Late Bottled Vintage Port (LBV) from the Douro is consistently excellent and attractively priced. Well it is not the Vintage Port at the top of the pyramid but dollar for dollar it gives Vintage Port a run for the money. The usual decadent lush blackberry, cherry, prune and chocolate aromas. On the palate ultra rich black fruit with hints of melted milk chocolate balancing a high alcohol content with pure fruit never going over the edge into excess. A short and sumptuous finish. I would say pair with a rare cut of beef or savour on its own. I challenge you to have some of this LBV with a good cut of grilled beef.
(Cockburn’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2015, Symington Family Estates, V.N. Gaia, Portugal, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 88278, 750 mL, 20%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 91/100).