Port is associated with a bygone era, evoking images of cigars and gentlemen's clubs or scenes from Downton Abbey. Consumption figures are declining as the younger generation spurns fortified wines. However, it is not all bad news. According to Nicholas Heath, marketing director of the Fladgate Partnership (the group that owns Taylor's, Fonseca and Croft), annual production is about 10 million cases.
Port is a fortified wine made from a blend of red grapes from the Douro Valley in northern Portugal. During fermentation a neutral spirit called aguardente is added. This halts fermentation, leaves residual sugar and increases the alcohol content. There are two ways of ageing port. It can be aged in the bottle, known as a reductive method, or in large old vats, known as oxidative maturation.
There are many styles of port. Vintage port is the highest quality and rarest. It accounts for about 2 per cent of total production. It is only made in exceptional vintages. A port house decides to declare a vintage in spring, two years after the harvest, if the wine is of very high quality with ageing potential. When all port houses declare a vintage, it is known as a general declaration. An average of three vintages are declared each decade. The 2000s were an exception when four vintages were declared: 2000, 2003, 2007 and 2009.
Most port houses declared 1997, as the wines had longevity and structure. This is almost of the same quality as the more expensive, concentrated and richer 1994 vintage.
It is showing signs of maturity with the colour evolving into a lighter brick. Rich, raisin notes on the nose. Very full bodied with high fruit intensity. A good balance of sugar and tannins. Finishing very long. Can drink now though will keep for a decade or more.
HK$1,198 Oliver's The Delicatessen, Prince's Building, Central.