What Kind of Wine Is Sandeman Ruby Porto?
Sandeman Ruby Porto is a rich fortified red wine from Portugal. It has a brilliant ruby red hue, clean aromas of black and red fruits, and a palate filled with plush tertiary flavors. The wine is balanced and round in the mouth, with unconcealed tastes of chocolate and coffee. Port wine is a fortified wine native to Portugal, where it’s produced in the Douro Valley. For the most part, it’s a sweet wine served after dinner as a dessert or on special occasions.
There are many categories and quality levels of Port, however. So, when you’re shopping for Port wine, finding the perfect one might be confusing. Port wines can be Ruby, meaning they mature in bottle, or Tawny, where they age in wooden barrels. Ruby Port wines, such as Sandeman Ruby Porto, have low oxidation and pronounced fruity aromas. There are also a blend of different vintages with an average age of three years. The types of Ruby Port wines are Ruby, Ruby Reserva, Late Bottled Vintage, and Vintage.
Sandeman Ruby Porto Review
- Winery — Sandeman
- Country/Region — Portugal, Porto
- Type — Fortified Wine From Portugal
- Aroma — Orange Blossom, Plum, Cherry, Raspberry, Fig, Raisin, Tobacco, Charred Wood, Wet Leather, Vanilla Spice
- Grapes — Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cão, And Other Local Varieties In Small Quantities
- Taste — Blackberry, Strawberry, Butter, Chocolate, Coffee, Caramel, Mint, Menthol, Prune, Licorice, Hazelnut, Cinnamon Spice
- Alcohol Content — 19.5%
- Sugar — Semi-Sweet
- Pairing — Beef, Game Meat, Blackened Fish, Chocolate Desserts, Nuts, Blue Cheeses
Sandeman Ruby Porto is a solid value Ruby Port, pairing dark fruits with charred wood and leathery elements to offer more than just a boozy drink. This wine is indeed complex, and as it finishes with spicy and herbal notes, it guarantees that wine enthusiasts are in for a classic and bold fortified Port wine full of flavor. So, Sandeman Ruby Porto has all the ingredients that constitute great fortified wines, and it is excellent for consumers!
Tasting Notes
With a light-to-medium body and a pronounced jammy character, Sandeman Ruby Porto has a lush flavor profile. Some wine enthusiasts may mistake it for an ostentatious Zinfandel. On the nose, red fruit and plum combine with fig and raisin to deliver the aromatic bouquet. On the palate, plush black fruit notes join strawberry, cocoa, and mint flavors for a savory result. The finish is lengthy and pleasurable, while the acidity is faint, almost non-existent.
Appearance
As its name implies, Sandeman Ruby Porto has an exceptional deep ruby-red color. But the beauty doesn’t stop there. The wine’s center is semi-opaque and opens into a magnificent burgundy hue. The legs of the wine are medium density, which is understandable, considering the high alcohol content in the wine. A classic and quite powerful appearance for Sandeman Ruby Porto, then!
Aroma
Sandeman Ruby Porto has orange blossom fragrances and plum, cherry, and raspberry aromas on the nose. Fig and raisin notes also surface, after a few swirls, while a hint of vanilla spice offers a welcoming depth. The great thing about the Sandeman Ruby Porto’s aromatic profile is the tertiary, wood characters, which are rare to find in a Ruby Port. Charred wood and wet leather combine marvelously, providing a one-of-a-kind aromatic experience.
Taste
Sandeman Ruby Porto has a complex palate of black and red fruit flavors, such as blackberry and strawberry. But the cinnamon spice and coffee notes are the ones that stand out. Next, wine enthusiasts taste caramel, mint, and menthol flavors as well. In addition, as time goes by, Sandeman Ruby Porto gets more complex, with elements of prune, licorice, and hazelnut surfacing. The wine’s tannins are high but soft without being obtrusive. They have a ripe texture, too, and blend nicely with the overall sweetness. The acidity, on the other hand, is muted, without intensity. It does, however, provide a certain level of freshness.
Finish
Sandeman Ruby Porto has a gratifying and lingering finish. Heavy raisin, chocolate, mint, cinnamon, and tobacco notes characterize the aftertaste and are a giveaway that this wine is a classic Ruby Port. There are no bitter or astringent sensations, as Sandeman Ruby Porto concludes the tasting profile perfectly.
