ThePortForum.com

Deep brown in colour, with a brown rim; 80% opaque. Massive nose, very madeira-like with dominating VA and burnt rubber; showing little by way fo fruit, what there is, is fully evolved. Incredibly intense on the nose. Eye watering acidity sears the tongue on taking the first sip; deeply flavoured and intense with a very thick texture. This coats the mouth with huge orange zest flavours. The aftertaste is slow to develop, but leaves intense oranges on the side of the tongue and a slight quince bitterness. Great length with a lovely balance between sweetness and oranges. I was unconvinced by the hype surrounding the launch of this wine, but it is deserving - although I am convinced that it has been refreshed through the years. 98/100. Drunk 18 October 2011.

I wondered whether/if/when someone here might try this - your tasting note is very interesting and unusual for it. From the first few comments ('dominating VA', 'eye-watering acidity', 'showing little ... fruit') I was expecting a negative result - and then by the end, your score was one of the highest I've seen you give at 98/100 - intriguing

Really old colheita that has been kept a long time in the barrel often acquires VA and high levels of acidity. I don't find VA offputting and anyone who enjoys drinking old madeira will also be used to relatively high levels of VA in a wine. What amazed me about this particular wine was the incredible concentration of flavours, the thickness of texture and the perfect balance on the palate. It was an awesome wine. I'd love a couple of bottles, but I'm just not prepared to pay the price being asked.

Agree with you Alex. I had this the last time this summer at da Roeda along with the Niepoort 1900 Colheita, a Niepoort 31 Garrafeira and a Burmester 1863 Novidade.

As all the other bottles were bottled at least some 40 years ago, I believed the authenticy of the other wines much more than the one of the Scion. Nevertheless I was as much impressed by the concentration and the freshness of the port.

Axel