Clairault Alexis Vintage Port 2001 (500ml)
Blend
77% Touriga, 13% Shiraz, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Souzao
Tasting Notes
Deep tawny red in colour. The aroma shows classic aged fortified characters of prunes, dark rum and raisin chocolate combined with the sweet perfume of brandy spirit. Sweet boysenberry fruit flavours flood the palate. The tannins are evident and well balanced with the residual sugar levels to provide a rich, warm mouth filling experience.
Will Shields’ Winemaking Notes
The Alexis (named after the French mathematician Alexis Clairault) is made from the traditional Portuguese varieties Touriga and Souzao along with a small amount of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. The main variety, Touriga, is picked when it is fully ripe and starting to shrivel on the vine. A warm fermentation is carried out on skins with gentle plunging of the cap with the aim of extracting maximum colour and minimal tannins. Fortification, the addition of alcohol to arrest of fermentation, occurs at a pre determined stage to result in a specific level of sweetness and 18.5% alcohol. The wine is then pressed, settled and transferred to very old French oak for maturation. In the case of this vintage maturation lasted nearly 5 years.
