Warre's 2009 Late Bottled Vintage Port Bottle Matured
Warre's 2009 Late Bottled Vintage Port Bottle Matured
The Warre’s 2008 Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) was matured in wood during four years after which it was bottled in 2012 without any fining or filtering. It was then aged in bottle for another six years in the Warre’s lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia prior to being offered for sale. It is usual for Warre’s LBVs to continue ageing in bottle in the Warre’s lodge for a longer period than required by law, i.e. 4 years in bottle, after four years in wood. This prolonged ageing, first in wood and then in bottle is key to the development of the sumptuous nose and flavours that lend this Port a style and complexity akin to that of Vintage Port. Most LBV Ports produced today are matured exclusively in wood and filtered before bottling and placed on the market without any bottle ageing. Warre’s traditional method of maturation, marrying both wood and bottle ageing, distinguishes it from most other LBVs currently available.
“It is a traditional Douro field blend, bottled unfiltered in 2012 with a long cork. It comes in with 109 grams per liter of residual sugar. In this elegant vintage, this is what one might expect from an aging, traditional LBV. It is graceful, elegant in the mid-palate—yes, perhaps a bit thin at this point in its life—and expressive. It tastes great. The power is mostly resolved here, given its age. It is fairly soft and round at this juncture. Yet it also has just enough energy to seem reasonably bright and vibrant. Age also has its advantages, of course—there are complex nuances around the edges. This is more interesting than a young LBV would be. This is a great time to drink this, and today I like it a lot. It is drinking perfectly right now, and it isn’t going to get better.”