2007 Warre Vintage Port

[Glenn E.]

Tasted blind at Roy's house, July 17, 2009. (With a follow-up for the cask samples on July 20, 2009.)

9 Vintage Ports, 7 Tawnies and Colheitas, and 2 Madeiras. 5 guys. 1 night. Port heaven!

Bottle #1: 2007 Quinta do Vesuvio Capela Vintage Port (cask sample)
Bottle #2: 2007 Niepoort Vintage Port (cask sample)
Bottle #3: 2007 Croft Vintage Port (cask sample)
Bottle #4: 2007 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port (cask sample)
Bottle #5: 2007 Graham Vintage Port (cask sample)
Bottle #6: 2007 Warre Vintage Port (finished bottle)
Bottle #7: 2007 Taylor Fladgate Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port Vinha Velha (cask sample)
Bottle #8: 2007 Fonseca Vintage Port (cask sample)
Bottle #9: 2007 Duorum Vintage Port (cask sample)

2007 Warre Vintage Port (cask sample)

Day 1
Color: Another dead center standard purple, but with a good 1/4" fade so slightly less opaque than the others.
Nose: A strange note... water, something like tap water. Also some dust and alcohol. Otherwise mostly generic fruits.
Palate: Medium sweetness and a medium body. There's a bit of a bite to it and huge tannins. The fruits start out on the ripe red raspberry end of things and then slowly migrate in your mouth over to the ripe purple (boysenberry and mulberry) end. Lots of good acidity.
Finish: Fruity and tannic. Pretty even and pretty long.

Initial rating: 89-92. After hitting a good spot with the Graham, I felt like my palate was back to acting weird. Day 1 was rough all around.

Day 2 & Day 3 - I didn't taste on day 2 or 3 due to prior commitments.

Day 4
Color: No change in the color, though the opacity has decreased a bit. Call it a 3/16" fade now.
Nose: Muted purple fruits and some blueberry with effort. Faint dust and a bit of alcohol. It almost - but not quite - smells like it's trying to close down.
Palate: Medium on the sweetness scale, with a medium full body. Decent grip, good acidity. Big, round, mellow purple fruits.
Finish: Smooth and even, it goes on forever. Very nice. This is what a finish should be like.

Final score: 93-96. Quite a boost over day 1, but it deserved it. I fretted with a point here or there, struggling to fit it into the overall set of 2007s that I've tasted. I finally settled here, which I think it fully deserves.

I was very surprised when this was revealed as the Warre. I haven't had that many Warres, mostly because the ones I've had (mostly '85, '83, and '80) haven't really impressed me. This one is great, though, and at least for me is among the best of the vintage.

[Roy Hersh]

Interesting impressions of this wine Glenn. Thanks!

I am looking forward to reading some of the other critic's reports when I am done with my article. It will be fun to see their scores.

[Eric Menchen]

Nose: A strange note... water, something like tap water.

What tap water, where? Chlorine or its derivatives? Organic? Minerally? Sulfate? Just curious what you mean by this.

[Glenn E.]

No, not chlorine, just water.

I dunno... water has a smell to me. I guess it's faintly mineraly, but it's mostly just... watery.