1977 Warre's Vintage Port

[Andy Velebil]

Although woofully short on decant time, I opened a 1977 Warre's Vintage Port. I must say with only a couple hours of decant time it showed wonderfully. I've compared the Warre's as a Rolls-Royce before and this was no different. As I sit here typing this with the last glass left, the color is still a medium dark ruby with no signs of any bricking or fading. The nose was typical soft and elegant Warre's, so inviting and elegant you just want to smell it for ages. With soft blueberries, a touch of licorice, and a faint wiff of eucalyptis. Although the palate is not a massive bodied VP like a Taylors, this bottle is just such an elegant wine that you never want to stop drinking it. It shows no sign of fading and only the slightest hint that this is a 31 year old wine. The palate offers some soft plums, bing cherry, some menthol, and a touch of spirit, which is followed but a long and wonderful finish. Perhaps the best 1977 Warre's I"ve had, and I'm glad I was able to share it in the company of a good friend that I've not seen in some time. 93 Points.
04/20/08

[John Danza]

I opened a bottle of 1977 Warre last weekend, one of six that I recently purchased at auction.

This bottle was double decanted about 4 hours before serving, as it needed to be transported to a friend's house and served after we returned from dinner at a nearby restaurant. I wasn't able to take full notes since we were guests of the friends, so I'll go by some memory.

The color started out as brick red when first decanted, but definitely darkened by the time it was served. Quite sweet, with a little bit of heat from the alcohol, there was no dryness on the finish. I concur with Andy's assessment of plums and cherries dominating the palate.

Overall, an excellent wine that is fully mature but not at all in decline. I think it will be quite enjoyable for at least another 5 years, although I'm reasonably certain the other 5 bottles won't get that far. :)

[David Spriggs]

Thanks for the update on this old favorite! I'll pull these from my offsite storage for consumption.
-Dave-

[Roy Hersh]

Interesting perspectives from Andy and John. I have had more of this than any other VP as I've mentioned before. I also have had one of these fairly recently. Andy's bottle sounds like a best case scenario from those I have had in the past. John's 5 year plateau seems a bit short imo, but I agree that it is a mature VP, just not when it will start to decline. Thanks for the notes both of you and it just shows how everyone can be looking at the same thing and seeing it different, which makes these discussions so much fun. None of us is wrong.

[John Danza]

John's 5 year plateau seems a bit short imo, but I agree that it is a mature VP, just not when it will start to decline.

My estimate of 5 years is of the wine being able to maintain it's current state before starting to turn south, but I tend to be somewhat conservative on this many times. This is especially so given that this wine still has a great color right now. I'm sure we've all run into wines that can be amazingly resilient, hitting maturity and then just staying there for a long time. I hope this one does that, as it's an undervalued wine in the marketplace, IMHO.

[Moses Botbol]

Interesting perspectives from Andy and John.

John's 5 year plateau seems a bit short imo, but I agree that it is a mature VP, just not when it will start to decline.

This port will be drinking fine 15+ years from now in my opinion. Sure it is mature and slightly delicate, but I think any decline will happen at a snail's pace. I certainly would not move an OWC's of this to the bottom of the pile; it's certainly an open game port. It's no more mature than Dow's 77 which although can vary in bottle easily still has aging potential.

[David Spriggs]

It's no more mature than Dow's 77 which although can vary in bottle easily still has aging potential.

Wow... Based on my experience, the Warre's is at peak. On the other hand, the Dow's is still quite young. My feeling is that the Dow's has quite a long way to go until it hits peak. Although the Dow's is impressive now, I'm trying to keep my hands off them because I'm sure that better things are in store in future.
-Dave-

[Moses Botbol]

It's no more mature than Dow's 77 which although can vary in bottle easily still has aging potential.

Wow... Based on my experience, the Warre's is at peak.

Would that make it a fairly weak vintage then for Warre? 30 years is not that old for top name and vintage. Warre is never a blockbuster at any stage of its life, just an elegent port from day one. Considering that '70 Warre tasted similar to being at its peak as you state the '77 (going on my memory here), perhaps this can state can carry in the bottle for a long time. The decline is so slow, decades may show just a little fading.

One must define what they call a peak too I suppose? How long one does wait after decanting to think a port is at its best? What kinds of flavors and preferences does one seek to say a port is at its peak? Some like the freshness of a recently decanted bottle, others like it better when it's fully integrated with little pronounced flavors.

[Andy Velebil]

warres to me is always an elegant vp. That also leads it to less of a noticable decline. It tends to slowly fade away where other vp's end to be a noticable drop in quality as they near the end of their life. Along with grahams I would easly argue that Warres is one of the most consistent houses in the past 40+ years.

As for the 77 Warres. Of the few I've had in recent years I would say they haven't yet totally peaked, at least from well stored bottles. I've also said many times though that Warres typically needs a longer decant than other vp's in it's class. They don't always show as well without that long recant.

Sent via iPhone

[David Spriggs]

They don't always show as well without that long decant.

OK. When I'm drinking again I'll open one try some extended decant time on this.
-Dave-