Fortified Reds
Vintage image sourced on Pinterest
If “fortified” made you think of those cereal ads in which vitamins are somehow added back to crunchy grains (or sugar bombs, let’s be real), don’t worry, fortified wines are not the same thing. In wine’s case, fortification is essentially the process of adding a spirit to a wine, which creates a ‘fortified’ wine with higher alcohol. From there, other winemaking decisions around when to add the fortifying spirit, aging, blending, oxidation and the addition of aromatic herbs can further alter the original wine, creating something entirely new, complex and delicious.
These are the wines that sit somewhere between wine and spirit, best between dinner and bed. Whether treated as digestifs or bodily fortification against winter’s chill, fortified reds are for everyone. If you thought Ports, Vins Doux Naturels and Barolo Chinato were only for fusty old Brits who call each other ‘gents’ in smoking rooms with heavy wood paneling, think again. I love me some history and am a total sucker for all things romantically aged, but fortified reds are very much worth bringing into your present, especially at the holidays.
Stuff to know
Fortified wines are ‘fortified’ with a spirit, usually grape-based. At one time in history, fortification helped stabilize wines for long sea voyages, making these some of the most popular styles of wine in the world.
For this tasting, we’re focusing on fortified red wines, though there are plenty of world-famous fortified white wines that we’ll cover in other tastings, like Madeira, Sherry, Marsala, Rutherford Muscat and Muscat-based Vins Doux Naturels (VDNs).
Some of these wines, especially Tawny Ports, won’t really look like red wines. They’ll be more amber-brown, thanks to long periods of aging in barrels that aren’t filled to the top, so that oxygen is constantly affecting the wine. Oxidation is what it sounds like - a chemical change in something due to contact with oxygen. If you’ve ever cut an apple open and left it on the counter, you’ve seen the results of oxidation as the pale flesh of the apple slowly turns brown. The same thing happens to wines that are exposed to oxygen, and when it happens intentionally, delicious things can result. In Tawny Port’s case, the color changes, and flavors of toasted nuts, caramel and toffee show up.
VDNs are sometimes oxidized, too, either in barrels like Tawny Ports or in glass demi-johns called bonbonnes that are left partially full and unstoppered to sit outside in the sun, essentially baking the wines and hurrying the aging process along.
Ruby, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) and Vintage Ports will all be different shades of red, since these wines do not undergo oxidative aging, and instead retain the colors, flavors and tannins from the grapes.
Barolo Chinato is fortified and aromatized, a process that includes mixing aromatic herbs and fruits like quinine, gentian root, rhubarb, cardamom seeds, oranges, cinnamon, cloves, mint, vanilla and more, usually incorporating them into the wine by infusing them into a neutral spirit that is used to fortify the wine. If this sounds familiar, that’s because it’s very similar to creating Vermouth or Amaro, which are also aromatized wines. I’ve selected Barolo Chinato for this tasting because it’s better known as a wine than most Vermouths or Amaros…and because it’s just as delightful during the holidays or with all things chocolate as Port.
What to look for in this tasting
The first thing you’ll notice when tasting these wines is the heat. These wines will have abvs between 15-20%. You might feel it right upfront on the nose, especially if the wine’s flavors aren’t concentrated enough to compete with the alcohol, leaving that particular wine feeling unbalanced. Ideally though, you’ll only notice the alcohol after tasting these wines, on the finish. I usually feel it as a warmth sneaking down my neck and chest, eventually flushing my cheeks (hopefully prettily). Higher quality wines’ alcohol will be well-integrated, so that even though the alcohol level is high, it won’t stick out like a jagged edge, instead just melting into the overall character of the wine. If the wine feels fiery, it could be unbalanced…or it could just be that it was your first sip, since acclimation is also a reality when tasting fortified wines.
The type of alcohol matters, too. Ports in particular often have a woody, sweet, brandy-like flavor as part of the wine, since they’re fortified with a grape spirit that’s only 77% abv instead of a more neutral 96% abv grape spirit. The lower alcohol level means that they’ll have a higher percentage of spirit incorporated into the wine in order to reach fortification, so the flavors from the fortifying spirit, called aguardente, can be more easily tasted in the finished wine.
The colors of these wines can give you some indication toward their flavors, with the reddish wines ranging from bright ruby to deep garnet showcasing red or black fruit flavors like cherries, plums and blackberries, dried fruits like raisins or prunes alongside herbal notes and plenty of flavors from aging like chocolate, vanilla, almonds, cinnamon and more. The brownish wines will have more oxidation, and can lean more toward flavors of toasted nuts, caramel and toffee on the palate.
