ThePortForum.com

Links:

• Review of the evening as a whole;
• 1955 Adam;
• 1955 Buckingham Palace Factory House Blend;
• 1955 Cockburn;
• 1955 Dow;
• 1955 Ferreira;
• 1955 Fonseca;
• 1955 González Byass;
• 1955 Graham;
• 1955 Mackenzie;
• 1955 Martinez;
• 1955 Niepoort;
• 1955 Quinta do Noval;
• 1955 Offley;
• 1955 Sandeman;
• 1955 Taylor;
• 1955 Warre;
• Placemats;
• Planning and arrangements.

Edit: and, with dinner,

• 1955 Chateau Longueville au Baron de Pichon-Longueville in magnum.

S55: 50% opaque, on the red side of red-brown. Bitter mid-palate, like the Offley. This Sandeman 1955 also thin, with oranges. The heat is long, all other flavours short. Much much junior to the Sandeman 1958 tasted in the Douro a year before.

In the second flight competition (Mk, Mz, Ni, N, O, S, T, and W) scoring 3 points, being ranked second by AHB and third by RAH.

Typical old Sandeman nose of dust and pepper. Spicy entry but then hot and quite short in the finish. I didn't dislike this wine but it is definitely past its best.

Light colour, a mid red-brown, 30% opaque. Cinammon and mace on the fruity nose, with lots of evolved fruit. Gentle texture and a gentle initial impression but tannic overtones and bitter orange pith dominate the big mouth flavour. The aftertaste is a little harsh and the finish short. This is plesant enough, but dwarfed by the other wines drunk this evening. 81/100.

Light, spirity, a bit of artificial sweetness. Not bad, but lacking fruit, and consumed this late into the line up, those kinds of flaws were much more noticeable. This felt to me like a textbook example of a wine I would have enjoyed on its own, rather than as part of a big tasting. 83 points (but would actually be more eager to re-taste than the raw score would suggest).

Color: Medium red
Nose: A bit dusty along with some faint alcohol.
Palate: Harsh-ish, dry-ish, Sandeman-ish.
Finish: Short, but not clipped.

Score: 86 points. Clearly not my style, which is becoming a common theme for me with Sandemans. Only the Martinez rated lower on the night for me.