Porto ageing

The whiskies brought to maturation in barrels of Porto bear the name "Port cask". They develop fruity aromas from the sweet side of Port wine.
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Origin of Porto

Porto is a wine originating from Portugal, near the city of Porto and produced in the Douro Valley which enjoys an ideal Mediterranean climate.

Porto is a mutated wine, that is, it is fortified with brandy during the fermentation stage in order to retain the residual sugar which gives it its characteristic sweet appearance.

While there are more than 80 grape varieties that can obtain the Porto appellation, there are 6 main ones: Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz also called Tempranillo, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cao, Touriga Francesca and Tinta Amarela.

Types of Porto

There are 2 types of wine maturation:

- Oxidative wines are wines which oxidized during their ageing in contact with air.

We can find notably Tawny Porto: classified according to the number of years of ageing, the older they are, the more they lose their very fruity and sweet profile for a richer and more intense profile characterized by wood and coffee.

- Reductive wines have been aged without contact with oxygen.

Among the reductive wines, we find:
Ruby Port with a soft and fruity profile ;
Late Bottled Vintage Porto from a single harvest, aged between 4 and 6 years, with a very smooth profile based on red fruits ;
- Vintage Porto, from an exceptional vintage, aged for 2 years in oak barrels, the noblest of Port wines. It has an extremely rich and powerful profile ;
- White Porto, which can range from a soft and mellow profile to a very dry profile;
Rosé Porto obtained with a weak maturation of the red grapes.

Whisky & Port Cask

The finishing of whiskies in wine barrels being a very recurrent and appreciated process, they are often distinguished from those aged in Port barrels such as those aged in Sherry barrels for their particular and recognizable flavours.

Whiskies matured in port barrels are known as "Port Finish". A whisky matured in Port barrels takes on a natural colour with reddish tones. Porto gives the whisky a fruity profile with sweet notes of dried fruits and spices. The Balvenie, Glenmorangie and Bowmore distilleries offer very beautiful expressions of whiskies aged in Port casks.

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