Warre’s Optima 10

 

Fortified wine is a desert style wine with a lot of residual sugar. This is typically served as an after dinner drink but can be versatile. Some can be too dismissive with fortified wine stating they are too sweet but paired with the right items, they will be fantastic, i.e. (but not limited to) dark chocolate, select nuts and cheeses, sausages, or my favorite, a cigar. The key here is to balance the sweetness.    

Port Wine is a style of fortified wine, traditionally from Portugal. Although there are different styles of Port; Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage, I’ll be writing about one of my favorite Tawny Ports. Tawny Port is a blend of barrel-aged Port wine and released as 10, 20, 30, and 40 year old wines.

Warre’s Optima 10 is a perfect example of a delicious ten year old Tawny Port. Bottled in 2012, this revealed aromas of plum, orange rinds, cinnamon, and hints of lavender. Optima 10 offered flavors of dried fruit, honey, and some toasted nuts. Delicious, complex, flavorful, smooth, balanced, and a long lasting finish. This is not your typical Tawny Port. From glass appeal, aromas, flavors, all the way through the finish it is absolutely beautiful – A perfectly tuned orchestra in your mouth! Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled. This is widely available at restaurants and retail wine shops and is moderately priced. I strongly encourage you to taste this if you haven’t already.

Sláinte! TCW