1985 Gould Campbell Vintage Port

[Glenn E.]

An "extra" bottle that I've had for a while. Since RWC just had this for sale, and since Carl and Phyllis were in Seattle for a couple of days, I thought I'd open it to see what it was like. Glad I did!

This bottle was imported by Bordeaux Wine Locators in Rainier, WA, and has this interesting tidbit in flowing script on the front label: "Bottled and Shipped by Smith Woodhouse & Ca. Lda." I don't think I've ever seen something like that before, even between sister brands.

1985 Gould Campbell Vintage Port

Color: A nice, deep, ruby color. Not opaque in the center, but dark enough that it appears opaque in restaurant lighting.

Nose: Lots of rich, ripe, strawberries and some very ripe black raspberries as well. Some alcohol, but not so much that you'd notice if you weren't taking notes. There's a sensation of very thick and luscious honey as well.

Palate: Smooth and pleasant entry. More of the ripe strawberries and black raspberries with a rich underlying fruitiness. Tannins are still present and accounted for, but clearly on the decline. Acidity is good. I suspect this will peak in the next 10 years or so and then hold at that plateau for another 10-20.

Finish: Also smooth and pleasant. Not terribly long, but also not short. The honey from the nose skipped the palate and re-appeared here. Some nice red baking apples in the tail-off.

Score: 93 points. In many ways this bottle reminded me of a 1985 Graham, and that's saying a lot because I routinely pick the Graham as my favorite of the vintage. Call it a Graham Jr. I hope this bottle is representative - that'll make the 6-pack I just ordered a real steal!

[Eric Menchen]

This bottle ... has this interesting tidbit in flowing script on the front label: "Bottled and Shipped by Smith Woodhouse & Ca. Lda." I don't think I've ever seen something like that before, even between sister brands.

I have seen that, and from memory think with was an SW addition on a different SFE brand, probably Gould Campbell but it might have been another.

[Rob C.]

I think Gould Campbell is now just a brand, rather than a bottler or shipper/producer in the strict legal sense.

Many old bottles carry the full legal (corporate) name of the bottler/shipper/producer on the label - hence "Smith Woodhouse & Ca. Lda." on your GC85.

i don't know when this became a strict legal requirement, but within the EU it is certainly a requirement nowadays to state the legal name and address of the bottler on the label.

And Gould Campbell is not the only port where the brand name does not bear much relation to the name of the corporate entity that is the bottler - on old bottles of Dow you will often see "Silva & Cosens Lda" as the bottler/shipper. However, the registered bottler for both Dow and Gould seems to have changed on recently shipped bottles (including recently shipped bottles of old vintages like GC70 and D83) to "Symington Family Estates Vinhos Lda".

Another example: Delaforce is now bottled and shipped by "Quinta & Vineyard Bottlers Vinhos SA" (the company that TFP seem to use to as the registered bottler for a lot of their port - from a quick look on my rack, also Croft LBV and Tesco b.o.b. VP)