1980 Ramos Pinto Vintage Port -- (bottle with special history)
Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 4:57 am
Let me tell you the story of this bottle (I have only one), which is important for me (for two reasons). When I became Managing Director in a company for the first time (1992), I had a strategy meeting over a couple of days autumn 1992 together with my Chairman and two colleagues. Meetings went well and the last evening we decided to celebrate with a port. We stayed at a mountain hotel that is known for a very nice wine cellar. The sommelier suggested the 1980 Ramos Pinto vintage port and we enjoyed it. I tried to find it in Norway afterwards, as a memory from those meetings, but no result.
The world moved on, and in 1995 I wrote my first e-mail in the office, and in 1997 I got my first Internet connection at home. Shortly afterwards I joined a US wine discussion forum (all kinds of wine), and I asked whether such bottle could be found. I had started to figure out how to get the bottle from US to Norway, as most forum participants were located in the US. I got one answer, which was from Oslo, and the person lived 6-7 miles from my office! He came in one day autumn 1997, and I purchased the bottle. As the scores in the press were low, both for this particular port (Suckling gave it 74 pts back in 1989), and for the 1980 in general, I decided to keep it unopened as a memory. Especially when it proved that the strategic decisions made at that time gave an excellent fundament for the successful development of that company.
After joining FTLOP, I realize that 1980 is an underrated vintage. Have also seen that there is no Tasting Notes of 1980 Ramos Pinto vintage in the FTLOP-base, so I decided to open the bottle yesterday as a start of the Christmas time. It seems that until 1980 Ramos Pinto had only occasional vintages, and 1980 was the first of a long row. Ramos Pinto web site is starting with 1982, and it is very little info to find abt 1980 on internet. Tasted the 1983 Ramos Pinto (6-7 years since last time) during the FTLOP Harvest Tour 2010, and I like that vintage port a lot.
Decanted 4 hrs. Cork was very wet, but still got it out in one piece. Dark ruby colour with a touch of brown and a light rim. Aroma of very ripe grapes, perfume and hint of apple. Unusual taste. A lot of fruit was first impression, then getting much drier. Powerful, but lacking substance in the body (medium body). Long finish dominated by spirit. Not a great vintage port. On one hand it is drinkable, on the other hand I would say it is close to be out of balance. 82 pts.
The world moved on, and in 1995 I wrote my first e-mail in the office, and in 1997 I got my first Internet connection at home. Shortly afterwards I joined a US wine discussion forum (all kinds of wine), and I asked whether such bottle could be found. I had started to figure out how to get the bottle from US to Norway, as most forum participants were located in the US. I got one answer, which was from Oslo, and the person lived 6-7 miles from my office! He came in one day autumn 1997, and I purchased the bottle. As the scores in the press were low, both for this particular port (Suckling gave it 74 pts back in 1989), and for the 1980 in general, I decided to keep it unopened as a memory. Especially when it proved that the strategic decisions made at that time gave an excellent fundament for the successful development of that company.
After joining FTLOP, I realize that 1980 is an underrated vintage. Have also seen that there is no Tasting Notes of 1980 Ramos Pinto vintage in the FTLOP-base, so I decided to open the bottle yesterday as a start of the Christmas time. It seems that until 1980 Ramos Pinto had only occasional vintages, and 1980 was the first of a long row. Ramos Pinto web site is starting with 1982, and it is very little info to find abt 1980 on internet. Tasted the 1983 Ramos Pinto (6-7 years since last time) during the FTLOP Harvest Tour 2010, and I like that vintage port a lot.
Decanted 4 hrs. Cork was very wet, but still got it out in one piece. Dark ruby colour with a touch of brown and a light rim. Aroma of very ripe grapes, perfume and hint of apple. Unusual taste. A lot of fruit was first impression, then getting much drier. Powerful, but lacking substance in the body (medium body). Long finish dominated by spirit. Not a great vintage port. On one hand it is drinkable, on the other hand I would say it is close to be out of balance. 82 pts.