This is a blend of premium wines which have spent five years in the wood before being bottled ready for drinking. It is a luscious, intense dark red Port, having the benefits of wood maturation while retaining the youthful fruit flavour one would expect in a young Vintage Port.
This Port is made from the best Reserve wines carefully chosen for their concentrated rich fruit style. Aged in wood casks for three to four years, it is bottled ready to drink. It pairs well with creamy blue cheese or dark chocolate.
Smith Woodhouse is one of the only producers to craft a Traditional Bottle-Matured Late Bottled Vintage Port. The uniformity of this quality is underpinned by the winery’s own Madalena vineyard from where the wines are largely sourced. This small Quinta has the highest “A” quality rating and is located in the Rio Torto district, acknowledged as one of the finest Port growing areas. Over the coming years, the recently acquired Quinta do Vale Coelho (further up-river in the Douro Superior), which produces full and elegant wines, will gradually form an important component of Smith Woodhouse’s Ports. The grapes are harvested in the fall and are fermented for a short period of time before the addition of 100% grape spirit alcohol. This step stops fermentation, preserves the wine’s natural grape sugars, and gives it its unique richness. The wine is aged for four years in cask, then bottled unfiltered and aged for a minimum of five more years before its release. Viticultural and Weather Conditions: Generally, a good vintage yielding dark and well structured wines... The mild winter temperatures resulted in an early budburst but cool spring weather brought flowering on at the usual time in good conditions in May, and we looked set for a larger than usual harvest. Extreme heat in June put paid to that expectation in lower lying areas, however, as young bunches were exposed to heat and sun without a mature canopy to protect them. The balance of the summer was pleasant, with useful rainfall.
Smith Woodhouse ports have outstanding length and structure, are drier than most and age with unmatched elegance.
Aged Tawny Port is a type of Tawny Port that has been aged in casks for a minimum of six years. Aged Tawny is typically made from the best wines of undeclared vintages and though most examples will carry an age designation, no vintage date is offered. The date of bottling is a requirement of Aged Tawny as, if left to bottle mature for too long, the fortified wine will eventually deteriorate.