Rating
With Sandeman Ruby Porto wine, consumers get a good rush of dark and red fruit flavors, with primary plum and cherry notes, secondary cocoa and coffee tastes, and tertiary flavors of toasted wood, leather, and tobacco. The finish is long and dissolves on the tongue, unfolding into several minor notes, such as raisin. Also, the sweetness does not overpower the palate because it is so well balanced. Sandeman Ruby Porto is a fantastic fortified wine example from Portugal, smooth, fun, and undeniably enjoyable if you’re into bold wines.
Sandeman Ruby Porto Food Pairing
Ruby Ports make ideal partners with chocolate desserts. A chocolate brownie or even a chocolate pot served with red berries will arouse the taste buds, making you reach out for the bottle and another glass of Sandeman Ruby Porto. Nutty and full-flavored semi-soft blue cheeses, such as Stilton and Danish Blue, go wonderfully with the wine, too. On that note, try the wine with savory farmhouse Red Leicester or Cheddar for extra taste.
Sandeman Ruby Porto makes a good companion to meat, as well. Serve the wine along with beef steaks or venison for a mouthwatering meal. Additionally, you can even use the wine for cooking. In particular, Sandeman Ruby Porto helps to create a fabulous syrupy sauce when drizzled over poached apples or pears. Ruby Ports are used extensively in the culinary world in their natural form to increase food flavor and flavor consistency. And Sandeman Ruby Porto is no exception to the rule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Makes Sandeman Ruby Porto?
There’s speculation that Port was discovered in the 17th Century when British merchants added brandy to the wine of the Douro region in Portugal to prevent it from souring. The final wine was called Port, after the port city of Porto. Now, Sandeman Ruby Porto is a product of Sandeman Winery, founded in 1790 as The House of Sandeman by George Sandeman. In 1877 the Sandeman name was registered as a trademark, as the first company to brand their casks, giving their wine a recognizable name that assured quality. In 1880, Sandeman became the first Porto House to export labeled wines, an innovation for the time.
The famous Sandeman’s trademark, the Don, was painted by George Massiot Brown in 1928. This mysterious Don is dressed in a black cape, has a wide-brimmed black hat, and a glass of Port wine in hand. The design is based on a Spanish Caballero hat and a Portuguese student’s black cape. Today, Sandeman is known as an exclusive Port wine brand. Their Port wines are distributed to over 55 wine markets across the world. The current chairman of the company is a seventh-generation Sandeman, also named George.
How Is Sandeman Ruby Porto Made?
The procedure of producing Port wine is very complex. Once alcohol reaches 5-9%, the fermentation is stopped by alcohol fortification to create a sweet wine. In general, the fermentation lasts up to 36 hours. To create the level of tannins and color of a Port, distinctive techniques are implemented, unlike in the standard red wine production.
The surprising thing about Port is that not only, according to viticulture, is it one of the first designated wine styles ever created in the world, but that much of the techniques used in the past are still the same today. The principal method used in the production of Port is foot treading or foot extraction. The foot treading takes place in shallow granite troughs, called laganes. Once fermentation starts, treading stops as the cap is punched down to extract colors and tannins.
Sandeman Ruby Porto is produced via an autovinification method. The crushed grapes are placed into stainless steel sealed vats and the rising pressure of the carbon dioxide, given off by the fermentation, pushes the juice up through pipes into a holding tank. When the pressure of the carbon dioxide reaches a set level, a valve is released, and the wine in the holding tank floods down over the cap. The valve resets and the process starts again. Every cycle completes in 20 minutes. The amount of contact between the skins and the grape juice is high, resulting in richly flavored wines.
Where Is Sandeman Ruby Porto Made?
Sandeman Ruby Porto is made in Porto, Portugal. Generally, the Port is produced in coastal towns near the Douro River. The vineyards that start upstream of these towns are divided into three sub-regions. First, there’s the Baixo Corgo that produces light wines. Then, there’s the Cima Corgo, where most high-quality vineyards are found, and third, there’s the Douro Superior, which, even though it is sparsely planted, is renowned as a source of top-quality wine.
The climate of the vineyard area is warm continental because it’s shielded from the rain-bearing Atlantic winds by the Serra do Marão. That said, it’s not uniform. For example, in Baixo Corgo in the west, the climate is the coolest and the wettest of the sub-regions. So, the vineyards in the east get progressively hotter and dryer due to this climatic difference. Winegrowers also have to manage spring frosts and heavy rainfall. These challenges disrupt flowering and harvest. During the summer, though, daytime temperatures are high, but rainfall throughout the growing season is low, stressing the vines. However, the schist bedrock enables the vines’ roots to access water reserves built up by the winter downpours. In this way, viticulture is possible!
