2000 Quinta de la Rosa LBV

[Alex Bridgeman]

Sold by the glass at the Hilton in Rotterdam, at what I considered to be a reasonable price of ┚¬7.75 for a 75ml glass - but free to me when I sent the first one back and told them that the bottle had been open for too long and the port stank.

Bottled 2006. Drunk on a "pop 'n' pour" basis. Rich red colour, transparent but deep. Fresh and lovely nose of roses and flower perfumes over the top of blackberries and bramble juice. Smooth initially in the mouth but then an explosion of eye-watering acidity that takes a long time to adjust back to let the bubble-gum fruit through. There are tannins in the mix, but they are soft and gentle and really only show themselves on the very respectable aftertaste of smooth milk chocolate. This is a very decent LBV and one which would reward 5-10 years in the cellar. 88/100.