1980 Gould Campbell Vintage Port

[John Danza]

I just picked up a case of this at auction, and when putting them away in the cellar I noticed one was leaking. The fill was perfect, so it must have been a recent thing, but it's the perfect reason to pop a bottle and try it. Actually, not much popping of the cork because it fell into the bottle when trying to insert the corkscrew.

Upon decanting, noticed that the color was a light-to-medium red looking like it wanted to go tawny on me. The initial taste was plums, but with some VA likely due to the failure of the cork. I was a bit concerned.

My concern was unfounded however. After an hour in the decanter, the VA had blown off and the color had darkened considerably. The flavor was still primarily plums. The nose was that of strawberries. The alcohol was a tad hot, but not too bad at all. It appeared to be a well integrated port that is at its peak but has a number of years left before declining. A very pleasant drink, and well worth the $33 a bottle I paid.

[Roy Hersh]

Hey John,

After all these years, how is it we've still not shared bottles of Port. Great to see you back here and thanks for posting this. I don't get to try this all that often but when I have, it has always been a solid VP. At $33, that is awesome. Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers

[Andy Velebil]

John,

Glad to see you back and I hope all has been well? Thanks for the TN as I can only recall having this Port once before so it was good to get a current view of it. Hope that Port drought is now over and you're back drinking the good nectar regularly

[Glenn E.]

That's an awesome price for a really solid Port.

[John Danza]

I returned to the rest of the decanter tonight, 48 hours later. The wine is still holding up very well. The alcohol is a bit more prevalent, but not too bad. The fruit is still very much there, perhaps a bit more raspberry coming out. It's not a super sweet wine, almost a bit like a Dow profile right now. Still very enjoyable.

[Kurt Wieneke]

John,
I would agree with you on this one. The '80 Gould Campbell has stood the test of time, and it's still got a good 20 more years before it hits peak. It just seems ageless. It also has a complex hint of green peppercorn in the background that I find interesting.

[John Danza]

I opened a second bottle from this case over the weekend. The wine is fabulous! Served 5 hours after double decanting it, the flavors are all popping and the alcohol is not hot at all. Very easy to drink, especially with the after dinner cigar my friend and I consumed while sitting on his deck in Chicago's West Loop area. Clearly a wine with much life still ahead.