1999 Smith Woodhouse LBV Port

[Espen S.]

Bottled in 2003, unfiltered/traditional.

Tasted 2010/04/08

Deep burgundy color. Decanted off a lot of very fine sediment. Upon opening; very tight, not much on the nose, extremely firm and tannic.

20+ hours later, it's opened up a lot. Ripe berries like redcurrants coming through , sweet marzipan with chocolate (julemarsipan for you Norwegians), a hint of wood. Feels very heavy and solid, still very firm tannins on the finish with a lot of heat. I think this could use some cellar time. That being said, I like it dry, but I would like the tannins and alcohol to integrate a bit more. For now this is a 89-90 points for me.
I don't know how well it would age, I'll just try and see.

Day 3: A big change. Tannins are much softer, and a taste of liqourice and honey-like flavour is coming through. The nose hasn't changed much, feels a little softer overall with less alcohol. Still very firm, but the softened tannins help a lot, and I'll give it 91 today. Very good.

[Andy Velebil]

Espen,
Excellent TN! These SW unfiltered LBV's typically can age fairly well for easily 15-20 years. I've had a 1984 that was still holding up pretty darn good for something originally not meant to age that long.

[Espen S.]

Updated my post, I think it was worth mentioning.
I'll definitely save a few bottles and see how well they hold up. In my opinion, this wine is a great value.