For The Love Of Port

I decanted my Port at around 1:30 today knowing I'd get a late start to drinking this evening. I wanted to have a special and meaningful wine to celebrate and scribe my 10,000th post on another BB. No great honor, just too much time in front of my screen. Nonetheless, I decided my Port of choice for this evening would be the 1994 Dow's Vintage Port, even though I had it last month at a Dow vertical in Edmonton.

Back in 1994, during my first trip to the "promised land" to see my roots after years of dying to be able to afford a few weeks over there, I finally had my opPORTunity. We spent a week in Lisbon and surrounding areas and headed up to Oporto and Vila Nova de Gaia where I spent every possible moment visiting Lodges from opening until they closed. Talk about a kid in the candy store. Sheesh.

Then my girlfriend and I headed up by train to the Douro where we disembarked at Pinhao and were driven the 1/2 mile to the entrance of Quinta do Bomfim which is the main viticultural center for Dow. I shot 14 rolls (x 36) of film and took copious tasting notes during this memorable trip.

I prayed the entire time I was there that 1994 would become a declared vintage and when it was announced in the WS, I bought every case I could possibly afford on futures. Fortunately, I had the chance to try cask samples in Washington DC and knew exactly which VPs to buy. Dow of course, held a very special spot for me in terms of the '94. I have not opened a bottle of this (from my cellar) since the late '90s, until tonight. Talk about patience with Port!


Now on to the tasting note:

1994 Dow Vintage Port - Purple-Garnet in color and nearly opaque. Initially this was pretty tight and at about the 6-7 hour mark, it started to bloom and after 8 hours it really was hitting its stride in the decanter. An expressive nose of raspberry, Champagne grapes and menthol are intertwined with the alcohol swhich ettled into place during the past hour. The weight of this wine started out light to medium-bodied and has grown to be more viscous and rich, while showing its youth in this way too. A mostly off-dry profile, with exceptional acidity and texturally quite smooth, the more you roll this around in your mouth. Immediately upon tasting this I was reminded of grape Lifesavers from when I was a kid, with a touch of blueberry and vanilla flavors. Mouthfilling and juicy, with compact tannins that become slightly more prominent on the finish. The aftertaste of mint lingers long and some youthful alcohol lets you know that this wine needs another decade to really come forth and deliver its potential.
95+ points

I rather like this port too, and tried it last year, blind, at the Schuster tasting. Obviously don't get the same levels of contemplation, but on the scores we are uncharacteristically agreed!:

Dow ‘94

Lovely, dense primary black and red fruits – red/blackcurrant and blueberry. Full, supple tannins – lovely warmth and depth with good ripeness. Good finsh. 95+

PS On the mint. Could this have been something associated with a high toned character? I'm more and more associating (not exclusively though) mintiness with a volatile lift which has yet to become pronouced enough to become off-putting, but then I can't say I like mint full stop, in my wines or even chocolate!

I was thinking Eucalyptus at first, but it was more of a wintergreen and definitely not a high toned note whatsoever.