Ramos Pinto Collector Reserva

The NV Collector Porto Reserva is an unfiltered Port coming in with 99 grams per liter of residual sugar and a bar-top cork. It was aged about five years in large, well-used wooden vats (25+ years old). This Reserva takes Tinta Roriz and Touriga Franca from Ramos Pinto's Quinta da Ervamoira and Tinta Barroca from its Quinta do Bom Retiro. (A field blend from Bom Retiro fills out the blend.) This particular bottle was from the August 30, 2018 bottling (lot number L-18242A). Winemaker Ana Rosas told me that this "doesn't undergo any type of treatment, no fining, cold stabilized, nothing. It's only a blend of different wines of several ages, some young, some quite mature. The wines can age in wood (balseiros) and in cement or in both....We release our first 'Collector' with a proper cork and the wine used to age [beautifully], something between LBV and Crusted, but the market...didn't want a proper cork...The wine has the capacity to age but with this bar top no more than four to five years. After that, the wine will be good but will lose fruit. -Wine Advocate