1985 Kopke Sao Luiz
Posted: 12:58 Thu 21 Jun 2007
Tasted July 2004, first note by LadyR and second by me:
This bottle started to leak as a result of a dried out cork, so it had to opened.
We drunk it immediately after we decanted the bottle, so the alcohol was blowing right in you face (it faded away after a while). Besides that, it smelled like wet dog and it had some hints of leather and bitterness and a complete lack of fruit.
Simple taste, but nice. Thin bodied, leather, tabacco, orange peel and bitter almonds. Maybe somewhere a touch of ripe cherries or even blackberries.
Finish was most exiting, but short (maybe that was the exiting part?). Very bitter, but easy going down. Again, I think I've tasted some fruit here.
If I have to rate this, I would give it 85 points.
Well, it's clear that we should have given this port some air time. Pouring it immediately didn't do it justice.
The second glass I tasted later that night was already better: smoother and silkier. The "wet dog" aroma had blown off.
We saved the remains in the fridge and drunk it (mostly) today, two days after opening. Now there is much more fruit in the taste, predominantly blackberries. This is accompanied by tobacco and earthy tones. Good grip and still enough tannins left to insure some further ageing. The midpalate remains rather thin though. I would say it is drinking very well now. It could age some more, but I like it now that there is still some fruit left. Upmarked to 87 points.
BTW: the Dutch importer of Kopke told us there is no difference between the S. Luiz and the regular bottling of the 1985 VP. I don't think that's true. I tasted the regular bottling half a year ago and it had clearly more to offer than this one.