First taste: Kopke Very Old Dry White Port

Kopke is renowned for its wood-aged Ports.  This ‘new’ Very Old Dry White Port release blew me away with its remarkable freshness and incredible purity.  Not easy to achieve when you age a wine for at least 50 years in cask.   

Blended from very old and rare wines, just 350 bottles were produced.  For Carlos Alves, Sogevinus’ Fine Wines’ Port winemaker and Master Blender, “it is the perfect match for either a fine almond tart, or an apple crumble, or even paired with a blue cheese, foie-gras, scallop gratin or prawn tempura.”

Here are my notes:

Kopke Very Old Dry White Port

A pale, glinting tawny hue; very clear.  The nose is delicately woody, very aromatic, with a lovely timbre.  Though strikingly fresh, zesty even, the palate is not in the least edgy or aggressive.  Rather, it is impressively seamless, very pure, with stone fruit (apricot) nuances and ultra-mellifluous, silky nougat and praline oak.  With beautiful balance, mouthfeel, line and length, a salty finish with a super-subtle iodine inflection accentuates this Very Old Tawny Port’s freshness and intensity.  Effortlessly elegant.  21% abv, 65g/l residual sugar.  Imported into the UK by Hayward Bros., it retails for around £290.