TN: 1977 Gould Campbell Vintage Port
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 12:13 am
Decant: 12 hours - This bottle was selected and stood up last night for about 12 hours before being decanted. The bottle is wine society stock, sold through U-Vine in August 2006 and kindly shared by Derek. Decanted cleanly, free-hand, off surprisingly little sediment. As it was decanting, it filled my small and windowless decanting room with a wonderful smell of mulled wine and mincemeat.
Immediately from the bottle this wine was a deep, opaque rich red colour with no browning at all. On the nose were dusty cherries and unintegrated alcohol. The cherries filled the mouth, with warm rich spices and left a lovely aftertaste. Very smooth indeed and something to really look forward to.
2 hours after decanting the colour hadn't changed much but the nose had turned to a warm, rich stewed cherry scent with some added intrigue from fresh shredded mint. Really nice. Initially curry powder and coriander on the tip and sides of the tongue and then a bit of a vacant mid-palate. A touch flavourless. A lot of unintegrated alcohol on swallowing and an aftertase that consists mainly of alcoholic burn for a long time before leaving a bitter cherry-pip in the mouth. Not nice to drink right now but I know this will come round spectacularly.
This bottle was actually a little disappointing in the end (although there is still a little left for tonight). Drunk in earnest after about 12 - 14 hours in the decanter, this is my impression:
Deep red colour, not much change since decanting. Nose more integrated, fresh and floral with that lovely fresh-picked bramble that I sometimes find and love in a port. Still the curious curry and coriander on entry, but the fruit has developed well and there is considerable complexity in the mid-palate with a nice tannic structure. However, the mouthfeel was quite watery and the port not as full bodied as I remember; the alcohol was also very obvious on the palate. The aftertaste was also dominated by unintegrated alcohol and was not as long as I was anticipating other than the tannic grip - which stayed in the mouth for ages.
Overall, very pleasant but not a great bottle. However, it made the Saturday night extremely relaxed and was worth opening. 88/100 or 5/6 on the Uncle Tom scale. 88 points
Immediately from the bottle this wine was a deep, opaque rich red colour with no browning at all. On the nose were dusty cherries and unintegrated alcohol. The cherries filled the mouth, with warm rich spices and left a lovely aftertaste. Very smooth indeed and something to really look forward to.
2 hours after decanting the colour hadn't changed much but the nose had turned to a warm, rich stewed cherry scent with some added intrigue from fresh shredded mint. Really nice. Initially curry powder and coriander on the tip and sides of the tongue and then a bit of a vacant mid-palate. A touch flavourless. A lot of unintegrated alcohol on swallowing and an aftertase that consists mainly of alcoholic burn for a long time before leaving a bitter cherry-pip in the mouth. Not nice to drink right now but I know this will come round spectacularly.
This bottle was actually a little disappointing in the end (although there is still a little left for tonight). Drunk in earnest after about 12 - 14 hours in the decanter, this is my impression:
Deep red colour, not much change since decanting. Nose more integrated, fresh and floral with that lovely fresh-picked bramble that I sometimes find and love in a port. Still the curious curry and coriander on entry, but the fruit has developed well and there is considerable complexity in the mid-palate with a nice tannic structure. However, the mouthfeel was quite watery and the port not as full bodied as I remember; the alcohol was also very obvious on the palate. The aftertaste was also dominated by unintegrated alcohol and was not as long as I was anticipating other than the tannic grip - which stayed in the mouth for ages.
Overall, very pleasant but not a great bottle. However, it made the Saturday night extremely relaxed and was worth opening. 88/100 or 5/6 on the Uncle Tom scale. 88 points