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Our Ports Special Reserve

Special Reserve Port

Special Reserve


Vintage Port
Fine Ruby
Fine Tawny
10 Years Old Tawny
20 Years Old Tawny

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Cockburn's Special Reserve

Cockburn’s Special Reserve is the world’s most popular premium port. Special Reserve is a medium dark ruby color, with a deep garnet edge. The blend has a clean aroma, showing maturity and finesse, with a hint of dried plums. Off dry to medium sweet, Special Reserve has a rich, mellow texture and smooth tannin structure, with a long, satisfying finish. The classic way to serve Special Reserve is with aged Stilton cheese after dinner. Or enjoy with roasted almonds or walnuts and squares of rich, dark chocolate for a simple but elegant dessert.

Vintage Character Port

Special Reserve is a "vintage character" port, intended to reflect a shipper’s Vintage Port style.

  • Vintage Character ports are matured before release and ready to enjoy when bottled, without the need for decanting.
  • These offer the taste of a vintage port with about 5 years of bottle age.
  • Vintage character ports are a blend of fine ruby ports from various years and vineyards, aged in large vats to retain their ruby red color and bottled ready to drink after filtration.

What Sets Special Reserve Apart

Cockburn's focuses much of its expertise on maintaining the quality of Special Reserve.

  • Special Reserve fruit is picked at the peak of ripeness from single varietal vineyards in the finest vineyard areas.
  • Slightly longer fermentation produces a less sweet finish, highlighting fruit and tannin structure, known as "grip."
  • A higher percentage of older wines in the Special Reserve blend creates a complex, layered wine that is the Cockburn’s signature style.
  • Only the five best port grapes are used in Special Reserve: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tint‹ C‹o, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Barroca.

Cockburn’s Special Reserve

SANTE
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005
Cockburn's Porto Special Reserve shows bright acidity with stewed plum, raisin, and boysenberry; hot finish. Try with pecan pie.
GOLD
2005 DALLAS MORNING NEWS WINE COMPETITION

GOLD
2005 CHALLENGE INTERNATIONAL DU VIN

SWEEPSTAKES GOLD
2004 SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL WINE COMPETITION

WINE ACCESS
DECEMBER 2000, David Lawrason
Score: 86
"…complex and cedary on the nose, signifying a blend a bit older than some. Wild, spirity and leathery with some baked chocolate chip cookie scent and dried plummy-strawberry fruit. Sweet, warm, fairly taut, tannic and hot on the palate. Very good length..."