1977 Dow

Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
Forum rules
Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
LGTrotter
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
Posts: 3707
Joined: 17:45 Fri 19 Oct 2012
Location: Somerset, UK

1977 Dow

Post by LGTrotter »

Well here goes nothing. Nice colour, much darker than the 77 Graham I had recently. But I think I smell a bit of vegetable already...

A couple or three hours later the stink seems to have mostly blown off (poor choice of words I realise), leaving a really very good glass behind. If I could just lose this last bit of stink it would be outstanding, or do I mean classic? Lots of sweetness kept well back by acidity and tannin, the finish is decidedly dry. I don't know Dow well enough to know if this is usual but there is almost a sense of my palate being stripped, like rhubarb does. I rather think I should swill this bottle in one go as there is still a worry lurking at the back of my mind that it will fall to pieces. But this is more to do with the reputation of this wine rather than what I'm getting now. Yeah, me like.
LGTrotter
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
Posts: 3707
Joined: 17:45 Fri 19 Oct 2012
Location: Somerset, UK

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by LGTrotter »

Here's a picture of a bottle of port, for those who have forgotten what one looks like:
image.jpg
image.jpg (178.48 KiB) Viewed 6321 times
Note the wonky label, which is irrelevant.

I have checked with the cork taint master, there is none.
User avatar
djewesbury
Graham’s 1970
Posts: 8165
Joined: 20:01 Mon 31 Dec 2012
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Contact:

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by djewesbury »

The really dry finish sounds very Dovian. You have a good bottle. I think you need to term this a 'rare classic'.
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
LGTrotter
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
Posts: 3707
Joined: 17:45 Fri 19 Oct 2012
Location: Somerset, UK

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by LGTrotter »

djewesbury wrote: Dovian.
I am not sure whether to applaud your audacity or lament your invention. On balance; bravo!
User avatar
djewesbury
Graham’s 1970
Posts: 8165
Joined: 20:01 Mon 31 Dec 2012
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Contact:

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by djewesbury »

I can think of no better formulation. Consider the alternatives: Dowish? Sounds like a village in Devon. Dowesque? To me that prompts mispronunciation, like 'awry', which to my eye always rhymes with 'hoary'. Dowy? Too reminiscent of a former manager of Crystal Palace (the only football manager qualified to say "it's not rocket science", as he had a degree in astrophysics). No, Dovian it is, it must be.
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
LGTrotter
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
Posts: 3707
Joined: 17:45 Fri 19 Oct 2012
Location: Somerset, UK

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by LGTrotter »

djewesbury wrote:I can think of no better formulation. Consider the alternatives: Dowish? Sounds like a village in Devon. Dowesque? To me that prompts mispronunciation, like 'awry', which to my eye always rhymes with 'hoary'. Dowy? Too reminiscent of a former manager of Crystal Palace (the only football manager qualified to say "it's not rocket science", as he had a degree in astrophysics). No, Dovian it is, it must be.
Nicked from 'Shavian' and 'Wavian', but I knew just what you meant and it sounded right.

No idea about the Crystal Palace reference.
User avatar
djewesbury
Graham’s 1970
Posts: 8165
Joined: 20:01 Mon 31 Dec 2012
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Contact:

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by djewesbury »

Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
User avatar
jdaw1
Cockburn 1851
Posts: 23613
Joined: 15:03 Thu 21 Jun 2007
Location: London
Contact:

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by jdaw1 »

“Dovian” is genius. Do start a thread entitled “Shipper adjectives”.
User avatar
djewesbury
Graham’s 1970
Posts: 8165
Joined: 20:01 Mon 31 Dec 2012
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Contact:

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by djewesbury »

Yes, I shall.
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
LGTrotter
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
Posts: 3707
Joined: 17:45 Fri 19 Oct 2012
Location: Somerset, UK

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by LGTrotter »

jdaw1 wrote:“Dovian” is genius. Do start a thread entitled “Shipper adjectives”.
Here we go again; he's the clever one I'm the dumb pretty one. Right out of the script of 'Legally Blonde'. :roll:

This is terrific port, better than anything I have had of late.
Last edited by LGTrotter on 00:48 Tue 03 Feb 2015, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
djewesbury
Graham’s 1970
Posts: 8165
Joined: 20:01 Mon 31 Dec 2012
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Contact:

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by djewesbury »

It's got us this far. You want to change it now?
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
LGTrotter
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
Posts: 3707
Joined: 17:45 Fri 19 Oct 2012
Location: Somerset, UK

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by LGTrotter »

Tonight the mid palate has filled out and it has lost some of the dryness on the finish. This is an easy 90 points plus wine but I do not see how I could recommend anyone to buy it given the level of duds reported in the tasting notes. I suppose if one could buy it for half the price of the equivalent port then it would be worth a punt, but this ain't gonna happen. Which is a shame as this is a shade better than the Graham or Fonseca 77 and as good as the Fonseca 85.
User avatar
djewesbury
Graham’s 1970
Posts: 8165
Joined: 20:01 Mon 31 Dec 2012
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Contact:

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by djewesbury »

As good as the Fonseca 85! Did everybody see how he tried to sneak that one through in the last line, in the closer? Owen, I bow down to your ability to stir it up. You are a master.
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
Glenn E.
Graham’s 1977
Posts: 4172
Joined: 22:27 Wed 09 Jul 2008
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by Glenn E. »

We had them all blind a week ago and - SURPRISE! - the Fonseca won handily. Second place wasn't clear cut, but the Graham and Warre were both in the running. Some might have also argued for the first bottle of F85 that we opened, which upon reveal everyone thought wasn't showing well (despite taking WOTN on the first day) so that's why we opened a second bottle and inserted it into the second day's lineup as a ringer.

Taylor finished respectably about where I expected it would, though I admit that I failed to identify it prior to the reveal. We were all pretty rubbish at identification. I managed 3/32, as I recall, though it may have been 4.
Glenn Elliott
LGTrotter
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
Posts: 3707
Joined: 17:45 Fri 19 Oct 2012
Location: Somerset, UK

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by LGTrotter »

Glenn E. wrote:Second place wasn't clear cut, but the Graham and Warre were both in the running.
Neck and neck? Were there no good judges of port among you?
Glenn E. wrote:Taylor finished respectably about where I expected it would,
Sandwiched between Real Vinicola and a corked Feist?
Andy Velebil
Quinta do Vesuvio 1994
Posts: 3028
Joined: 22:16 Mon 25 Jun 2007
Location: Los Angeles, Ca USA
Contact:

1977 Dow

Post by Andy Velebil »

Uh Warres pretty much blew everyone away with how young, rich, and tannic it was. No one was right in guessing this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Glenn E.
Graham’s 1977
Posts: 4172
Joined: 22:27 Wed 09 Jul 2008
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by Glenn E. »

LGTrotter wrote:
Glenn E. wrote:Second place wasn't clear cut, but the Graham and Warre were both in the running.
Neck and neck? Were there no good judges of port among you?
Andy Velebil wrote:Uh Warres pretty much blew everyone away with how young, rich, and tannic it was. No one was right in guessing this.
Andy is exactly correct. The Warre was completely out of character and surprised everyone. I guessed it correctly (according to my notes), but that's likely because I decanted it and so knew that it was deceptively darker than you would expect. When there were only 4-5 legitimately dark Ports on Day 2, picking the Warre from that group wasn't too difficult.
LGTrotter wrote:
Glenn E. wrote:Taylor finished respectably about where I expected it would,
Sandwiched between Real Vinicola and a corked Feist?
No, it finished respectably as I said. I gave it 92 points which was good for 2nd place on Day 1, and is also right where I normally rate it (91-92). That tied it for 7th on the weekend with the Churchill for me, behind Fonseca twice, Graham, Warre, Croft, and Kopke.
Glenn Elliott
LGTrotter
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
Posts: 3707
Joined: 17:45 Fri 19 Oct 2012
Location: Somerset, UK

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by LGTrotter »

Somebody else was saying how wrong I was about the Warre backalong, a wine I have found a bit sweet and simple in the past. Sounds like I need to revisit it.

