Dow's Late Bottled Vintage Port 2012

Dow's Late Bottled Vintage Port 2012 (SKU 533364, $28.74, WS 93 pts.)

I have always enjoyed an ounce of port in the evening with my dessert and have tried various type of port: Tawny, Late Bottled and Reserve. I found this one as I was doing research on the Vintage port for 2016. The year 2016 was indeed fabulous for Vintage port and most of them are rated above 95 points. The only trouble was one would have wait another twelve to forty years to taste their full glory. So in the mean time I needed something easier to enjoy. I tasted other vintages of Late Bottled vintage port before and always found them to be a bit thin or the finish was too short for my taste. However this one had a balanced taste of dark fruit that was easy to drink. The finish was medium to long. It was one of the highest rated Late Bottled Vintage port wines rated by Wine Spectator and was recommended for drinking from 2020 to 2027. The good thing about port wine is that one can open it and it is stable at room temperature for a month, so one can enjoy a little bit every night. Port usually goes well with a piece of cake. There is ample supply in the LDB system.

Vina Santa Rita Medalla Real Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Vina Santa Rita Medalla Real Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2015  (SKU 275594, $24.14 tax included)

This was one of my usual go-to wines for a good steak or when I was looking for something simple. In the good old days of the 2004 and 2005 vintages, this wine was rated at 91 points by Wine Spectator. Recent ratings were in the 86 to 87 point range, probably due to the economic pressure to make more money. This 2015 vintage was not rated by Wine Spectator yet. When opened, the nose was full with sense of dark berries. The body and the finish was medium with taste of juicy fruit. It went well with a Chinese take-out meal, especially when there was some red meat. This was definitely not in the same class as the 2004 or 2005 vintages but I liked it better than the big Australian fruit bombs. I would put it around 87 points but this price, it is a good food pairing wine. It was meat for immediate consumption. There is ample stock in the LDB system.