Fortified Masters 2016: the results

The latest edition of db’s Fortified Masters showed what great quality wines producers are making across the board, with 20% of entries being awarded Masters and one third of the entrants being given a Gold medal. By Patrick Schmitt MW.

Few drinks deliver as much pleasure for the price as fortified wines. A combination of grapes, brandy and barrels, not forgetting, of course, expert blenders, yields wines that are high in quality and complexity, but, primarily due to their unfashionable status, low in price, particularly if one compares them with the great wines from Bordeaux or Burgundy, or, indeed, the aged malts and Cognacs of Scotland and France respectively. This mix of a fine product at an accessible price makes fortified wine so appealing for professionals – and should make them a major draw for those outside the trade too.

Proof that this drinks category is home to such outstanding blends was shown in this year’s Fortified Masters, which yielded an exceptional eight Masters, representing a record 20% of the entries. Not only that, but as many as one third of the products assessed blind gained a Gold, and the same amount a Silver, making fortified wine the most highly awarded category in our extensive competition line-up, which includes upmarket areas such as Champagne and expressive grapes like Pinot Noir. As Matthieu Longuère MS commented after the day’s tasting: “The Fortified Masters confirmed the incredible consistency and value of the category as a whole,” adding, “I guess, as these are not the commercial successes they used to be, producers really have to focus on the quality, and it showed – all the wines got a medal.”

Similarly, another judge, Sarah Jane Evans MW, said: “It was a lovely tasting – there’s nothing better than spending a day among fortified treasures.”

While all the sub-categories yielded great results, it was the single-harvest tawny Ports, or Colheitas, that really wowed the judges. Longuère recorded: “I really enjoyed the Colheita Port: as a Port style, it was definitely the most consistent, gaining only Silver and above, and really good value for wines that have been aged for so long before release.”

For his fellow judge, The Wine Society’s tastings director Ewan Murray, Colheitas and aged Madeiras were the highlights. “I have a penchant for Colheita tawny and for Madeira, and the examples were stunning,” he said, adding: “They are two oft-overlooked categories by those not in the know, providing great pleasure and generally good value-for-money.”

For Evans, the Sherries, Ports and Madeiras performed extremely well, but she expected them to. However, she was surprised at the quality among the Vin Doux Naturels from France. “I was enchanted by the Gérard Bertrand Legend Vintage Rivesaltes 1974,” she said. “I am guilty of not taking Rivesaltes seriously enough, and this wine opened my eyes to its potential. It’s a glorious wine that hides its years beautifully.”

Although the tasting didn’t include any disappointments, areas that performed relatively less well were the extremely niche area of white Port, and, one of the most commercially successful fortified wine categories, LBV Port.

In short, the tasting served to strengthen the judges’ high opinion of fortified wine, while also, importantly, drawing their attention to different areas of quality and new producers of note.

About the competition

The Fortified Masters is a competition created and run by the drinks business, and is an extension of its successful Masters series for grape varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as regions from Champagne to Chianti.

The competition is exclusively for fortified wines, and the entries were judged by highly experienced tasters, using Schott Zwiesel Cru Classic glasses supplied by Wine Sorted.
The top fortified wines were awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals according to their result, and those entries that stood out as being outstanding received the ultimate accolade – the title of Fortified Master.

The wines were tasted over the course of a single day at Hardy’s Brasserie and Wine Bar in London.

This report only features the medal winners.