A Review of California's Best Port Wines
California Port wines have been given a bad rap. Until now, the general consensus of the wine press has been that the best California Ports compare favorably to generic ruby Port from the motherland. Our recent review of California Ports leads us to a very different conclusion.Port started out as an attempt by the English to render the coarse red wines of Portugal potable. Instead of persuading the Portuguese to try their luck with more amenable winegrape varietals, they developed a process whereby barely drinkable red wine becomes one of the world's most prized dessert wines. The varietals used to produce this remarkable metamorphosis are Touriga Nacional, Saozao, Bastarda, and several others with equally charming names. Typically, five varietals are used.
The process, simply put, is to obtain a desirable level of color, flavor, and tannin by constantly pumping the juice over the must in autovinifiers; then arresting the fermentation by introducing the partially fermented wine to brandy made from the musts of previous vintages. The resulting product is rich, dark, fruity, sweet, and contains around 18-20% alcohol, assuring a long life.
Since Port wine is the result of a process, it is not dependent upon specific varietals. So California wineries have utilized the process with several common red varietals in addition to the traditional Portuguese ones.
Our tasting panel assembled a collection of the most promising California Ports and conducted a blind evaluation, with a Dow's Vintage Port thrown in as a control. The results suggest that California Port has already achieved levels of quality that place it among the world's great dessert wines.
Port is pricey. The very best obtainable can cost as much as $750 a bottle in current release. Vintage Ports typically cost between $40-75 per 750ml. California Ports, on the other hand, run from around $20 to around $55/750ml. How do they compare? Read on.
All the wines listed below are outstanding; none will disappoint. They fall into two distinct price groups.
GREAT CALIFORNIA PORT FOR AROUND $20/750ml
We are able to recommend three wonderful Port wines that won't break your pocketbook:
1996 Beaulieu Vineyard Port Signet Collection Napa Valley $24.99
Very flavorful, but not excessively extracted. Attractive flavors of raspberry, cassis, and blackberry in a plush, velvety wine. Made from 61% Zinfandel, 26% Charbono and 13% Petite Sirah. 19.3% alcohol. A good value. Recommended.
1994 Woodbridge Portacinco Lodi $20
One might expect a Port wine from Lodi to be made from Zinfandel, since that region enjoys a plethora of high quality old vine Zinfandel vineyards. Woodbridge Portacinco is one of the few attempts to replicate the style of real Port by using the traditional Portuguese varietals, farmed on the premises. This wine, tasted six years after the vintage, featured darker, warmer flavors, leaning towards raisins, prunes, blackfruits and dried cherries. Still unabashedly Californian in style, it's an excellent example that compares very favorably with many imported ruby Ports. 18.4% alcohol. A good value. Recommended.
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