NV Valente, Costa and Cia. Moscatel

[Alex Bridgeman]

An old bottle without a vintage date, but from the appearance of the label and bottle I would estimate this to be from the 1950s.

Very pale yellow in colour, perhaps 10% opaque. Slight plastic hint to the nose, like an individual sachet of marmalade - quite attractive and a swirl brings out much more of the Golden Marmalade scents. Quite thick in texture with delicate flavours of acacia honey and light orange maramlade. Gentle, ripe acidity provides a lovely counterpoint to the sweet fruit flavours. The aftertaste and finish are delicate and floral with a wonderful perfume that slowly fades back to leave a lingering impression of the acacia honey. Delicate and very lovely. 90/100. Drunk 01-Nov-13.

[LGTrotter]

At the risk of sounding foolish; are you sure this is port?

[Alex Bridgeman]

I believe that technically this is port (but RAYC who seems to have memorised the regs might be able to confirm or otherwise). It is fortified wine made from grapes grown in the demarcated region and carries an IVP seal. The only difference is that it is made principally (only?) from moscatel grapes. I think moscatel is one of the permitted port grapes.