Warre's 1999 Late Bottled Vintage Port
Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:05 pm
The wine was bottled in 2003 but was held back for aging in bottle. The label carries a "Bottle Matured" attribute. I purchased this port for $27.99 a few weeks ago.
Sunday December 13
Decanted four hours before drinking. Cork in good condition, not at all soaked through. Little sediment. I decanted without filtering and stopped pouring more by a sense of how little liquid remained in the bottle than by seeing any sediment flowing. The bottle was too dark to see into the neck. I did not see any noticeable suspended particles in the decanted wine (based on looking at the port in my glass when drinking), so I think I got a good pour. I saved somewhat less than 1/2 the bottle in a stopper cork bottle to drink on the following evening.
Rich red color with no bricking. The color suggests to me that the wine is young in some sense.
Bouquet very modest and mild
Flavor very fruity -- cherry, blackberry flavors -- sweet but not excessive. The sweetness was most pronounced on the first taste and then was substantially less pronounced on later tastes.
A medium to short after taste. Some modest spiciness that lingered, but not for long.
I sampled this with stilton cheese, figs, and walnuts. Each of these had a different effect that they imparted on the taste -- bringing out different flavors. Tasting alone without any foods, the wine was not distinctly better, so I kept varying and alternating among these several foods.
On the second night -- tonight -- I poured the remaining port into my decanter 3 hours before drinking. I didn't notice any particular evolution from the tasting sensations I had last night. I liked this port well. My impression last night was that this port could improve for at least another 5 years, but my experience in port is very limited (I guess I'm extrapolating from my experience with red wines generally).
Sunday December 13
Decanted four hours before drinking. Cork in good condition, not at all soaked through. Little sediment. I decanted without filtering and stopped pouring more by a sense of how little liquid remained in the bottle than by seeing any sediment flowing. The bottle was too dark to see into the neck. I did not see any noticeable suspended particles in the decanted wine (based on looking at the port in my glass when drinking), so I think I got a good pour. I saved somewhat less than 1/2 the bottle in a stopper cork bottle to drink on the following evening.
Rich red color with no bricking. The color suggests to me that the wine is young in some sense.
Bouquet very modest and mild
Flavor very fruity -- cherry, blackberry flavors -- sweet but not excessive. The sweetness was most pronounced on the first taste and then was substantially less pronounced on later tastes.
A medium to short after taste. Some modest spiciness that lingered, but not for long.
I sampled this with stilton cheese, figs, and walnuts. Each of these had a different effect that they imparted on the taste -- bringing out different flavors. Tasting alone without any foods, the wine was not distinctly better, so I kept varying and alternating among these several foods.
On the second night -- tonight -- I poured the remaining port into my decanter 3 hours before drinking. I didn't notice any particular evolution from the tasting sensations I had last night. I liked this port well. My impression last night was that this port could improve for at least another 5 years, but my experience in port is very limited (I guess I'm extrapolating from my experience with red wines generally).
This, and the 1995, are both very good LBV's and I have a number that I am aging to see how they do in the mid to long term. The price is about average for it, so not a bad deal when you figure it's about 1/2 the cost of a VP or a SQVP.