A  sweet  red wine  that’s often associated with  stuffy British  tradition and Stilton Cheese  is well known, yet not readily understood. When Jorge Nunes, Wine Maker of Graham’s Port was recently in Bangkok Laurence Civil joined him to quaff a few glasses and discover his passion for Port at the P & L Club at the Conrad Hotel.

Port,  a  fortified wine  from Portugal’s Douro Valley  takes  its  name from the city of Oporto that is situated  at  the mouth  of Rio Douro or River of Gold. Although many port-style wines are made around the world – most notably Australia, South Africa and the United States – the strict usage of the terms Port or  Porto  refer  only  to wines  produced in Portugal.

In 1756 the Douro Valley was probably the world’s first officially Port, a fortified wine from Portu-demarcated wine region. It is no doubt the world’s most diffi­cult wine growing region. It is a region that covers over 618,000 gal’s Douro Valley takes its name acres, 10 to 12% of which is used to cultivate vine planted on the from the city of Oporto that is sit-harsh, rugged mountains that rise up from the Douro River and its tributaries. The best grapes are grown at the lower elevations, uated at the mouth of Rio Douro there is a local saying that the best port comes from the grapes that can hear the river flowing.

“Today I would like you to try four of our ports,” says Jorge. “I don’t like serving Port in a sherry glass as the flavours and aromas are corseted, I prefer a simple white the world – most notably Australia, wine glass to optimize the taste experience, not a red wine glass as that releases too much alcohol. I also like to serve them just below European room temperature (18­South Africa and the United States 20ºC) in general as at this point the taste is perfectly structured, any warmer and the brandy in the port becomes too dominant and spoils the taste experience.

“I would like you to start with our Fine Ruby Port that is full-bodied with youthful freshness and an attractive, luscious fruit. You will notice that in the glass the wine is very deep-coloured, on the nose it’s intensely aromatic, bottled young to retain the assertiveness of the fruit, black cherry with a balanced intense finish. Ruby is an everyday Port, suitable for enjoying anytime. I like to pair this with young Italian Parmesan, Gorgonzola, French Brie, dried fruits and nuts.

“Next I would like you to try our 2001 Late Bottle Vintage (LBV), which like a Vintage Port is a wine of a single year but it’s not ‘declared’ Vintage Port. The difference between Vintage and LBV is that vintage spends only two years in casks and is bottle matured, whereas LBV is aged in casks and is bottled with light filtration at between four to six years. By the time LBV is bottled it’s already matured and ready to drink without the need for decant­ing.” He paired it with an Earl Grey brullee, the idea of which seemed odd but works surprisingly well.

For my third port experience Jorge poured “The Tawny”, a special premium blend of ‘lotes’ of wine aged for seven to nine years in seasoned (previously used) wooden cask. This wine is the ultimate example of the art of the win­emaker, who has carefully selected different wines that his experience tells him will compliment each other when blended together.

“In this wine,” he continues, “you will discover a fine balance of mellowed fruit and nuttiness, due to extended cask aging and from where it gets a characteristic warm amber tone. A rich and complex wine that has a soft aroma of toasted almonds and a hint of orange peel and spice, full and gen­erous, enticing flavors with a long decadent finish. May I suggest you try it with milk chocolate.” I was surprised at the pairing, chocolate not cheese, but having tasted his recommendation he was right.

To conclude my Port class, the 1996 Malvedos Vintage Port made from grapes of the Qinta dos Maledos, south facing and rated the finest vine­yards in the Alto Douro. The wine was matured in seasoned oak casks for 24 months before being bottled without filtration or fining to retain the purety of the taste. In the glass there is a dark and intense colour; on the nose a lus­cious ripeness with intense youthful aromas of red fruit with a hint of mint and eucalyptus. On the palate I discovered rich full bodied flavors that were packed with layers of fruit and firm tannins that hold together to create a long, sweet finish.

Vintage Port, due to the nature of how it was made has sediment and needs to be decanted not because it looks posh but for the sake of the taste. Take the bottle from the wine rack and place it upright for a couple of hours then very slowly decant, taking care to keep any sediment in the bottle.

“This goes well with salty cheeses such as Gorgonzola or some Italian Sa­lami,” Jorge concludes. “If the Port is still young it also will pair nicely with dark bitter chocolate.”