For The Love Of Port

I went to the annual BBR Christmas port tasting the other night. I have to say there was a particularly generous selection of older vintages on show and I was glad to make a few comparisons side-by-side. At GBP60 this was very good value so thanks to BBR for that and for Charles Symington for his interesting talk and answering some questions.

In case anyone is interested I have given my notes, below. They may not be useful to others, as I am not one for the "panalopy of scents" as I think Roy astutely calls them! I just want to know: does this give pleasure now, or might it be a worthy investment for the future? As a guide I have given prices per bottle on the day, duty paid when you buy a case (NB this is a guide - I may have done my sums wrong so check yourself if you are interested!) I prefer the MB five-star system, but I have tried to make these into Parker-style 100 scores as well for comparison. I have given the bottler for English bottled wines pre-75.

In summary the Warre 70 was my wine of the night. The Gould Campbell 97 was the best young wine that was worthy of investment for future drinking. (Dow 91 the runner up in this category.) Taylor 66 was a (relative) disappointment, as was the Noval 63 - from both of them I expected more, but they were hardly bad. I think the Dow 83 had not been well decanted, v. rare for BBR and a shame. Fonseca 92 was the biggest pre-conceived theory undermined. I'm no fan of '92 but I have to confess this was not at all bad.

Highlight of the night was the wonderful sight of the Graham 77 magnums. Just looking at them made me want some :twisted: , but how can I justify getting magnums when I struggle with a bottle?



Dow 30 yo Tawny (GBP27.31) 88 **
Little pleasure - Graham and Taylor tawny is far superior

2000 Churchill (GBP 29.88 ) 85 **
Medicinal, light, a disappointment. Maybe a bad bottle. Had this once before and it was much better I think.

1997 Gould Campbell (GBP23.51) 95 *****
Intensely fruity, great tannic structure. A young clone of the '77 but without that over-sweetness? Great potential.

1997 Quarles Harris (GBP23.51) 89 ***
Deeper and more intense than GC, but less tannin and acidity for the long term. Enjoyable and good value now but won't make old bones.

1996/7 Vesuvio (GBP28.41/34.29) 89/92 (*** / ****)
The most pleasurable young ports for now. The 97 was clearly superior as the 96 was overly acidic - more fruity but lighter and less full bodied. 97 was well balanced and had some staying power. I really want to like Vesuvio, but still not sure.

1994 Smith Woodhouse (GBP23.51) 90 ***+
As a '94 - irresistible already, but loosing colour more rapidly than its peers. Light and enjoyable now, but will not follow the 77 to the hall of fame.

1992 Fonseca (GBP43.10) 91 ****
The best 92 I have ever tasted (but that does not say much really). Without doubt this has the acidity and tannin for the long term, but lacks the fruit and opulence of the greats of 66 and 70.

1991 Warre (GBP25.47) 90 ***
After the Fonseca 92 this was noticeably more advanced; extremely pale - I would by sight have said it was a 66. Enjoyable and likely good value now but doubtful long-term future.

1991 Dow (GBP27.44) 92 ***/****
Better future than the Warre; obviously drier, but strangely better balanced. Might be a good investment as better than Warre but much cheaper than Fonseca. Possibly a future classic.

1983 Dow (GBP37.22) ?
Smudgy, cloudy, bitter, orange appearance - either slightly oxidised, but more likely badly decanted after a long journey (maybe both) - pity.

1977 Warre (GBP 45.05) 95 ****+
Pale, considerable colour loss, brick rim extending well towards centre. Fragrant nose. Despite advanced appearance, tastes deep and well balanced, a bit sweeter than one would expect from Warre - more like a Graham but a lovely balance nonetheless. Very good now, but not as much future as expected. Still, very good.

1977 Graham, magnum 8) (GBP 118.50) 96 ****/*
No as advanced as Warre, but more so than 77 Taylor, SW or GC. Still, very intense, young, sweet and opulent. (Maybe the magnum is keeping this going?) But what a sight - those magnums! I find it hard to justify bottles rather than halves, but who wouldn't want those just to look at! (NB, must find some justification for buying this - a decadent extravagance I must have!)

1977 Taylor (GBP75.41) 97 *****
Predictably the least forward of the 77s. Consistent with all previous notes. Great backbone, lovely balance - everything in balance. For now and forever. No need to say more.

1970 Warre, eb Berry Bros. & Rudd (GBP57.80) 98 *****
A sheer joy and the star of the evening. I have always been a fan of this (from whatever bottler - many tried over the years) and may everyone else continue to ignore it and keep the price down. Perfect balance and depth and more pleasure even when re-tasted in the presence of the three great 77s on the same table. One difference this time - I over-heard others expressing similar sentiments whereas in the past I have been alone. I wish they had the Fonseca 70 here - the star of last year's tasting and the only 70 that might compare in my view. (NB - must buy yet another case of this as I've only got about 20 bottles left and this will last to 2025 and beyond!)

1966 Taylor, eb Grants of St James (GBP97.44) 94 ****
Undoubtedly v. good, but 66 (one of my favourite years) + Taylors (my favourite producer) ; why is this not exceptional? Always a slight disappointment. One of the few 66s that is reaching the end of its life - tannin there but with not much else for that legendary backbone to support.

1963 Quinta do Noval, ob (GBP 87.30) 91 ***+
V sweet, faint floral nose, very advanced (reminded me more of a 60). Good, but no greatness here. Would be over-powered by a slice of good stilton so no use to me!


Thanks again BBR....what a v. good deal this evening is.

Stuart,

Great notes and thanks for posting them here. I'm still disappointed that I couldn't make it.

I've a couple of comments - the Davy's wine bars in the City of London are selling Warre's '77 by the glass. Makes for a very tempting early evening or lunchtime treat.

If you want to be converted to Vesuvio, try a bottle of the '94. I've drunk my way through most of one and I have been very impressed. It is quite a sweet wine so it may be that you prefer a different style.

I'm also very interested in your comments on the Warre '70. I must see if I can get hold of a bottle to try.

Alex

I'm sure you are right on Vesuvio - nothing against it; just that I've little experience of it. I've only tasted a few. I do have a case of 2000 in one warehouse or another, but I won't be taking delivery of that for a while.

Thanks for the Davys idea. I can get to almost any of the ones in the City (I am between St Pauls and Chancery Lane) so let me know offline if you fancy a lunchtime Warre 77 at any time !)

...and why did nobody mention this to me?

Thanks for the notes Stuart.

I'm sure I did mention it in a post. I'd suggest you put yourself on the BBR mailing list. The tickets for this seem to go in a day or two - I bought mine in July.

Stuart - thanks. I was looking for a crying graemlin to go with the above, it was just me being remiss. I have BBR's details so will get hold of them.