1991 Dow

[Alex Bridgeman]

A gift from Ben Read (thank you Ben!), brought when attending the Wokingham Leakers offline.

Deep red, the colour of black cherries, just hinting at maturity; opaque at the centre. A lovely nose of cherries and green leaves. On the palate the fruit is pronounced and only allows the chalky tannins and powerful acidity to come through on the mid-palate. Although the fruit is ripe and sweet, the palate is very dry, showing much less sweetness than most other port - this is the first time I have truly experienced the Dow dryness that its reputation promises. The aftertaste is long and delicious, dominated by the dry cherry flavours.

A couple of days later this was much hotter and disjointed, with the alcohol showing through on the nose, palate and aftertaste. It never truly recovered but the dominant feature remained the dryness of the fruit. A very pleasant mid-term vintage port. 88/100. 23-Aug-15. Pop 'n' pour