As I promised, and in follow up to the Quarles Harris 10 year Tawny, I picked this up today at my local Trader Joe’s to see how this $13 LBV performs. Semi-sweet and smooth with mostly red plums up front, followed up by moderate tannins and chocolate on the mid-palate. A touch of heat on a short finish was tempered by chilling it down a little below a cool winter room temperature. Overall I was pleased with how this delivered, given the price, and easily out performs many standard Ruby Ports in the same price range.
87 Points
Andy, I grabbed a bottle of this as well, and agree with your assessment. It’s a little on the simple side, short finish, but smooth and nothing off-putting. My wife (who’s a notorious cheapskate) thought it was fantastic given the price. We served it at cellar temp; maybe that softened the heat.
Larry,
I would suspect the cellar temp helped as I liked it a bit colder than I normally prefer my Ports.
I just opened one of these a couple of days ago. I was disappointed. It’s OK for the low price, but it is simple and lacks depth for a LBV. (Prices a bit higher here in Las Vegas) Personally I’d rather have Ficklin’s Old Vine Tinta (yes, California I know!) which actually improves in the bottle. Or, I’d go for Noval’s Black for a few more dollars.