Quinta da Corte Late Bottle Vintage Port 2015
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Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
A deep ruby red in color, this LBV immediately reveals aromas of fresh black fruits such as blackberry and blackcurrant, followed by cherries, and displays a fine maturity. The palate develops complex flavors, amongst which cocoa and mint stand out. Meaty, very well balanced and with great length, it builds on a finely formed structure with elegance and superb volume. The full, fruity finish, lightly mentholated, adds great coherence to the whole.
Goes wonderfully well with sheep’s milk cheese and all kinds of dark chocolate or red fruit desserts.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
This is in a really good spot now, with a mature edge to a mix of warm plum cake and steeped blackberry fruit mixed with bittersweet cocoa and bramble accents. Nice singed alder hint frames the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Late Bottled Vintage Port is a field blend aged for 48 months in old Portuguese vats. It was bottled in April 2019, unfiltered, with 84 grams of sugar and a bar-top cork. Powerful and intense, this opens up with concentrated, slightly jammy fruit supported by a serious backbone. If I tasted this blind, I might have assumed this tightly wound LBV was a Vintage Port, at least a modest one. The fruit is rich and expressive. The wine is nowhere near peak. Given its potential for aging and development, I'm surprised it does not have a normal, long cork. Barring cork issues, it should age well. The only remaining question is whether it will develop well. We'll be a bit conservative just now.
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James Suckling
A little advanced now with some dried plum, orange peel and candied lemon character, with just a hint of cedar. Medium body, sweet, and lightly chewy. An attractive LBV. Plump at the end.
Located in the central region of the Douro, Cima Corgo, Quinta da Côrte encompasses 25 hectares of classification A vineyards averaging over 60 years of age. The family produce primarily native varietals including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, and Tinta Barroca. Planted mainly on schist soils, the small production vines yield wines of elegant structure, with superb volume and complexity. Like most Quinta of the region, Quinta da Côrte produce two dry red wines, along with an exclusive late bottled field blend and a selection of premium tawny wines. In the very best of years, the family produces a masterfully crafted vintage port.
For as long as Quinta da Côrte Winemaker Marta Casanova can remember, she has been captivated by the beauty of nature and the transformation of indigenous grapes into exceptional and unique wines. "Above all, my passion for wine, the art of blending, the Douro region, and my profound respect for the generations of people who have tirelessly cultivated the land to shape it into what it is today have served as inspirations for my career choice," she reflects. Marta believes that with more women entering the industry, promoting inclusivity and equality is essential. "The increasing number of women winemakers brings invaluable diversity, creativity, and a distinct perspective to the industry. Their presence not only challenges longstanding traditional norms, but also fuels innovation and excellence in winemaking," she shares. "To encourage future generations in winemaking, it’s crucial to promote education, mentorship, and networking opportunities between wineries all over the world for aspiring winemakers of all genders."
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F.
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.