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The traditional Christmas Tasting was held in Tom’s pub.

• Review of the evening as a whole;
• Davy's Crusted 197? (I — CPR);
• 196? Martinez (II — MPM);
• 1922 Martinez (III — AHB);
• 1935 Sandeman (IV — IDJ);
• 1945 Dow (V — THRA);
• 1912 Cockburn (VI — PW);
• 1955 Taylor (VII — ?);
• 1924 Unknown (VIII — RLC);
• 1927 Tuke Holdsworth (IX — AP);
• 1933 Quinta do Cais Colheita, bottled 1988 (X — WPS);
• Paperwork: sticky labels, TN and voting pages;
• Planning and arrangements.

A very tricky to read cork.
- The first line we could read “DA…S” which depending on the certainty of the A could have been Dow’s (though the spacing didn't seem quite right and the A was fairly clear), Dalva’s, or perhaps Davy’s? This last fit best, and the font for this line was different to the other lines - and very similar to the font used by Davy's for their brand name on the logo on the website.
- The middle line we had a lot of discussion on. Something like “..U(J)IN…” was the closest we could get, but with little certainty. Suggestions included "Justin" or "Justerini" which would have fitted, though would also have meant that the word was oddly offset to the right compared with the shorter "Bottled" which followed, which I think makes it less likely. "CRUSTED" would be the other possibility, with the U correctly being a U, the subsequent possible J being the bottom loop of an S, the I actually being a T (this is all very plausable, as the cork was very hard to read and broken in the middle). If the N, despite looking good as an N is really part of an E then we have room for a couple of letters at start and end, and CRUSTED would fit very well.
- The bottom line clearly showed “Bottled 197..” with the last digit missing due to cork damage.

Overall therefore, while there is still some room for doubt, I think we probably have:

DAVY’S
CRUSTED
BOTTLED 197..

I note from the crusted thread that Davy’s did a crusted in 1984, but no other years mentioned so far. Hopefully Charles will open another bottle in the future, and be able to confirm or correct the above (possibly proving that it's something completely different, and we all make things appear to be what we're expecting to see!).

55% opacity dark red, brown-orange rim. Dates and raisins on the nose. Soft, fruit at the front, midweight, raisins.

The branding on the cork was unclear, but is believed to have read "Davy's Crusted bottled 197?".

Deep red colour, mature in tone with an opaque centre. A lovely spiced nose, mature and sweet but with a very slight touch of VA. Powerful entry, tight and concentrated with deep flavours of dark plum; really sweet and floral giving a very impressive palate. A ghost of tannins past haunt the palate, where the balance is mainly given by the acidity of the port. Delicious sweet dried figs and dried plums on the aftertaste and a good length. Served blind this was guessed to be Mackenzie 1955. 92/100. 15-Dec-16. Decanted 1 hour.