1985 Feuerheerd

[flash_uk]

First bottle from a batch of 4, from a case of 12 shared with others and purchased at auction at Dreweatts.

Decanted 3 hours.

40% opacity, brown-red, some bricking at the rim, a little cloudy. Certainly a lot more evolved looking than many ’85s I have tried. Wonderful nose, full of sweet sugar and ripe fruit, strawberries and faint hints of menthol. In the mouth, super sweet, mature, ripe strawberries. Lovely balance, very gentle acidity and very faint tannins, loads of fruit and sweetness all the way through and a superb long strawberry finish.

Well that was a huge surprise. I was not expecting something so amazing. This reminds me of the excellent G77 I have tasted.

[flash_uk]

Some pictures.

The bottle



The neck



The cork, which was as new at the top half, and soaked at the bottom end. the shape of the neck meant that the cork had flared out at the base making it impossible to pull without breaking it.



In the glass

[PhilW]

First bottle from a batch of 4, from a case of 12 shared with others and purchased at auction at Dreweatts.

Decanted 3 hours.

40% opacity, brown-red, some bricking at the rim, a little cloudy. Certainly a lot more evolved looking than many '85s I have tried. Wonderful nose, full of sweet sugar and ripe fruit, strawberries and faint hints of menthol. In the mouth, super sweet, mature, ripe strawberries. Lovely balance, very gentle acidity and very faint tannins, loads of fruit and sweetness all the way through and a superb long strawberry finish.

Well that was a huge surprise. I was not expecting something so amazing. This reminds me of the excellent G77 I have tasted.

I also decided to a bottle of this today from the same stash as Flash's, ready for a friend coming over this evening. The cork from my bottle was identical to the pictures already posted, the top 75% solid and dry, the bottom 25% soaked and falling apart; the colour/density of the port looks consistent with the previous images.

D+0h: Possible slight VA on the nose, flavour in the mouth is full but not overpowered, sweet with lots of dark chewy fruit, reminds me of christmas cake, but a somewhat thin and a little varnish on the finish.

Will be interested to see how this develops, as the main flavour is delicious and reminds me of the characteristics I associate with Rebello Valente, another uncommon port in the UK but one I tend to enjoy. I agree with Flash's "lovely balance" and am hoping that the slight VA-type aspect will dissipate once there has been sufficient time passed post-decant.

D+2h: VA aspect has gone. Agree with Flash on the maturity, this is now tasting like the 77's were about five years ago. Sweet, full, warming spices, christmas cake; lovely port. Reasonable length, though still a little thin and light varnish on the finish (no sign of Flash's strawberries here yet, unless they were very unripe!).

D+6h: (no VA). Very sweet, fresh red cherries, hint of menthol (but has now lost the christmas cake). Fresh and fruity, medium length, still slightly light with varnish on the finish.

[flash_uk]

With my last few sips of this on Friday night I had a suspicion that the juice was deteriorating, however at 24hrs and 48hrs this port held together extremely well. Sweetness remained, the finish slightly more curtailed.

[PhilW]

With my last few sips of this on Friday night I had a suspicion that the juice was deteriorating, however at 24hrs and 48hrs this port held together extremely well. Sweetness remained, the finish slightly more curtailed.

We ended up not drinking much (of the port) on Saturday night, so I had (too much of) it last night instead; I had intended saving some for later in the evening, but having enjoyed some while cooking, some with the meal, some after the meal, I found the bottle was empty by 7pm Not shabby at all, though I never did find your strawberries.

[CaliforniaBrad]

Had an example of the '82 not that long ago and found the cork/neck situation a rather unfortunate design flaw. Sounds like this juice was substantially tastier than the '82 was as well.


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[Andy Velebil]

The curse of VA in this vintage. We had the 1985 horizontal just over a week ago and plenty of bottles suffered from VA issues. Another vintage I am very careful in what I buy.