Rozès Porto secures big wins at Fortified Wine Masters

Fortified wines from Rozès Porto in Portugal won a haul of medals in db‘s Global Fortified Masters competition. Find out why the wines picked up medals here.

Rozès is known for its Old Ports, Vintages and White Ports from the Douro Demarcated Region. Part of Vranken Pommery Monopole since 1999, Rozès has a centuries-old history linked to the Douro, and was the first port wine exporting group to settle in the region. Originally founded in Bordeaux in 1855 by Ostende Rozès, a fine wine dealer, Rozès started his career by importing and marketing Port Wines.

Rozès then moved to Vila Nova de Gaïa in the Porto region of Portugal in 1910, and, true to its Bordeaux heritage, aimed to make wines meeting the company’s desire to express what it describes as “the full intensity of wines derived from this oldest controlled appellation wine”.

In the 1930, the founder’s son, Edmond Rozés, created “Porto Rozès”, selecting a bottle shape that he believed would identify the brand and the Port wine: an ‘old Portuguese’ bottle with a bottleneck on sulphurous paper and a cork sealed with wax.

Within the Duoro area, there are 33,000 hectares of vineyard across three sub-regions: Baixo-Corgo, Cima-Corgo and Douro Superior, with the vineyards located on steep walled banks. Porto Rozés also owns ‘A rated’ vineyards in the Douro Superior region, which sit next to Regua in the Douro Superior. Each port vineyard is classified from A to F rating, according to its altitude, location, yield, soil, inclination and orientation, as well as the age, density, training and variety of vine grown.

The Douro, which is one of the oldest demarcated and regulated wine region in the world, having been declared in 1756, also became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. The extraordinary Douro valley runs along the Douro River from Spain to the port city of Oporto on the Atlantic coast.

Here are the wines with Patrick Schmitt MW‘s tasting notes:

Rozes White Porto – Silver medal

This wine has a deep gold, touch of amber. mature aromatics, with some dried mango, touch of nuttiness, and ground almond. It’s palate is wonderfully sweet, with aged notes of dried mango, some bruised apple, ripe pear, then some nutty notes, hazelnut, and gently warming spirit, with very fine tannin on finish, to help refresh. A pale tawny-rose gold colour; fruit-driven, aromatic, peaches, cream, gentle buttered toast in flavour; it is sweet, but not cloying, with fresh enough acidity. Apple, plums, pears, lip-smacking, a good texture, some length and a savoury finish.

Rozes Ruby Porto – Silver medal

A deep ruby. appealing soft dried fruit nose with masses of raisins, dried cherry and red berry. It has plenty of sweetness, with fine dry tannin, and gently warming spirits. A good, fresh acidity, mid-weight, roasted coffee with fair concentration and some length. A youthful, sweet, soft and well-made wine.

Rozes LBV Late Bottle Vintage Port Unfiltered – Silver medal

An almost opaque, purple-black wine. The flavour of some dark chocolate and raisins, with aged notes too and brambles, blueberries, mroello cherries and toasty oak. On the palate it is sweet with some evolution, and hints of old furniture, dried cherry and raisin. A hint of dark chocolate and spice, gently warming spirit, and plenty of dry tannin. With sweet, tangy acidity, it has abundant velvet-textured tannins, full-bodied, integrated alcohol and is nicely textured.

Rozes Tawny Porto – Bronze medal

A pale ruby wine with aged aromatics. It has a flavour of dried cherries, tobacco, vanilla, cranberry and a touch of blackberry. Lots of sweetness, a bit of caramel and nuttiness, is medium-sweet with a crisp acidity and corduroy-textured tannins, with a mid-weight, lifted finish.

Rozes Infanta Isabel 10-Years-Old Tawny Porto – Silver medal

A touch of ruby at the core, this wine is translucent, brick red, with an amber rim. Delicate on the nose, it has the sweet flavour of crushed red fruit, caramel, and burnt, candied orange as well as a smoky, toasty flavour of dried flowers, and roasted cashews. On the palate it has a medium-weight, sweet and spicy, but not unctuous, with fine tannins and some warmth. A touch of caramel on the finish with a nice balance and elegance.

Rozes Special Reserve Porto – Silver medal

This wine has a slightly cloudy, aged appearance, with ruby core and brick-red rim. Lots of dried fruit, and an aged character on the palate with a touch of forest floor, grass clippings, caramel and raisins. Complex and appealing with some spice, it has the flavour of California dried raisins, candied cherry and some peppery spice. A touch fiery with supple tannins and charred wood notes and an evolved, savoury finish.

Rozes Vintage Porto – Gold winner

This wine has an intense, dark black fruit on the noise with raisins and chocolate. A super-intense palate with grippy, powerful warmth in the background, there are flavours of dark cherry, blackberry and blueberry, dried fruits and cracked black pepper with cedarwood, vanilla. There is a good, sweet freshness with dense, velvet-textured tannins. A long finish, which is dry, fresh and with beautifully balanced elegance.