ThePortForum.com

Bought from the Port Gaverne Hotel in North Cornwall. Chosen because it is five years since I last tried this wine.

Deep red with no youthful crimson, opaque. Smelling of cornflowers and sweet bramble fruit, well developed and promising an elegant but fruitful port. Smooth entry. The fruit comes through but is a little restrained at first. Delicious waves of flavour grow on the mid-palate with a lively black currant that is sweet and highly acidic. Great layering of flavours with some real liveliness to it. The acidity burns on the aftertaste but is quickly followed by a delicious and big volumed finish full of bramble fruit and black licorice. Great length, at least 3 minutes. This should be much better in another 5-10 years. 89/100. Drunk 24 October 2015 with 30 minutes decant.

I'm pretty impressed - how could folks at the '97 horizontal have been so down on this wine? This has everything it needs to become a typically elegant and refined mature Warre.

It wasn't good. I'm pleased it is now good. I think they were all too young and overwhelmingly in a dumb phase. Optimism deflated turned to negativity. Perhaps I will dip in for a few more after all.

I haven't had this port recently but did drink it a number of times when it was younger. It always struck me it had an apparent heat that made me wonder (and doubt) how it would evolve with time. Did you get any of this?

There was some heat on the aftertaste, but I thought this was acid-driven rather than alcohol based. This did come across as a very high acidity port - which is something that promises a long and happy future.