1995 Smith Woodhouse LBV Port -- bottled 1999

[Todd Pettinger]

Smith Woodhouse Late Bottled Vintage Port - 1995
Bottled 1999. Unfiltered, driven cork. Decanted at 13:45 hrs on Thanksgiving Monday (Canada’s Thanksgiving. I know that American Thanksgiving doesn’t come for another month or so.)

First impressions upon decanting
Very dark red colour with a touch of brown. Nose is dominated by cherries and dark fruits. A touch of alcohol is found on the nose, but nothing on the palate – well integrated. First sip was very sweet, medium-bodied and rich. I like it already and look forward to seeing the evolution of this.

Over the next four days I sampled this Port repeatedly and enjoyed it very much. The worst it showed was likely the 4 to 9 hour mark, during which a brash alcohol took over and took away some enjoyment. After that it tamed down and allowed the fruit to return to the forefront.

While there was a touch of menthol at times, the first 2-3 days was dominated by the cherries and fruits such as blackberries, some dark raspberries and at one point, an over-ripe strawberry. The Port itself is medium-bodied, not as full and rich as I would have liked, but it was a decent example of an unfiltered LBV.

Not overly sweet, it did have some jammy plums, fruity cherries and candied blackberries. Interesting to see the alcohol feature prominently for around 5-6 hours and die down and re-integrate itself into the Port.

One I will drink again and hope to get a half case of so I can watch it evolve over a few years. I suspect that this Port will evolve positively over a few years and rate it a nice 92 for LBVs.

Todd

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