1985 Warre’s Vintage Port
Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 12:17 am
Warre’s Vintage Port - 1985
Under the perfectly-looking outer foil cap was a much older, much more dried out foil cap (over which the stained IVDP seal ran) with excessive brown wine, perhaps some old seepage. I got nervous peeling this cap back as the entire top of the cork was showing signs of the same and appeared relatively dried out. Could this be a bit of heat damage?
Cork broke in half with my ah-so opener. Fished the remainder of the intact cork out using a simple corkscrew on the end of my Swiss army knife. Fortunately no pieces fell into the Port.
Roy and others have recommended a decanting time between 6 and 8 hours. I decanted at 14:45 hrs and will keep track as time elapses to see whether this is indeed the best drinking window. I’m guessing based upon how popular this particular bottling is that it will turn out to be so.
First impressions - upon decanting
Lighter red colour with shades of brown as the wine was being decanted. Nose of plums, grapes. No spirit to speak of either on the nose or on the palate on first taste. The sweet grapey plum was evident on the palate as well. Very smooth, even after less than 5 minutes out of the decanter. I look forward to tracking the evolution of this throughout the evening.
+4 hours
A bit darker colour, more intensity to the red but nowhere near the opacity or darkness experienced in other VPs I have tried. Sweet raspberries have been added to the nose, and show up on the palate along with a bit of disjointed spirit, which lingers on the finish. If the alcohol blows off, this will be a lovely Port, however it does seem a bit thin, less full bodied than I would have expected. Not as much of a tannic grip as I expected, although that contributes to the feminine structure of the wine. Good at this point, it will be better if/when the alcohol blows off.
+6 hours
While a slight bit darker in appearance, the delightful raspberry has disappeared from the palate, leaving an excess of plum. Not entirely unpleasant, it is not what I was hoping for. Still not a lot of tannic backbone, lending me the impression that this Port may indeed be at it’s drinking apex. Not sure how much steam it will have left to carry it another half decade or beyond.
+7¼ hours
Not a whole lot of change. Still plummy, although pleasant enough. What little alcohol reported previously on the finish does seem to be disappearing.
+8¼ hours
A couple of new intricacies are showing themselves although aside from the addition of blackberries, I struggle to associate a particular flavour. The alcohol is very well integrated at this point (well done Roy for suggesting 8 hours optimal decanting time!!) and there seems to be a balanced acidity that was not as noticeable previously. The sweetness is not overpowering, which adds to the elegance of this Port. Very well-balanced.
+8.5 hours
Dried Cherries seems to be what I was struggling to place in the palate at the last junction. It finally dawned on me. Dried cherries, not huge, just hanging on the back of the palate, adding an interesting intricacy to the Port. This really is a great example of a good, solid feminine-style of Vintage Port. While previously I reported very little tannic backbone, I have hanged my mind and merely believe that the tannins have been thoroughly softened by time. This VP is drinking wonderfully now and likely will for a few more years. Perhaps not another decade. Hard to say.
+10 hours
Sadly, the decanter is now empty. I suppose I should take this as a sign that I thoroughly enjoyed this Port to empty an entire bottle in one night.
While not a full-bodied or huge VP with a great tannic backbone, this quite possibly may be the first time I have tried a fully-mature VP from a truly great producer (my closest being a 1991 Krohn VP which seemed prematurely mature.) If this is what is to be expected from fully-mature VPs, then I am completely sold. While a bit feminine in make-up, and not as full-bodied as expected, this Port is exceptionally smooth, complex and intricate. I liked it a great deal.
Having tried so few mature VPs, I can’t determine at this point in my young drinking career whether I prefer a young, tannic beast to a mature, mellow Port, I can say I liked this one a great deal.
Todd
Under the perfectly-looking outer foil cap was a much older, much more dried out foil cap (over which the stained IVDP seal ran) with excessive brown wine, perhaps some old seepage. I got nervous peeling this cap back as the entire top of the cork was showing signs of the same and appeared relatively dried out. Could this be a bit of heat damage?
Cork broke in half with my ah-so opener. Fished the remainder of the intact cork out using a simple corkscrew on the end of my Swiss army knife. Fortunately no pieces fell into the Port.
Roy and others have recommended a decanting time between 6 and 8 hours. I decanted at 14:45 hrs and will keep track as time elapses to see whether this is indeed the best drinking window. I’m guessing based upon how popular this particular bottling is that it will turn out to be so.
First impressions - upon decanting
Lighter red colour with shades of brown as the wine was being decanted. Nose of plums, grapes. No spirit to speak of either on the nose or on the palate on first taste. The sweet grapey plum was evident on the palate as well. Very smooth, even after less than 5 minutes out of the decanter. I look forward to tracking the evolution of this throughout the evening.
+4 hours
A bit darker colour, more intensity to the red but nowhere near the opacity or darkness experienced in other VPs I have tried. Sweet raspberries have been added to the nose, and show up on the palate along with a bit of disjointed spirit, which lingers on the finish. If the alcohol blows off, this will be a lovely Port, however it does seem a bit thin, less full bodied than I would have expected. Not as much of a tannic grip as I expected, although that contributes to the feminine structure of the wine. Good at this point, it will be better if/when the alcohol blows off.
+6 hours
While a slight bit darker in appearance, the delightful raspberry has disappeared from the palate, leaving an excess of plum. Not entirely unpleasant, it is not what I was hoping for. Still not a lot of tannic backbone, lending me the impression that this Port may indeed be at it’s drinking apex. Not sure how much steam it will have left to carry it another half decade or beyond.
+7¼ hours
Not a whole lot of change. Still plummy, although pleasant enough. What little alcohol reported previously on the finish does seem to be disappearing.
+8¼ hours
A couple of new intricacies are showing themselves although aside from the addition of blackberries, I struggle to associate a particular flavour. The alcohol is very well integrated at this point (well done Roy for suggesting 8 hours optimal decanting time!!) and there seems to be a balanced acidity that was not as noticeable previously. The sweetness is not overpowering, which adds to the elegance of this Port. Very well-balanced.
+8.5 hours
Dried Cherries seems to be what I was struggling to place in the palate at the last junction. It finally dawned on me. Dried cherries, not huge, just hanging on the back of the palate, adding an interesting intricacy to the Port. This really is a great example of a good, solid feminine-style of Vintage Port. While previously I reported very little tannic backbone, I have hanged my mind and merely believe that the tannins have been thoroughly softened by time. This VP is drinking wonderfully now and likely will for a few more years. Perhaps not another decade. Hard to say.
+10 hours
Sadly, the decanter is now empty. I suppose I should take this as a sign that I thoroughly enjoyed this Port to empty an entire bottle in one night.
While not a full-bodied or huge VP with a great tannic backbone, this quite possibly may be the first time I have tried a fully-mature VP from a truly great producer (my closest being a 1991 Krohn VP which seemed prematurely mature.) If this is what is to be expected from fully-mature VPs, then I am completely sold. While a bit feminine in make-up, and not as full-bodied as expected, this Port is exceptionally smooth, complex and intricate. I liked it a great deal.
Having tried so few mature VPs, I can’t determine at this point in my young drinking career whether I prefer a young, tannic beast to a mature, mellow Port, I can say I liked this one a great deal.
Todd