Typically, vintage Ports and Barolo Chinato will have the most prominent tannins, though recent vintages in Port have been hotter, so the vintage Ports may have riper, rounder, fruitier tannins that are less abrasive or predominant than in earlier vintages. Late Bottled Vintage Ports will also have tannins worth noting. Typically, Ruby Ports, Tawny Ports and Vins Doux Naturels will not have significant tannins, which is one of the reasons why they are listed first in the tasting order.
The wines
#1: Vintage Port
Vintage Ports are often considered the quintessential Port wines, the ones that are most celebrated each year as the various Port houses ‘declare’ a vintage…or choose to skip it. There are many sites like this one that outline the various years’ conditions and which houses declared a vintage in that year. You’ll see that the most recent vintages are always a few years back, since Port houses first age these wines in large old wooden barrels, then in bottles, before releasing them for sale.
In general, the Douro, where the grapes used to produce Port wines are grown, has gotten hotter in recent years, though there is still a lot of variation depending on where within the Douro the grapes are grown and which grapes are used, since Port wines are usually a blend of several different grapes and vineyard sites. Hotter vintages result in riper grapes, which in vintage Port’s case, can mean rounder, softer tannins upon release.
Vintage Ports are not fined or filtered, so all of these wines will have sediment in the bottom of the bottles. These are wines for which you might have seen videos about how to decant. Older vintages tend to have more sediment than recent ones, since over time, the small particles of grape skins, seeds and stems and tartaric acid crystals drift down to the bottom of the bottles. If you’re intimidated by decanting, or don’t have a proper decanter, know that a beaker or similarly-shaped glass object works just fine, and that sediment won’t hurt you if you choose to skip decanting and just pour carefully. It’s harmless and safe to drink, it’s just kind of weird texturally and can look like reddish-black dirt in your glass, which isn’t exactly appetizing. Remember too that more sediment a vintage Port has, the more likely it is to taste smooth and have less abrasive tannins, since the process of sedimentation happens right alongside the smoothing of tannins.
Vintage Ports can have some of the most complex and interesting aromas and flavors I’ve ever experienced in wine. Everything from baked plums and blackberries to mint and violets to cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon, licorice, leather and dried mushrooms can appear in these wines, which also tend to have crazy long finishes as the flavors linger on your tongue.
What to ask for: Ask for a vintage Port from any vintage, keeping in mind that older vintages will have softer tannins and more flavors from aging like dried fruit than more recent vintages.
Alternative(s): Single Quinta Ports, which are Ports made from a single year and estate, just not a declared vintage, or Crusted Ports, which are less expensive non-vintage Ports that are not fined or filtered, so they’ll have sediments (and flavors) similar to vintage Ports
#2: Late Bottled Vintage Port
If Vintage Ports are couture, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Ports are their ready-to-wear sibling. LBV Ports are made from grapes harvested in a single year just like Vintage Ports, they’re just from less-than-perfect vintages and grapes and are bottled later, as the name suggests, between 4-6 years after harvest. This additional aging time (at the cost of the producer) means that LBVs are ready to drink when they’re released for sale, in comparison to Vintage Ports, which generally benefit from additional aging in bottle after release.
LBVs, unlike Vintage Ports, are usually filtered before bottling, so they won’t have the same sediment in the bottle, and decanting isn’t required. That is, unless they actually say “unfiltered” on the bottle, in which case you’ll know what you’re in for if you check out the description of sediment and decanting in Vintage Port above. These wines can have tannins nearly as prominent as those in Vintage Port, though they’ll usually be rounded out thanks to the bottle aging.
Flavor-wise, anything that can show up in a Vintage Port can show up in an LBV, too. They might not have the same level of integration, complexity and finish as a Vintage Port, but you can still taste blackcurrants, figs and plums, eucalyptus and lavender, dark chocolate, cardamom, cedar, leather and more in these delightfully complex wines.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Stick with a Late Bottled Vintage Port from any producer, such as Taylor’s, Warre’s, Dow’s, Quinto do Noval or Fonseca
#3: Tawny Port
I will never forget tasting a Graham’s 40-year old Tawny Port for the first time. I’d tried a few different Tawny Ports before, but nothing as old as that. The scents of caramel, toasted macadamia nuts, brown butter, sultanas and butterscotch burst out of the glass long before I put it under my nose. And that finish, wow. I could taste that wine for ages. The decadence lingered in the best way possible.
