Port and Douro Wine Tasting 2004 -
Churchill's and Quinta do Infantado

Churchill's
Amazingly, in a world of centuries old port houses, Churchill's was founded just in 1981. They bought high quality established vineyards and quickly have gained a reputation for quality.

Churchill's White Port, $16
While most port is red, there are indeed white grapes growing in the Douro Valley and they make very nice white ports. Churchill's white port is aged for 10 years in wooden casks, and the result is a light, golden color, with a dry, slightly nutty, light flavor. This isn't sweet - but has a nice, smooth flavor with a light finish and a hint of lemon citrus.

Churchill's 10 Year Tawny, $29
An average of vintages make up this blended tawny, with its traditional brown color and smooth flavor. There is a nice balance of acids and flavors, with a hint of nuts, butter and caramel. Quite smooth, with a light finish.

Churchill's Finest Vintage Character, $16
Vintage Character is one of those confusing port terms that most houses are moving away from. This actually isn't a vintage port, it is an entry level traditional ruby port with an "interesting name". It's a blend of several vintages that is then aged for 4-5 years before release. It has a fresh, bright berry flavor that is juicy and fresh, giving a burst of flavor. It has a nice, lingering finish.

Churchill's 1998 Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), $22
The fined and filtered port is meant for immediate drinking, not for aging. The grapes do come from the single 1998 harvest year. This was very smooth, with berry flavors and a medium-rich mouthfeel.

Churchill's "Agua Alta" 1998 Vintage, $59
In Spanish, "Agua Alta" means High Water, so I imagine it's the same in Portuguese :) This is a single vineyard, single vintage port. This was one of my favorites of the tasting, with a great aroma and full, rich, bright, fresh, fruity, mouth tingling flavor. Where other ports were smooth and had no flavors stand out, this was quite a burst of flavors that were quite enjoyable. Hints of berry, raspberry, even a candy brightness, with a juicy, long finish.

Churchill's 1997 Vintage Port, $65
I hung out at the Churchill table for a while talking with the representative there, and just about every person who came up to the table went right for this port. Many said this port was their favorite of the event. Some came back for seconds and thirds! This was the oldest vintage at the event too, most other vintages were from the 2000 year. It did have a rich, full flavor, with a sharp tartness and nice finish. But I have to admit that while I enjoyed it, I prefer the Alta myself :)

Quinta do Infantado
Quinta do Infantado has been owned by the Roseira family since the 1800s and is one of the few family-owned port houses still around. They have 110 contiguous acres that are all "class A" (the highest quality) vineyards. Even more interesting, it is a brother and sister team that make the wines, with an eye to tradition. The grapes are still trod by foot and picked by hand.

Quinta do Infantado Ruby Port, $16
This ruby is blended each year to meet the house style, and is aged for 2 1/2 years. It has a fresh, gentle verry flavor and nice finish.

Quinta do Infantado Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) 2000, $24
Poured from an elegant decanter, the wine is solely from the 2000 vintage and pre-aged for consumers. It had fresh berry flavors, with a gentle, smooth, light flavor. It was juicy with very mild tannins and a nice finish.

Quinta do Infantado 1997 Vintage, $39
This wine had been open for 4 hours before we got to it, giving it time to breathe. It had a smooth, berry, mellow flavor to it that newcomers to port found quite pleasant. Definitely a vintage port that can serve as a nice introduction to those who are not comfortable with heavy tannic flavors.

Quinta do Infantado Tawny Port, $16
Tawny is simply a ruby port that has been aged in small oak barrels. The rep at the Infantado table explained that those small barrels are called "Tonys" in Portuguese, which the English buyers then corrupted into "Tawny" in part because of the brownish color of the resulting wine. This wine was sweet, smooth and buttery, with hints of caramel and wood flavor.

Quinta do Infantado 10 year Tawny, $37
An average of 10 year old vintages make up this blend, with a sharper flavor of caramel, nuts and butter.

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