Dutch Summer Ofline - 1977 Horizontal
Posted: 23:51 Fri 04 Jul 2008
What a great way to make up for the lack of port LadyR and I suffered the last few months. A tasting of 11 1977 Vintage Ports, and a couple of others, together with the Dutch contignent and three of the Brits. Many thanks to Joost for hosting this event and for all of his organisational efforts. And also many thanks to Euan Mackay, Coralia Tavares and Miguel Corte-Real, who graciously supplied us with a bottle of the Cockburn 1977. A special and rare treat.
It was an extremely educational and fun tasting. My main impression of 1977 is that it's an inconsistant vintage, with more than average bottle variation. Furthermore, Uncle Tom's theory of the "Peter Pan" vintage (the ports are growing old without growing up) seems to be true for a number of the ports. Many of the ports are losing colour and fruit rapidly, while the tannin structure is still fierce. That said, there are several beautiful ports to be found and the stars of the vintage are simply gorgeous.
On to the ports (notes in order of tasting):
Taylor's
Fairly light in colour, sort of transparant red with some bricking around the edges. Delicate, sweet strawberry on the nose, with not much else going on. On the palate, light, with again strawberry, cranberries, blackcurrant and liquorice. Slightly spirity with a dry, rather empty finish. And just when you think it ends rather dull, it hits you with a lovely, full finish. A good port, if a little light, and overly aged. My guess: Delaforce. 86 points, disappointing for Taylor.
Gould Campbell
Still fairly dark in colour, but otherwise pretty much corked. A big shame, because the underlying quality is very good. Dark and brooding, and showing young still. A trick with clingfilm helped somewhat but could’t eliminate the cork taint completely. I guessed Dow, but should have known better given AHB’s experiences. NR
Graham’s
Quite light in colour with a brown streak. Sweet strawberry nose. Candied. A sweet and round mouthfeel, with some spices (nutmeg, cinnamon), sweet strawberries and raspberries. It gains body on the spicy and lovely (if slightly spirity) finish. This is drinking beautifully now. My guess: Niepoort (because of the strawberries). 91 points.
Dow’s
Again quite light in colour, but it just shows slightly younger than the Graham. Mostly coffee and tobacco on the rather spirity nose. The palate is dominated by secondary flavours. Brown sugar, orange peel and other citric flavours, black pepper. Racy and beautifully layered. But completely secondary and in need of drinking now. After I learned this was Dow, I was very surprised, as previous bottles had been very dark and young. Another guess for Delaforce, but wrong again. 92 points now, but drink soon.
Niepoort
Another light port, but this shows some beautiful red tones next to a slightly brown bricking. The nose is fresh, but not alcoholic. Spciy, with tobacco and cedar. Incredibly thick mouthfeel, sweet, with strawberries, some subtle darker fruit and dark spices. Complex and lovely, with a warm, if slightly hollow finish. A joy to drink. My guess: Niepoort. 94 points.
Cockburn’s (not officially declared)
Light colour with a reddish core. Some caramel on the nose. Dark, maybe somewhat tarry and silty nose, with some light red fruit. Very elegant (but a bit on the light side) in the mouth, with a spicy backbone. Coffee, caramel and a touch of tar on the finish. The port grows to be somewhat darker after a while in the glass. The finish is definitely the most interesting and keeps on building for a long while. Lovely port, that could have been declared with pride. This bottle was not blind for me, so no guess. 90 points.
Offley Boa Vista
Light and brown in colour. Barnyardy and cheesy on the nose, with a taste of brown sugar and caramel. Overall very old and tired. Yet another guess for Delaforce and wrong again. 84 points.
Delaforce
Somewhat dark core, but overal light in colour, turning to brown. A lovely fresh and perfumed nose, that also shows cocoa and coffee. A delicate taste, precious and young, with a lovely balance. Dark fruit, and chocolate are prominent, but it’s elegantly layered and rather complex. I like this a lot. My guess: Warre. 93 points.
Warre’s
Very light in colour. Hot and spirity on the nose. Cabbage. Taste of light strawberries. Sweetish but very hot. Thick mouthfeel, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot going on. Not bad for drinking, but not really special too. Could be that it needed more time in the decanter to get rid of the heat though. My guess: Delaforce. 86 points.
Smith Woodhouse
Dark, beautiful colour. A very interesting nose with aniseed, mint and eucalyptus. Wow, this tastes young. Lovely young fruit, dark and fresh with a delicasy and balance to dream of. But, on the finish it turns dry and tannic, which raises some concerns over its ability to age graciously. My guess: Smith Woodhouse. 94 points.
Fonseca
Somewhat lighter than the Smith Woodhouse, but still one of the darker of the bunch. On the nose, some floral notes, fresh and light, with some sweet red fruit and a touch of fresh chilipepper. Medium sweet and round, with a great balance. Very delicate and elegant, with lovely dark fruit flavours (blackcurrant, brambles). The palate keeps on building in the mouth. Very complex, and the best of the evening for me. My guess. Fonseca. 96 points.
