TAYLOR FLADGATE 10 Year Old Tawny Port

(Oporto, Portugal) $30

Say the word Port and most of us imagine sitting in front of a fireplace after dinner on a winter night. But you can also turn the binoculars around completely, because Port—especially tawny Port—is outrageously good drunk chilled as an aperitif, in summer. (Accompanied by some aged cheese like Manchego, it’s off the charts). I love the way a slight chill “lifts” the tawny Port’s mellow nuttiness and gives the wine a kind of refreshing vibrancy that summer drinking demands. Taylor Fladgate’s 10 Year Old Tawny–lusciously full of fig and berry notes—is languorously smooth and has a dryish crisp finish. If you’ve never started an evening this way, a hedonic experience awaits you. And as an extra inducement, an opened bottle of tawny Port lasts months so you’ve got nothing to lose. 20% abv

90 points KM

Available at Vivino.com