2015 Sandeman LBV (unfiltered)

[rich_n]

Decanted at 1pm prior to TFP virtual tasting #8, minimal sediment.

P’n’P: opaque deep red with a purple hue. Peppery heat and red fruits on the nose, led by the strawberries. A hint of vanilla, somewhat spirity, but not overwhelmingly so. Immediate lush red fruits in the palate, strawberries again, this time with redcurrants adding some tartness. Soft in the mid palate with a little pepper. The tannins kick in late alongside some liquorice for a dry, gripping finish. Some acidity in the back of the palate, not unpleasant. It’s not quite together yet, I’ll be intrigued to see how this opens up with some time in the decanter.

7pm: nose is rather subdued with just a little redcurrant, much less fruit dominant in the palate now, lots of peppery heat and plenty of liquorice flooding in before the red berries sneak in. There’s a little tobacco, orange zest and dark chocolate in the middle palate too. Grippy, almost gritty tannins add dryness to a nice but not a long finish. It's a nice port and drinkable enough, but I wonder if it is one to hold onto for now? Further updates to follow.

[rich_n]

Day 2 (re-bottled and in the fridge, warmed before tasting): Nose is dominated by pepper and star anise, backed up by a little red fruit. Not as punchy as yesterday, the red fruit notes alongside the pepper and liquorice are intriguing, mostly a bit stewed but with edges of fresh fruit. Dark chocolate lurks, and the hint of vanilla is back. A short-ish dry finish with those tannins still dominating.

[rich_n]

Further tasting over the following few weeks showed a softening of this wine, and a lot of sediment was left in the bottle (having already decanted and returned the port to its original bottle). I don’t think I’ll touch this again for a few years, it’ll be intriguing to see how it improves over time.

[Alex Bridgeman]

It should mature in the bottle really nicely. I recently had a 2000 Sandeman LBV and I would say that it still needed another 5-10 years to hit it's peak.

[rich_n]

It should mature in the bottle really nicely. I recently had a 2000 Sandeman LBV and I would say that it still needed another 5-10 years to hit it's peak.

I think that’s what I’ll be doing with the rest of mine from this batch. However I’m not sure I’m tempted to add more stock unless Waitrose do a ridiculous deal on them.