For The Love Of Port

Definitely showing some age in its color - faded burgundy with only a hint of purple left. The nose comes off quite mature as well: cherry, raisin, prune and a hint of caramel. Sweet and smooth on the palate with cherry/cranberry fruit mingling with spicy notes of tobacco. The tannins are fully polished and the finish is of medium length. Well balanced and silky but seems to be an early drinker for a '94. 91pts, Tasted 4/09

I am guessing there is some bottle variation in this vintage as the last bottle I had was very good and still youthful, despite their winemaker saying it had a touch of oxidation and wasn't a perfect bottle. Cockburn's definitely went through a rough patch and from what I've tasted the 1994 is toward the end of that period. I enjoyed the 1997 (but it's not up to others from this vintage), the 2000 is very good, but the 2003 I was slightly disappointed in considering how good of a year it was overall. I've only had cask samples of the 2007's and enjoyed them both (regular VP and the Canais SQVP).

From what you say I guess there must be some variation. The bottle I drank didn't seem oxidized to me, just came off as a very mature wine for being so young, but a nice port nonetheless. For what it's worth, I bought the bottle right around the time it was released (1996) and it spent 15 years in very good conditions in my father's basement before being opened.