Next to these, we tasted two Loire whites, one 2005 Margaux, one Champagne, two bottles of 1997 Passadouro VP and one bottle of 1994 Skeffington VP. Impressions of these two ports will be posted in due time.
It was an extremely educational and fun tasting. My main impression of 1977 is that it's an inconsistant vintage, with more than average bottle variation. Furthermore, Uncle Tom's theory of the "Peter Pan" vintage (the ports are growing old without growing up) seems to be true for a number of the ports. Many of the ports are losing colour and fruit rapidly, while the tannin structure is still fierce. That said, there are several beautiful ports to be found and the stars of the vintage are simply gorgeous.
On to the ports (notes in order of tasting):
Taylor's
Fairly light in colour, sort of transparant red with some bricking around the edges. Delicate, sweet strawberry on the nose, with not much else going on. On the palate, light, with again strawberry, cranberries, blackcurrant and liquorice. Slightly spirity with a dry, rather empty finish. And just when you think it ends rather dull, it hits you with a lovely, full finish. A good port, if a little light, and overly aged. My guess: Delaforce. 86 points, disappointing for Taylor.
Gould Campbell
Still fairly dark in colour, but otherwise pretty much corked. A big shame, because the underlying quality is very good. Dark and brooding, and showing young still. A trick with clingfilm helped somewhat but could’t eliminate the cork taint completely. I guessed Dow, but should have known better given AHB’s experiences. NR
Graham’s
Quite light in colour with a brown streak. Sweet strawberry nose. Candied. A sweet and round mouthfeel, with some spices (nutmeg, cinnamon), sweet strawberries and raspberries. It gains body on the spicy and lovely (if slightly spirity) finish. This is drinking beautifully now. My guess: Niepoort (because of the strawberries). 91 points.
Dow’s
Again quite light in colour, but it just shows slightly younger than the Graham. Mostly coffee and tobacco on the rather spirity nose. The palate is dominated by secondary flavours. Brown sugar, orange peel and other citric flavours, black pepper. Racy and beautifully layered. But completely secondary and in need of drinking now. After I learned this was Dow, I was very surprised, as previous bottles had been very dark and young. Another guess for Delaforce, but wrong again. 92 points now, but drink soon.
Niepoort
Another light port, but this shows some beautiful red tones next to a slightly brown bricking. The nose is fresh, but not alcoholic. Spciy, with tobacco and cedar. Incredibly thick mouthfeel, sweet, with strawberries, some subtle darker fruit and dark spices. Complex and lovely, with a warm, if slightly hollow finish. A joy to drink. My guess: Niepoort. 94 points.
Cockburn’s (not officially declared)
Light colour with a reddish core. Some caramel on the nose. Dark, maybe somewhat tarry and silty nose, with some light red fruit. Very elegant (but a bit on the light side) in the mouth, with a spicy backbone. Coffee, caramel and a touch of tar on the finish. The port grows to be somewhat darker after a while in the glass. The finish is definitely the most interesting and keeps on building for a long while. Lovely port, that could have been declared with pride. This bottle was not blind for me, so no guess. 90 points.
Offley Boa Vista
Light and brown in colour. Barnyardy and cheesy on the nose, with a taste of brown sugar and caramel. Overall very old and tired. Yet another guess for Delaforce and wrong again. 84 points.
Delaforce
Somewhat dark core, but overal light in colour, turning to brown. A lovely fresh and perfumed nose, that also shows cocoa and coffee. A delicate taste, precious and young, with a lovely balance. Dark fruit, and chocolate are prominent, but it’s elegantly layered and rather complex. I like this a lot. My guess: Warre. 93 points.
Warre’s
Very light in colour. Hot and spirity on the nose. Cabbage. Taste of light strawberries. Sweetish but very hot. Thick mouthfeel, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot going on. Not bad for drinking, but not really special too. Could be that it needed more time in the decanter to get rid of the heat though. My guess: Delaforce. 86 points.
Smith Woodhouse
Dark, beautiful colour. A very interesting nose with aniseed, mint and eucalyptus. Wow, this tastes young. Lovely young fruit, dark and fresh with a delicasy and balance to dream of. But, on the finish it turns dry and tannic, which raises some concerns over its ability to age graciously. My guess: Smith Woodhouse. 94 points.
Fonseca
Somewhat lighter than the Smith Woodhouse, but still one of the darker of the bunch. On the nose, some floral notes, fresh and light, with some sweet red fruit and a touch of fresh chilipepper. Medium sweet and round, with a great balance. Very delicate and elegant, with lovely dark fruit flavours (blackcurrant, brambles). The palate keeps on building in the mouth. Very complex, and the best of the evening for me. My guess. Fonseca. 96 points.
Next to these, we tasted two Loire whites, one 2005 Margaux, one Champagne, two bottles of 1997 Passadouro VP and one bottle of 1994 Skeffington VP. Impressions of these two ports will be posted in due time.