1985 Kopke

[Alex Bridgeman]

Opened and decanted about 10 hours before the tasting note was taken. Decanted very cleanly off a fair amount of sediment.

The colour of redwood, red centre but distinct browning at the rim. Nose is dusty but also carries a lovely mix of spices and sandalwood. In the mouth the port is sweet, but not overly sweet. There is plenty of redcurrant fruit in the initial impact and some lovely development of dusty and liquorice in the mid-palate. The aftertaste starts with a dominance of alcohol and a sharp burn but this disappears to be replaced by a long chocolate residue.

This is a pleasant enough port, enjoyable without being anything exceptional. I would put this slightly above average but unlikely to improve significantly over the next 10 years. On this showing, I will rate it as 6/6 or 89/100.

Alex

[DRT]

Here is a link to my note of this wine from some time ago.

Alex, I wonder if my anecede is your licquorice?

Derek

[Alex Bridgeman]

I'm quite happy to concede that my liquorice is your aniseed and, now that you have brought your note to my attention, I would also reflect that there is a lot of aniseed in the aftertaste.

I also bought my bottle from Heathrow Duty Free, but only a few weeks ago. Its probably the same source that they bought in bulk, but I must say that the cork was in very good condition for a bottle that had been standing for any length of time. I bought this as I have not tried a Kopke vintage port before and thought I would give it a go. It was OK but not one that I would pay another £25 to repeat.

Its also reassuring to note that our scores were broadly similar.

Alex

[DRT]

Its also reassuring to note that our scores were broadly similar.

Especially for me as that was the first bottle I ever scored

Derek

[Alex Bridgeman]

I came back to this the following day (34 hours after decanting) and this was superb. The additional time in the decanter at cellar temperature had really opened the wine up on the nose and integrated the acidity, the alcohol and the tannins into the rich fruitcake flavours.

Much more impressive than last night. Now I would rate this at 92/100 or 7/7. I would even pick up a few more from Duty Free next time I fly - very nice for current drinking provided I can give it long enough in the decanter to blossom before consuming it.

Alex