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Wine Recommendation
Prager Winery & Port Works
2003 Royal Escort Vintage Port, Paladini Vineyard(Napa Valley)
This is the big boy from Prager’s port works. At least, it has been for the last quarter-century. In the tradition of Oporto, however, Prager has only declared a “vintage” seven times in those 25 years, and the 2003 is the first in this millennium. So, until Prager’s young Calistoga vineyard, planted to five Portuguese varieties, gains maturity and if it ever garners the quality, the Paladini Vineyard in St. Helena will continue to be the source of Prager’s No. 1 port.
The wine is inky in the glass. It also has a bit of brettanomyces in the nose, which actually enhances the character of this characterful wine. There are also some big black fruit aromas and on the palate there’s non-stop blackberry jam. Despite its youth, the wine is smooth and delicious and curiously devoid of raspiness despite the 19 percent alcohol.
The residual sugar is 9.3 percent and there were 1,100 cases produced.
Reviewed March 23, 2007 by Alan Goldfarb.
Other reviewed wines from Prager Winery & Port Works
 NV Noble Companion Tawny, Priest Ranch (Napa Valley)Alan Goldfarb 3/23/2007 |
The Wine
Winery: Prager Winery & Port Works |
The Reviewer
Alan Goldfarb
Alan Goldfarb has been writing about and reviewing wine for 17 years. His reviews have been published in the St. Helena Star, San Jose Mercury, San Francisco Examiner, Decanter, and Wine Enthusiast, among others. Not once has he used a point system, star system, or an iconic symbol to quantify a wine. What counts in Mr. Goldfarb’s criteria when judging a wine is: how it tastes in the glass; is it well-constructed; its food compatibility; and presence of redeeming regional attributes. |