Producer's Note: If time is marked by special moments, Kopke's history is written in exceptional years. Years that are worth keeping, so they can be relived and celebrated any time. When we retrieve years from Kopke's history, we are creating more history: the age on the label of this Kopke Port wine is the average age of all the wines in the blend.
Winemaking: Hand-picked at the optimum time, the grapes are then destemmed, crushed and converted into wine through a process of careful maceration to extract their colour, tannins and aromas, enhanced by constant churning during fermentation. This takes place in vats (lagares) at a controlled temperature (between 28-30°C) until the right degree of sweetness (baumé) is achieved. At this point, grape brandy is added to create the final fortified wine. A wine of high quality, made by blending wines of different harvests to achieve the array of sensory qualities that are typical of these aged tawny Port wines. These wines have each matured in oak casks for varied periods of time, with the average age of all the wines in the blend defining the age on the label. The resulting blend expresses the characteristics given by the ageing in wood.
Tasting Notes & Critical Acclaim: 95 Decanter
Review Date: 09/2021
Caramel bouquet embellished by a touch of wood spice. Then toffee, fudge and caramel on the palate, with ripe, red-berried fruit coming through on the finish – altogether pleasant and rich.
92 Wine Spectator
Review Date: 06/2018
Subtle, with a perfumy profile of cinnamon, powdered ginger, hazelnut husk and toasted sesame notes leading the way, backed by mouthwatering date and dried fig details and a lengthy finish. Drink now. (JM)
Sweet, woody, spicy fruitcake and cinnamon reveal themselves on the nose. On the palate, the flavors are wonderfully balanced, no surprise given that the average age of the wine here is actually 15 years and not 10. Since there is no category for 15 year tawnies, Kopke simply chooses to label it as a 10 year tawny. This is just as tasty and elegant a 10 year tawny as one would expect out of this traditional house specializing in this style.
An appealing golden colour, with an amber rim. Elegant and complex, it shows aromas of spice, with prevailing notes of dried fruit and elegant hints of wood and honey. Smooth and round on the palate, it shows complexity amidst intense flavours of dried fruit. An excellent finish.
Recommendations: Irresistible with a starter of foie gras with aubergine and walnuts. A great choice for an endless array of desserts, such as toffee brownies, chocolate and pistachio pavé, or crostini of walnuts with chèvre. Best served at a temperature between 12 and 14°C.