I like to think of Tawny Ports as the salted caramel blondies of the Port world. They’re the kind of indulgent sweet that should probably feel saccharine, but somehow don’t. Tawny Ports are blends of Ports from multiple vintages, which are aged in old wooden barrels for years. Decades, really. Most of the Tawny Ports you’ll find outside of Portugal have an age listed on the bottle, usually 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years. As you’d imagine, the older the age, the more expensive the Port, since it’s not exactly free storing and managing wines for that long. You do not have to splash out on a 40-year old Tawny Port to get the experience, though an aged-indicated Tawny Port, 10 years or more, will be your best bet for this tasting.
Tawny Ports get their name from their distinctive brownish-reddish color, created from oxidation, since winemakers intentionally leave some head room in the barrels to allow oxygen to come in contact with the wine. You won’t have any sediment in a Tawny Port, like you would in a Vintage or LBV, because it happens naturally while the wines are aging in barrels, before they ever see a bottle. No decanting required.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Colheita Port, which is a rare vintage Tawny Port, or a Reserve Tawny for a less expensive option
#4: Vins Doux Naturels
Vins Doux Naturels (VDNs) are from Southern France, in the Roussillon, Languedoc and southern Rhône. VDN is the name of the category, and there are many styles within it, just like with Ports. For this tasting, we’re focusing on the red wine styles of VDN, mostly from the Roussillon and made with Grenache, which can be unaged or aged and oxidized.
To make a VDN, winemakers add a ‘neutral’ grape spirit with a high abv, 95-96%, during fermentation. The high alcohol overwhelms the yeasts and stops fermentation, leaving sugar in the resulting wine. Since the fortifying spirit has a high alcohol level, less of it is needed than is typical in Port, and it doesn’t add as much flavor to the final wine. VDNs are meant to showcase fruit flavors first.
Unaged Red VDNs will taste like sweet, concentrated Grenache wines, bursting with jammy fruit flavors like cherries, raspberries, dried strawberries and plums. Oxidized red VDNs may be aged in old oak barrels or glass demi-johns called bonbonnes that are left outside in the sun, and they’ll have flavors that include dried fruits like raisins and prunes and toasted hazelnuts.
VDNs can be difficult to find, depending where you live, so the easiest thing to do might just be to ask your local retailer for help. There are several different types of red VDN styles from Southern France, and any will work for this tasting, including:
Banyuls, typically a red wine, from a part of the Roussillon on the Mediterranean coast, right next to the border with Spain. Banyuls Grand Cru wines are always red.
Rivesaltes, typically a red wine, from a large area in the Roussillon that spans coastal areas alongside the Mediterranean up into the Pyrenees foothills.
Maury, typically a red wine, from the northern Roussillon in the Pyrenees foothills. Note: avoid wines labeled Maury “Sec,” which are not fortified or sweet.
Vin Doux Naturel Rasteau, typically a red wine, from the southern Rhône, north of Gigondas.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Stick with a red VDN, but pay attention to some of the words on the label:
Grenat or Rimage on the bottle means the wine is unaged.
Tuilé or Traditionnel on the bottle means that the wine has been aged and oxidized.
Hors d’âge on the bottle means that the wine has aged for a longer period of time, often around 5 years.
Rancio on the bottle means that the wine will have flavors from oxidative aging, like dried fruit and nuts. Rancio translates to “rancid,” which doesn’t exactly sound appealing, but in this case, the oxidative character is intentional, and doesn’t mean the wine has gone “off” at all.
#5: Barolo Chinato
Barolos are dry red wines from Piedmont in northern Italy, and are included in the Italian Reds tasting, since they are a must-know style of Italian red wine. Barolo Chinatos (kee-nah-toe) are sweet, fortified and aromatized wines that taste entirely different from Barolos, even though they’re made from the same grape, Nebbiolo, and both have Nebbiolo’s signature high tannins and acidity, which might take you by surprise when paired with sweetness.
Quinine in Italian is “china,” derived from the quinine tree’s scientific name, Cinchona officinalis, hence Chinato. Quinine is just one of many different aromatic herbs, fruits and spices that can be added to a Barolo Chinato though. Each producer has his or her own secret recipe, which can include quinine, gentian root, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom seeds, bitter or sweet oranges, cinnamon, cloves, mint, vanilla and more. Winemakers typically infuse the aromatics into a ‘neutral’ spirit that’s used to fortify the wine, adding flavor and alcohol together. Some producers macerate the wines with aromatics too, and many add sugar and age the wines in barrel and/or bottle to thoroughly incorporate all the flavors before releasing for sale.
