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2008 Sandeman LBV

Posted: 00:39 Wed 27 Aug 2014
by LGTrotter
I've had this a couple of times before, I have also just read Alex's notes on this wine which has influenced this.

It has a driven cork (a sign that they care, or a least want to look like they care) and a heavy bottle, the punt alone has escaped the marketing drive, scarcely more than dished; I have a theory about how seriously a wine takes itself by the depth of punt, but perhaps I am plagiarising someone else, anyhoo...

Very dark, well it is only six, not much on the nose, bit of fruit, bit of alcohol and a hint of freshness akin to pencils; it is the smell of unresolved port. On the palate a lot of tannin, my tongue feels like the anti-skid surface that you find in front of traffic lights, it has that same slightly jarring quality. There is fruit; yes I can taste cherries (Alex's influence I fear), but again a rather too rasping quality to it, a shade underripe perhaps. Stuffed with good things? Well, things, certainly. Whether they will prove to be good is for another decade to decide.
I would say as Borat does; 'This one...not so much'. It's just a bit clumsy.

Where to score it is a mystery. 4 to 6 if you were optimistic and using Tom's score, I would have thought low eighties on the 100pt thing. Alex rated it between 88 and 90, but then avid followers of :ftlop2014: would know that this is what he rates all his port at. :wink:

Re: 2008 Sandeman LBV

Posted: 20:54 Wed 27 Aug 2014
by AW77
LGTrotter wrote: the punt alone has escaped the marketing drive, scarcely more than dished; I have a theory about how seriously a wine takes itself by the depth of punt
I've never heard that before. Could you please explain your theory in more detail. It sounds farfetched, but quite interesting.
LGTrotter wrote: Very dark, well it is only six, not much on the nose, bit of fruit, bit of alcohol and a hint of freshness akin to pencils; it is the smell of unresolved port. On the palate a lot of tannin, my tongue feels like the anti-skid surface that you find in front of traffic lights, it has that same slightly jarring quality. There is fruit; yes I can taste cherries (Alex's influence I fear), but again a rather too rasping quality to it, a shade underripe perhaps. Stuffed with good things? Well, things, certainly. Whether they will prove to be good is for another decade to decide.
I would say as Borat does; 'This one...not so much'. It's just a bit clumsy.
I've had the '04 Sandeman LBV last year:
http://www.theportforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=67210
I really liked it. I liked it so much that I started a wine ladder and bought 3 more of the '04 (there was not more left on the German market) and 2 bottles of each vintage of the '08 and '09 (etc.)
So I guess the '08 simply needs more time in bottle (this one hardly had two years).

Re: 2008 Sandeman LBV

Posted: 23:04 Wed 27 Aug 2014
by LGTrotter
AW77 wrote:
LGTrotter wrote: the punt alone has escaped the marketing drive, scarcely more than dished; I have a theory about how seriously a wine takes itself by the depth of punt
I've never heard that before. Could you please explain your theory in more detail. It sounds farfetched, but quite interesting.
An invitation to ramble on? Unaccustomed as I am...

Had the recycling not recently left the building I could have provided an illustrated lecture. The bottle I had in mind was that of Altair's Sideral. It is a very big tasty wine. The bottle is not quite straight up and down, it weighs close on a kilo and the punt is a good 2 inches deep, more than 60 millimetres to you Andre. It seems to me that there is a direct correlation between wannabe blockbuster wines and heavy bottles, odd shaped bottles with elongated necks and most particularly with deep punts. This is particularly, but not exclusively a new world phenomena. I used to believe I could tell how much oak and how extracted a wine was by looking at the punt. Much as Sherlock Holmes could tell most about a person from the knee of the trousers.

I have thought that I may be being unfair to the Sandeman, I have very little experience of judging young ports.

Re: 2008 Sandeman LBV

Posted: 00:24 Thu 28 Aug 2014
by DaveRL
I tend to agree on the punt theory. More expensive glass, more impressive looking bottle on shelf. Attempting a higher price. Some punts are massive. New world over done everything blockbusters at most extreme, but biggest punt at cheapest price game can be worth playing.