet flashes. The nose is built on dark fruit, with ripe plum and black cherry over cocoa and a touch of spice. The palate is full and warming, with concentrated berry fruit, dark chocolate and a long, gently sweet finish carried by firm but ripe tannin. Serve lightly cool at around 16 to 18 degrees in a standard wine glass.