1998 Churchill Agua Alta
Posted: 14:48 Thu 29 Oct 2020
Tasted 24/10/20 +3hrs decant
After winesecretary pointed to a good price on this from Garrafeira Nacional, thought I'd nab me two bottles with some other LBVs.
Pouring into the decanter, it was a surprinsgly light red brick colour. I wouldnt have expected it to be so pale for a port at 22.
The nose was incredibly spirity which really caught me off guard. This made it quite tricky for me to pinpoint anything specific in there, but mint was the most prominent. In the mouth I can only describe as minty mouthwash - such an incredibly strong port which I have never experience before, certainly not very pleasant for me. Trying to accelerate a decant in my glass, the port softened a little to reveal notes of red summer fruits. I found this quite the confusing contrast to the dominating mint. My friends seemed to enjoy it much more than I did.
I would have loved to have tried this after another 24hours in the decanter and hope that it mellowed out into something nicer. Fortunately I have another bottle which I might want to wait a decade or more for. Then again, George had a very pleasant experience...
From this current tasting, this wasn't a Port for me. That being said, I dont think my testing was fair enough to warrant a proper review.
After winesecretary pointed to a good price on this from Garrafeira Nacional, thought I'd nab me two bottles with some other LBVs.
Pouring into the decanter, it was a surprinsgly light red brick colour. I wouldnt have expected it to be so pale for a port at 22.
The nose was incredibly spirity which really caught me off guard. This made it quite tricky for me to pinpoint anything specific in there, but mint was the most prominent. In the mouth I can only describe as minty mouthwash - such an incredibly strong port which I have never experience before, certainly not very pleasant for me. Trying to accelerate a decant in my glass, the port softened a little to reveal notes of red summer fruits. I found this quite the confusing contrast to the dominating mint. My friends seemed to enjoy it much more than I did.
I would have loved to have tried this after another 24hours in the decanter and hope that it mellowed out into something nicer. Fortunately I have another bottle which I might want to wait a decade or more for. Then again, George had a very pleasant experience...
From this current tasting, this wasn't a Port for me. That being said, I dont think my testing was fair enough to warrant a proper review.