2012 Churchill Gricha

Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
Posts: 14879
Joined: 13:41 Mon 25 Jun 2007
Location: Berkshire, UK

2012 Churchill Gricha

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

Single quinta port from Churchill, bought from Max Graham's restaurant Bar Douro in Flat Iron Square in London.

Deep maroon colour with a slight blue component; opaque. A strong nose of sweet blueberries, a hint of licorice and crushed nettles. Under the fruit and green leaf scents is a faint blue cheese which I associate with the spirit that Churchill use, but this is integrating nicely and is nowhere near as offputting as it is in a newly bottled vintage port. On the palate this is full of fruit; dark cherry, sweet blueberry and lovely tannins. The balance between the fruit and the acidity is very good and delivers a very nicely focused set of flavours. Late on the palate some very attractive floral tones come through. Some heat shows on the aftertaste from the acidity and this takes time to fade, but when it does it allows a fine finish to come through that is dominated by dark chocolate. Overall, this is a very enjoyable SQVP that delivers exactly what you would hope and has the potential to age nicely for at least a decade. 87/100. Opened 19-May-17. This note taken after decanting for 2 days.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
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