1977 Smith Woodhouse

[RonnieRoots]

Tasted at the July 2 1977 horizontal.

Dark, beautiful colour. A very interesting nose with aniseed, mint and eucalyptus. Wow, this tastes young. Lovely young fruit, dark and fresh with a delicasy and balance to dream of. But, on the finish it turns dry and tannic, which raises some concerns over its ability to age graciously. My guess: Smith Woodhouse. 94 points.

[RonnieRoots]

The dregs (this picture was especially made to please jdaw):


The cork:

[Alex Bridgeman]

Deep red in colour, the deepest of the '77s at this tasting with the possible exception of the (corked) Gould Campbell. Fresh black cherries on the nose, along with fresh grass and spearmint. Very smooth in the mouth with lots of cherries and ripe damsons. Plenty going on in the mouth with very noticeable tannins, tannins that are teeth-furring in their intensity and which take a long time to fade. A touch hot (but that could have been the influence of a warm room). The aftertaste is cheek-tingling and long lasting although brings an odd soapy flavour. This is a wine that needs more time to deliver what may be there, but I am not sure how well it will pull itself together. 88/100.

[RonnieRoots]

To make searching easier, I've copy/pasted LadyR's tasting notes of this port, as originally posted here:

Smith Woodhouse ‘77
Dark red to purple colour. Powerful aromas of ‘young’ port with tones of dark fruit (mainly blackberry), mint and anicy. Beefy, firm tannins and lots of ripe cherries in the taste with hints of chocolate and eucaliptus. Great balance and structure (though questionable if the tannins are not too strong for the fruit to let it age some more decades), lots of layers and very young in character. Surprise of the night!
94 pts