Tasting Pocas' Very Old Tawny Port
Posted 9 May 2019
by Vintage Wine and Port
I recently had the pleasure of meeting Joao Monteiro, European Sales Director for Pocas, at the fabulous Big Fortified Tasting event in London. Following our conversation, Joao very kindly gave me a test tube of liquid presented in a lovely wooden box, wrapped carefully in tissue paper. He rather proudly told me that it was around 100 years old - which made it nearly as old as Pocas itself. The port retails at around 4000 Euros a bottle.
The port is an amazing dark dense liquid with a verdant green edge that reveals its great age. After so many years the liquid has concentrated (tawny ports reduce in volume by about 4% per year). On the nose the port is beautifully fragrant, with notes of black pepper, spice and molasses. There is no hiding from this one! On the palate it has an amazing density, is full bodied and perfectly balanced between sweetness, acidity and alcohol - there is always something ethereal about drinking a wine of this age. The finish is so long and refined that I swear that I can still taste it after 5 minutes! What an amazing, delightful and generous gift!