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Emergency Drinking, The Crusting Pipe, Friday 19 August 2011. Links:

• Review of the evening as a whole;
• Unknown Madeira;
• 1945 Graham;
• 1963 Royal Oporto colheita, bottled 1983;
• 1966 Cockburn;
• 1967 Cockburn;
• 1980 Borges & Irmão;
• 1980 Graham;
• 1980 Warre;
• 1985 Dalva colheita bottled 2010;
• 1986 Taylor Terra Feita;
• NV The Port Society Finest Reserve Lote 08;
• Placemats.

Very pale, 10% opaque, slightly cloudy. VA on the nose - very tawny / colheita with marzipan dominating a rather unpleasant combination. Sweet entry, little flavour other than some brown sugar. Hollow, and with little fruit, mostly the flavours are of plastic. Unpleasant. Hot aftertaste, with some dryness on the finish and of short length. Shot to bits; not unpleasant - just nothing. 74/100.

Yikes: I don’t recall an AHB score that low. Generally those so low aren’t rated.

jdaw1 wrote:Yikes: I don’t recall an AHB score that low. Generally those so low aren’t rated.

True, I seldom gives scores that low. However, based on an admittedly limited experience, I have formed an opinion that Borges vintage ports do not mature well. Since I am not convinced that this was a bad bottle, I gave it a score. The port was not offensive - other than by being so bland as to be nothing. Hence a score, albeit a low one. Low enough to mean that if someone offered me a glass of Borges 1980 or a glass of water I would probably choose the water.

AHB wrote:

jdaw1 wrote:Yikes: I don’t recall an AHB score that low. Generally those so low aren’t rated.

True, I seldom gives scores that low. However, based on an admittedly limited experience, I have formed an opinion that Borges vintage ports do not mature well. Since I am not convinced that this was a bad bottle, I gave it a score. The port was not offensive - other than by being so bland as be be nothing. Hence a score, albeit a low one. Low enough to mean that if someone offered me a glass of Borges 1980 or a glass of water I would probably choose the water.

WOW! That's saying something. By the way, have you ever tried the 1972 Offley...

marc j. wrote: WOW! That's saying something. By the way, have you ever tried the 1972 Offley...

Not yet, but I have one lined up to be opened next year...

Alex's mark is fully justified; I even think the wine was already maderised . There is furher sad news; I have bought in total two bts in order to get the 1980 horicontal complete. This was just the fisrt one. There is a slight chance that the second bt is better since this one was leaking which may have helped the oxidation. However this does not in the slightest change anything for this bt. This was not a very good example of a good vintage port at all.

regards

WS1

AHB wrote:Low enough to mean that if someone offered me a glass of Borges 1980 or a glass of water I would probably choose the water.

Good grief...I am rendered completely speechless...