Page 1 of 1
1977 Dow vintage port
Posted: 17:37 Sat 10 Nov 2007
by uncle tom
The first bottle from an owc bought last June - this bottle selected for being the runt of the litter - a VTS level while all the others were IN - yet no signs of seepage.
Decanted half an hour ago - very dark for it's age, fair amount of soupy sediment.
First sip: Little bit of fire - typical dry Dow signature - hints of cherries perhaps - liquorice?
Very promising, but rather at odds with the previous TN's on this site.
More anon..
Tom
Posted: 01:39 Sun 11 Nov 2007
by uncle tom
8 hours on..
The rather cold, dour, Dow signature is very much in evidence - but the fire is unabated..
If the fire would go away, this could be a gem...
Tom
Posted: 15:05 Sun 11 Nov 2007
by Michael M.
Found this document today- from 2004.
http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/winenews1016
Dow 1977 is also mentioned. Perhaps someone could be interested.
Posted: 00:20 Mon 12 Nov 2007
by uncle tom
33 hours on..
Poured a liberal glass and took a quick sniff - from cold and dour this is now giving me a classic bouquet...
.. on the palate, the fire is almost gone and the wine is fully integrated - a very good tipple...
To score;
Looking at the other tasting notes on this site, and other reportage on the 77's, I'm going to hazard a guess that this case has enjoyed much cooler storage than most - the wine is very dark - much more so than in Julian's photos.
This may well be the '77 vintage that was raved over a decade ago, before the 'Peter Pan' factor became apparent.
- But I can only score the bottle in question.
For immediate gratification, this is top quartile, but I don't think I can give it a 9 - an 8 though, is an easy call.
Where's it going? Without the benefit of other notes, I would expect a modest decline over the next decade, - but the reports from bottles that may have been less well cellared suggests that the wine is capable of quite rapid deterioration.
Cautiously, therefore, I will score this 8-6
Tom
Posted: 23:52 Thu 22 Nov 2007
by Overtired and emotional
Most reviews of this wine I have seen have been negative, complaining of a vegetal quality. I always suspected it was a case of tasting a wine which had decanted too short a time.
My off tastings have been very favourable, and all when the wine has had time to open up. Another argument for being patient.