1997 Smith Woodhouse

[AHB]

Sold by the glass in El Vino, Fleet Street. Dark red in colour, solid rim, opaque centre. Closed on the nose, a touch of heat and a hint of blackcurrant. Fiercely acidic on the palate, but with a sweet dense fruit trying to get past. Light, slightly astringent tannins take a noticeable grip on the palate. Sweet cherry and black berry fruits dominate the aftertaste and finish. This is at least a decade away from being ready for drinking and is very unblanced. 81/100. Drunk 14 Feb 2012.

[DRT]

Quite green on the nose - slightly tanky. Very dark, almost black. Big dark fruits on the palate — medium weight. Good Port, but not great Port. Perhaps needs a few years to compose itself?

[DRT]

Organisation thread
Placemats
1977 Fonseca
1991 Graham
1992 Taylor (half)
Review thread

[RAYC]

I thought this was drinking rather nicely a couple of years ago.

However, the bottle at BBR in December was also a bit awkward (albeit showing much older than this bottle from El Vino's seems to have been)

In view of this, I will save my one bottle (courtesy of Zelandkh) for a little while.

Of course, if you decide you need to shift some of the bottles you acquired for £97 per case from BBR....i'm sure i could still be tempted!