For The Love Of Port

1927 Dow’s Vintage Port -- bottled by Bannister & Co.
The fill of this old bottle was just a hair above the base of the neck. No label on the bottle, but the branded capsule had 1927 Bannister & Co. Vintage Port on it. I managed to get the cork out almost in one piece, with only a small bit of the bottom breaking off. The cork was clearly branded with “Dow’s 1927 Vintage Port.” Quite the pale brown color and only faint ruby highlights, which looks more like an old Tawny rather than a Vintage Port. Initially this was quite hot on the nose and palate, but about two hours into decanting it finally started to integrate and mellow. Only a small hint of strawberries was detectable over some creamy caramel and walnuts. A pleasant finish of dried nuts and toffee capped off an enjoyable bottle.
90 points

I wonder how that bottle compares to other '27 Dow's? That is a vintage I have wanted to try for some time. Have you had '27 Dow previous to this?

Moses,
This was the only time I've had this 1927 VP, so I don't know if this was a typical bottle or not. As I mentioned, the fill in this was excellent for a bottle this old, just into the neck. Hopefully someone who's had it before can say if it's typical or not.

Hi Andy,

Did you open this for a group, or to share at the end of a night of great table wines? Or did you finish this one alone?

Roy Hersh wrote:Hi Andy,

Did you open this for a group, or to share at the end of a night of great table wines? Or did you finish this one alone?

Just Frank Tota and I mainly. Another friend of Frank's was over too, but he didn't drink much wine. This was one of only many bottles we opened, and we finished most of them ourselves. What was to be an easy night of "just a couple glasses" turned into an all day affair...but I'm not complaining at all

Here's the list
1998 Quinta do Crasto Maria Teresa
1963 Bordeaux (mostly dried out w/ short finish, but still pleasant)
1974 Bordolino (totally dead, poured out)
1952 Dalva Golden White Colheita
1927 Dow's VP
1863 BB&R Sherry bottled about 1924 (i think it was 1863 or thereabouts and I only had a glass)
1860 Unknown producer VP
A QPR champagne to clear the palate
and something else I forgot.


A wild night when you think there was only two of us.

Hi Andy,

I was interested to read your tasting note on the Dow´s 1927.

I think that my grandfather Maurice would have liked the idea that a wine that he made in the Douro would have been tasted by you in LA exactly 82 years after he had made it.

My grandfather was born here in Porto in 1895 in the Avenida de Boavista. He served, straight from school, with the British and then the Portuguese Expeditionary Forces in France in the 1914/18 war and was one of the lucky ones who came home (you guys came in towards end to help us out....).

Maurice was just 32 years old when he made this wine, together with his father Andrew and his twin younger brothers John and Ron.

Have a look at The Vintage Port web site and you will see the notes that Maurice wrote by hand at Bomfim at the time of the harvest in September 1927. Next time you are at Bomfim, have a look at the book; these notes are taken directly from it.

That wine went a long way from Bomfim in 1927 to the UK and then to your home in LA in 2009.

For the record, Maurice, born in the Avenida de Boavista in Porto in 1895, died in 1974 in the same house and same room as he had been born in and after a life time in the Douro and Gaia in the Port trade, only interrupted by the minor issue of the 1st World War.

I write this after an evening at my home with Peter Cobb, ex partner in Cockburn's, where we polished off a bottle of Six Grapes talking about old times and I thought about your bottle and your comments on the legendary '27,

Best, Paul Symington

Hi Paul,

Thank you for the historical information surrounding this bottle. For me one of the highlights of drinking old Ports are stories like these and stories of what was occurring in the world at the time of harvest. It always amazes me that something as small and simple as a bottle of wine could survive so many years and through so much turmoil in the world.

I was honored that Frank decided to share this with me, as the only tasting note I've ever seen on it was a very brief mention by Mason in his book. Other than that brief mention, it seems to be quite the rare bottling these days. Oh, and once we decanted this bottle it wasn't long before we finished it...one of those bottles where it's hard to not drink more

HERE is the link to The Vintage Port Site and the comments from Maurice about this vintage.

P.S. - Six Grapes is one of my favorite "go-to" Ports. I think I have drunk more of it than any other single Port product.

Andy,

That sounds like a great night of fun with Frank and I know he has collected many old bottles from Bordeaux and Burgs to dessert wines too. Too bad he got sick in 2007 when he had already signed up and paid for the Port Harvest Tour. He'd have had a great time.

I have never had the Dow 1927, but really enjoyed the Dow 1924 some years back and it was still stunning at the time. Obviously made by Maurice too. What a talented young man he was, although it was pretty easy to make great 1927s given the raw material that year. Like 1994, it was pretty hard to make a poor Vintage Port, even though a few managed to do so.

Great story Paul, thanks for sharing! I only had the great fortune to meet Peter Cobb twice, once at the Factory House with your relatives (James, Peter and Michael) and also in at the Wine Spectator's "NY Wine Experience" the first year it was held outside of CA (mid-1990s) where I had the chance to speak with him for awhile before it got really crowded. I feel very fortunate to have met so many of the last generation's MD's and winemakers. It helps me to put things in perspective; especially how Port is really made for the "next generation" to enjoy.