2000 Offley LBV

Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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10Anos
Fonseca LBV
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2000 Offley LBV

Post by 10Anos »

This is my second TN, but now I feel far more comfortable than last week because the Offley L.B.V. 2000 (bottled in 2004) is far more interesting than the Kopke L.B.V. 2003.
Compared to the Kopke the Offley seems to be entirely different!

Just after decanting I noticed the nose had a slightly melting butter kind of aroma. There was very little sediment, a few specks only. I was surprised by the colour of this L.B.V. which is fairly transparent red (quite the opposite of the dark and opaque Kopke L.B.V.). At this stage the flavour was very much like the Offley Ruby, some acidity.

Decant +2
Two hours in the decanter was already enough to convince me that decanting can make a remarkable difference (note: this is the first time I decanted a port). After just two ours the Offley starts to become more refined, less acidic. The nose and the flavour have become somewhat raisin-like. Somehow it now has more of an aged Tawny-like than a Ruby-like 'feel' to it...

Decant +4
Not much different from two hours ago. Finish slightly dryer.

Decant +25
Too long to my taste. Colour now has a brownish hue, but the taste seems to have reverted to more Ruby-like in character. I also noticed some alcohol burn in my oesophagus which I hadn't before...

I liked it best 2 hours after decanting.
Last edited by 10Anos on 08:44 Sun 09 Mar 2008, edited 4 times in total.
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DRT
Fonseca 1966
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Post by DRT »

From innocent virgin to extended decanting multi-TN Pro in less than 2 weeks - Excellent 88) :wink:

Keep it coming...

Derek
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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10Anos
Fonseca LBV
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Post by 10Anos »

Thanks! :D

My birthday is coming up, so I'll soon be opening the Dow's Colheita 1996. I'm really looking forward to tasting and (hopefully) enjoying it...
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DRT
Fonseca 1966
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Post by DRT »

Have you had Colheita before? I like it slightly chilled. Not cold, just a little below room temperature as it takes away some of the alcohol burn that you sometimes get, especially in a young Colheita.

Derek
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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10Anos
Fonseca LBV
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Post by 10Anos »

No, this is the first...

Depends on what you mean by 'room temperature'. For most people that would be 20C/68F or even higher... I'm one of those few warm-blooded people that don't really like heat. In the winter I hardly ever set the thermostat above 16C/61F.

Does that sound like a good temperature?
Last edited by 10Anos on 08:36 Fri 21 Mar 2008, edited 1 time in total.
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DRT
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Post by DRT »

Yes, that should be fine. But if you do find Colheita or Tawny ports to be to have too much spirit you should chill them down as it often allows you to remove that distraction from the other tastes.

Derek
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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10Anos
Fonseca LBV
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Post by 10Anos »

Thank you, that is good advice.

I'm beginning to get the hang of identifying certain tastes and aromas. Right now I'm enjoying a Kopke Tawny and every time I take a sip I smell pears...
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
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Post by Alex Bridgeman »

Pears. Interesting.

One of the things that I tell people to look out for when they ask what volatile acidity (VA) is like, is pear drops or the smell of sweet and almost overripe pears.

Which could be something deliberately blended in to an aged tawny to add some complexity on the nose.

Alex
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
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10Anos
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Post by 10Anos »

It's a standard Kopke Tawny. I just poured a glass of it to double check, but the smell of sweet pears is still very present. So this is VA... :o

But does that mean that something has gone wrong during the production and/or bottling of this Tawny?

Interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_fault
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
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Post by Alex Bridgeman »

It doesn't necessarily mean that something has gone wrong in the production of this port, we would really only know the answer to that question if we had been able to try a lot of this particular port over a number of years.

It is very possible that the wine-maker deliberately blended in some port with a VA profile simply to make the nose on the port a little more interesting. If you are not finding the smell of pears overwhelming or distracting, you could say that the wine-maker got it right!

Alex
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
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10Anos
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Post by 10Anos »

Agreed. Though rather present in the last glass I just had (6th day after opening), the smell of pears wasn't overwhelming.
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