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I do know that this is not an overly exciting matter.

I had so far several Reserve Rubies. Some of them like the Ramos Pinto Collector, Graham's Six Grapes or the Ferreira Dona Antonia I do really like. But LBV or Crusted Port do often offer a far better QPR. This Warre was however for less than 8 EUR a really cheap one.

Some overcoming was necessary because of the (imo) cheesy horse label- the horse of William Warre. First of all to mention that this is not a Tawny styled Reserve Ruby like the Sandeman Imperial or the Ferreira Dona Antonia. I tasted the Warrior over 3 days. It needed one day to calm down the alkohol. It was dominated by black to red fruits and spices, it is not overly sweet, it ended on a refreshing citrus note and it offered a satisfying persistence. To be sure this is not a Port to philosophise. But they obviously made it with some care as it is made in Lagares. Anyway it is a satisfying Port for every day drinking. So Port snobbery out of place.

Am I right in thinking that Warre’s Warrior is one of the oldest brands of Ruby Port? (Which might excuse the horse).

Is there much difference between ‟tawny-style” ruby reserves and ruby-style ones?

JacobH wrote:Am I right in thinking that Warre’s Warrior is one of the oldest brands of Ruby Port? (Which might excuse the horse).

Is there much difference between ‟tawny-style” ruby reserves and ruby-style ones?

It's a brand since 1750 http://www.warre.com/conteudos.asp?cont ... le=Warrior . Id did not learn so far existing an older one.

I'd say there is a significant difference in style. To give a distinctive feature, I did not find any dark fruits in the tawny- style Reserve Rubies I had so far. They are more on red or dried fruits and slightly rosted hints. One I do like a lot is Ferreira Dona Antonia.

Michael, do not worry about posting notes on rubies, it is an extremely important style. We've all had rubies and some of them even get decent reviews and Warrior is one that gets its fair share of praise.