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On Thursday 6th April 2017 we gathered at The Boot & Flogger to taste 1955s, partly for the 55th birthday of James Maitland of Seckford Wines.

Links:

• Review of the evening as a whole;
• 1955 Cockburn;
• 1955 Croft;
• 1955 Dow;
• 1955 Fonseca;
• 1955 Gonzalez Byass;
• 1955 Graham;
• 1955 Mackenzie;
• 1955 Quinta do Noval;
• 1955 Offley;
• 1955 Sandeman;
• 1955 Taylor;
• 1955 Warre;
• Placemats;
• Food order;
• Planning and arrangements.

Mk55. dark red, again. 70% opaque. Palate big and sweet, with plums. Very sticky. Could easily be mistaken for a 1970, or even an excellent ’83. Very long. By far the ‘youngest’ wine at the table.

Tom reported that the case had the original typewritten address, very much of the era. Bottles too of the era, with rough seams and no markings on base. “It‘s legit.”

70% opacity, dark red. Sweet, tannins still very present, lots of dark fruit and spices. Very different from the others on show. Plenty of fruit in there, but seems to lack acidity to give it backbone, which makes it strange that it has lasted this long.

Unknown UK bottler. Distinctly the deepest coloured of the line up, still dark red in colour; 80% opaque. Subdued on the nose, a little aggressive and showing red fruit rather than the sweet orange more typical of the vintage. Thick texture on entry, with dusty tannins supporting sweet black wine gums. A great palate with tannins still showing distinctly and a fabulous youthfulness. A burst of dryness on the aftertaste before a sticky strawberry jam slowly turns into a dry wood ash finish that is nicely counterpointed by a sweet and jammy cloudberry. 93/100. Drunk 06-Apr-17. Decanted 2½ hours.

Commendation for the second mention on TPF of a “cloudberry”.

I'd just finished a jar of cloudberry jam a day or two before the 1955 tasting and the Mackenzie struck me as so similar in taste that I had to comment on it. But now you have me wondering where the first mention was...

AHB wrote: ↑17:37 Sun 22 Oct 2017But now you have me wondering where the first mention was...

A tasting note of Fernando de Castilla Antique Pedro Ximenez.