These wines were once intended for medicinal use, functioning as a panacea for everything from digestion to colds and flus. While we have plenty of different options for remedying bodily ailments these days, Barolo Chinato is still a remedy for the soul. Especially when paired with bitter dark chocolate.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Other Chinatos from Piedmont made from grapes like Barbera
#6: Ruby Port
In Denmark, I’ve noticed that Ruby Ports are a go-to wine for making Gløgg, the Danish answer to mulled wine (AKA glühwein or vin chaud). I’m used to seeing dry red wines being used as the basis for mulled wine, and while some recipes use dry wines here too, I have to say that it makes a lot of sense to use a Ruby Port, which already has a richly festive, fruity and spicy sweetness built into the wine itself.
Ruby Ports are usually blends of wines from multiple vintages, and are focused on fruit purity over complexity from aging or strong tannic structure. Port houses tend to each have their own signature style of Ruby Port, just like how Champagne houses have a style for their flagship non-vintage wines. Some producers lean toward bright raspberry and plummy flavors with subtle cocoa aromas in their Ruby Ports, while others will aim toward spicier aromas of cloves and cinnamon with darker fruit like blackberries and cassis.
Ruby Ports are significantly less expensive than Vintage or LBV Ports, so in an effort to keep things balanced, I recommend aiming for a Reserve Ruby from a good producer for this tasting.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Stick with a Ruby Port, preferably a Reserve Ruby
Tasting tips
The eats
If you’ve ever wanted to host a chocolate and wine tasting, this is your go-to tasting. If you’ve ever wanted to pair brownies, cakes, ice creams, caramels, toffees or nougats with wines, again, this is your go-to tasting. I won’t say that you can’t pair sweet chocolates with dry wines…but they’re just better with sweet ones. Especially fortified reds. Personally, I would treat this as an opportunity to sample the best of your local chocolatier’s assortment, selecting a spread that ranges from milk with toasted nuts, caramel or nougat to the darkest, most bitter chocolate. Aim to taste from lightest to darkest chocolate-wise alongside the pairing order listed below.
If you prefer to contrast all that sweetness with something savory, the charcuterie route is always a good idea. In this case, aim for blue cheeses like Stilton, Roquefort or Gorgonzola, salty meats like smoked ham or salami and accoutrements like olives, macadamia and hazelnuts and dried fruit.
The prep
When scheduling this tasting, leave plenty of time for your guests to find their respective wine assignments. In certain markets, like Denmark and the UK, finding Ports will be easy, though Vins Doux Naturels (VDNs) and Barolo Chinato will take more hunting. In the US, fortified wines in general just aren’t that popular right now, so it may take some hunting to find examples of each style before your tasting.
Most of these wines will be offered in various sizes, from half-bottle (375 mL) to 500 mL or standard, full-sized 750 mL bottles. These wines are high alcohol wines best sipped in small amounts, so feel free to select smaller sizes if you know that you’ll just be 6-8 attendees at your tasting. If you have an expanded group, advise your guests to bring standard 750 mL bottles. You don’t need any special wine glasses for these wines, regular ones will do just fine.
Fortified wines also tend to hold longer once opened than regular still wines, so you can plan to sip on the leftovers from these beauties for 2-4 weeks after the tasting if you keep them refrigerated and haven’t decanted them.
There is a wide range of prices for all of these wines, and many of them are frankly underpriced compared to their value and the cost of production, since they’re not exactly trending at the moment. It’s up to you as the host to decide if you want to set a price range or let your guests determine what they’re each comfortable spending.
I know it might feel strange to chill these big, high alcohol wines, but they’re still best with just a little bit of coolness to them. Imagine that you are grabbing these bottles straight from a fancy cellar where the air feels brisk and damp. If you live somewhere where it’s cold already, the time in the trunk on the drive over might just be enough.
A note on the tasting order: The wines are listed in the order of which should be included first, so that even if there are just 4 wines in the tasting, you’ve got a well-rounded experience ahead. However, I’d suggest switching up the order in which you taste the wines, regardless of how many wines make it in the final cut, as follows:
Vins Doux Naturels
Ruby Port
Tawny Port
Late Bottled Vintage Port
Vintage Port
Barolo Chinato