How to Serve Sandeman Ruby Porto?
The best way to serve Sandeman Ruby Porto is just a bit below room temperature (60-64°F or 15-17°C). Keep in mind that if you consume such a high-alcohol wine too warm, you’re going to get an unpleasant burning sensation. A good rule of thumb for serving Port wine is to refrigerate the bottle 15 to 30 minutes before opening it to prevent that burning feeling. As to the glassware, the pleasure of Port comes from being able to experience its charming aromas and black fruit flavors.
Avoid serving Port in cordial glasses, but instead, opt for standard-sized white wine glasses or copita/sherry glasses. These enable wine fans to swirl and aerate the wine so that the color, aromas, and tastes can reach their full potential. Before you serve Port, make sure that the glasses have no lingering odors. Otherwise, they will interfere with the wine’s aromatics, resulting in an uninspiring beverage. Decanting Sandeman Ruby Porto is a sure way to enhance its flavor profile. Vintages less than 40 years old, such as Sandeman Ruby Porto, require decanting three hours before drinking.
How Much Does Sandeman Ruby Porto Cost?
Sandeman Ruby Porto is an affordable Ruby Port. That is great news for wine enthusiasts looking for a traditional Portuguese fortified wine. The Sandeman Ruby Porto price is about $9 to $14 per bottle, depending on the vintage or vendor. As such, the wine is budget-friendly, and everyone can obtain it without spending too much. I would recommend purchasing a couple of bottles to put in a cabinet. That way, when guests arrive, you can treat them to this juicy, bold wine!
How Long Does Sandeman Ruby Porto Last?
As a general rule, young Ports, such as Sandeman Ruby Porto, remain fresh for six to eight weeks. Therefore, aim to uncork and consume the wine the soonest. The longer it stays in the cabinet, the decrease in its aromatic elegance increases. On top of that, Sandeman Ruby Porto is bottled with a screw cap. Ports with a screw cap or a T-Cap cork do not benefit from additional aging. So, extended cellaring is not necessary. On the other hand, Ports with a driven cork are bottled very young and unfiltered and are intended for long-term storage and bottle-aging.
As a Port matures, the firm tannins and fruity flavors of youth give way to a velvety smoothness and mellow character. At the same time, the wine’s appearance changes as the initial red color slowly become paler, evolving into a subtle amber hue. If Sandeman Ruby Porto matures for a long time, it will make this change. That said, the wine will also lose its freshness and brightness, unlike vintage, supreme-quality Ports.
How Many Calories Does Sandeman Ruby Porto Have?
As a fortified wine, Sandeman Ruby Porto has a high caloric density. Besides, alcohol is a component that increases calories in wines, and Sandeman Ruby Porto has plenty of it. In 1 fluid ounce of the drink, there are 46 calories, equating to approximately 162 calories per serving. The calorie breakdown is 0 grams of fats, 0 grams of sodium, 13 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of protein, and 9.5 grams of total sugars. Consequently, the Sandeman Ruby Porto calories are high. Consumers on a diet need to consider this information before consuming this wine, then. That said, considering how small a served amount of Port wine is, enjoying a glass of Sandeman Ruby Porto here and then will not drive dieticians crazy.
Furthermore, Sandeman Ruby Porto has a very high alcoholic concentration, typical for a wine of its kind. To be more precise, the Sandeman Ruby Porto alcohol content is 19.5%, which is some of the highest found in wines. Therefore, remember to enjoy this Port responsibly, avoiding excessive and unnecessary consumption. Also, bear in mind that unless designated on the label, wines are not vegan. During winemaking, wines are clarified through fining, where the most commonly fining agents are animal-based. Vegans, consequently, must think about this before tasting Sandeman Ruby Porto.
Conclusion
Sandeman Ruby Porto is a solid value Ruby Port, pairing dark fruits with charred wood and leathery elements to offer more than just a boozy drink. This wine is indeed complex, and as it finishes with spicy and herbal notes, it guarantees that wine enthusiasts are in for a classic and bold fortified Port wine full of flavor. So, Sandeman Ruby Porto has all the ingredients that constitute great fortified wines, and it is excellent for consumers!