And bitching about the Taylor is a way of life for me now. :lol:
PhilW
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
Posts: 3503
Joined: 14:22 Wed 15 Dec 2010
Location: Near Cambridge, UK

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by PhilW »

LGTrotter wrote:Somebody else was saying how wrong I was about the Warre backalong, a wine I have found a bit sweet and simple in the past. Sounds like I need to revisit it.
Possibly me, as I'm a big Warre 77 fan, though admittedly there can be some variability.
PhilW
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
Posts: 3503
Joined: 14:22 Wed 15 Dec 2010
Location: Near Cambridge, UK

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by PhilW »

Ignore my last, I thought you were talking '77 rather than '85
idj123
Morgan 1991
Posts: 1116
Joined: 20:54 Tue 13 Nov 2012

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by idj123 »

Right, after this tasting note, I am going to take up the kind offer of the D77 winking at me from my cellar and give the chap a second chance!
Andy Velebil
Quinta do Vesuvio 1994
Posts: 3028
Joined: 22:16 Mon 25 Jun 2007
Location: Los Angeles, Ca USA
Contact:

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by Andy Velebil »

Ah, back to the 1977 Dow's. Horrible cork rate. A couple weeks ago at Roy's place he opened one and it turned out to be corked. Opened second bottle, thankfully this one wasn't and it was a wonderful VP and showed what it is capable of. Sadly my corked rate of this is now running about 80%. :shock:

As for your note I've never gotten "stink" of any kind on this Port unless it was corked. I suspect yours was slightly damaged by TCA.
User avatar
djewesbury
Graham’s 1970
Posts: 8165
Joined: 20:01 Mon 31 Dec 2012
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Contact:

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by djewesbury »

I'm organising a tasting here in Belfast next month for about 30 people. Chatting the other evening to one person who will be attending, I was told that one of the supermarket wine merchants that used to exist here used to sell vintage port. Before the major British chains entered about a decade ago, all the supermarkets were local companies (and their bottle stores were separate buildings, as a peculiarity of Northern Irish licensing law required them to have a separate entrance). So it was that Stewart's Wine Barrel used to sell Dow 1963, 1970, 1977 and 1985. This gent had bought in bulk for very cheap prices and has about 100 bottles left. The 1970 is mostly gone now but he is enjoying his 1977 and has not had a bad bottle. I am going to ask him to prove it.
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
Andy Velebil
Quinta do Vesuvio 1994
Posts: 3028
Joined: 22:16 Mon 25 Jun 2007
Location: Los Angeles, Ca USA
Contact:

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by Andy Velebil »

djewesbury wrote:. This gent had bought in bulk for very cheap prices and has about 100 bottles left. The 1970 is mostly gone now but he is enjoying his 1977 and has not had a bad bottle. I am going to ask him to prove it.
And if you ask Glenn he's never had a corked bottle. Most people have no idea what TCA is. A small percentage, as is Glenn, can't smell or taste it. Based on how many people have had lots of corked bottles of this, I suspect he falls into one of those camps.
User avatar
djewesbury
Graham’s 1970
Posts: 8165
Joined: 20:01 Mon 31 Dec 2012
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Contact:

Re: 1977 Dow

Post by djewesbury »

Andy Velebil wrote:
djewesbury wrote:. This gent had bought in bulk for very cheap prices and has about 100 bottles left. The 1970 is mostly gone now but he is enjoying his 1977 and has not had a bad bottle. I am going to ask him to prove it.
And if you ask Glenn he's never had a corked bottle. Most people have no idea what TCA is. A small percentage, as is Glenn, can't smell or taste it. Based on how many people have had lots of corked bottles of this, I suspect he falls into one of those camps.
It would be a pretty low trick to persuade him to open one of these and then tell him it was rubbish, wouldn't it? Especially if he's blissfully ignorant and thoroughly enjoying every bottle.
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
Post Reply