1984 Cockburn LBV Port

[Andy Velebil]

Bottled in 1990

This was part of an auction that I won earlier this year. My only day off this week and a last minute phone call to see if Alex R. was up to come over and drink some Port...which of course he was (he is married after all). Figured this would be fun to try, especially since it's a filtered LBV. Here is Alex's and my combined tasting note.

I decanted this 2 hours before Alex came over. When I first decanted it there was a ton, and I mean a ton, of heat on the nose and palate. I was a little worried at first but after 1/2 hour it started to mellow so I just let it be to see where it went. By the time we started drinking it had mellowed a lot. There was no sediment at all when I decanted it, and I mean not a drop. The nose was interesting in that it would flip between a young prune and grape and an older more mature VP-like nose of dried flowers and grapes and some burnt brown sugar that disapeared with time. The palate is medium/light with fully resolved tannins and a load of acidity. If this was a younger Port it would be out of balance with that much acidity. There is bright white cherries, pine, eucalyptus, and for a short time there was some cedar that popped up then quickly disappeared. The finish is very drying and chalky with some plums and sour cherries. While not a blockbuster this is pleasant to drink and shows that even a filtered LBV can be a pleasant drink many many years later.
84 points (Andy)
86 points (Alex R.)
05/29/08