This past Friday evening, July 18th , 2008 I opened a bottle of the 1994 Collares red indigenous pre-phyloxera Portuguese wine made in 1994. It's really hard to make, adored by the British and hardly worth the effort any more is the idea I get from talking to people. They say it may not have been made since the year 2000 making this 1994 one of the rarest wines ever and yet one of the greatest wine values, too. We sell it here at Cleveland Park Wines and Spirits ON SALE for the grand lowly price of only $21.99 a bottle. It comes in six-pack cases and we are almost out so call us ( 202-363-4265 ) if you are interested in getting some.
This 1994 has a lovely tasted red cherry brick red color. You can see clear through it. It's medium-to-light-bodied, perhaps a bit more light-bodied. Like a red Burgundy the color bellies all the intensity and range of cascading, wonderful flavors inside that are always more nuanced than stark and yet there's a lovely polish/patina to both flavors and tastes. It was showing at it's best this past Friday : silky and enticingly spicy and a bit herbal yet never sharp or unpleasing. It's best with food to fill in the spaces that the wine allows us to stretch our tongues out more fully in. I like this type of wine, it lets me get more involved as it has both strengths and weaknesses that from my humble opinion amount to more interesting interactions between wine and taster.
I took these pictures of the wine and the bottle on Saturday night, July 19th at around 8 PM just before leaving. I wanted to preserve the memory of this extraordinary and really rare Portuguese red wine. I'm amazed now looking at the pictures and the clarity, the reflectiveness and the amazing colors. Wow. What do you think? Let me know. Cheers, TONY
1 comment:
Great post. I think this is a privilliged experience to have had the pleasure of drinking Ramisco. I envy that!
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