Producer: Trevor Jones
Wine: Jonesy Old Tawny Port
Wine type: Port
Vintage: NV
Grapes: undetermined blend
Appellation: Southern Australia
Country: Australia
Designation: Excellent Value
Grade: B+
Price: $10.99

“Holy crap, it’s BROWN!”

Mental note: let’s work on the filter between your brain and your mouth, Erin. But come on, when someone pours you a port – or port-style wine, as the case may be – you expect it to be a deep ruby or purplish color. The Jonesy was a deep brown – exactly like a Tootsie Roll. I was skeptical. I sniffed and sipped.

“Holy crap, it’s GOOD!”

This wine is incredibly unique. I had it at a casual wine tasting at my favorite store on a Saturday afternoon, and in the 20 minutes that I stood there chatting and sipping I saw 6 bottles fly from the shelf. Of those six bottles, one went to a bona fide wine snob who usually spends $50-100 for everything he buys, and another went to a woman who literally laughed in the face of the person pouring when asked if she wanted to try a port.

Espresso and raisins, espresso and raisins, espresso and raisins… that’s all that kept going through my head. It was smooth, not scarily tannic or dry, and just plain yummy. Taste it and you will see why I rated it a B+. At $10.99 it’s a steal.

This wine is a force. It can change people’s preconceived notions of what is good or not and what they like or not.

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