1936 Massandra (Ukraine)

Anything but Port, this includes all wines other than fortified wines (which have their own section) even if they call themselves Port. There is a search facility for this part of the forum.
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Anything but Port, this includes all non-Port fortified wines even if they call themselves Port. There is a search facility for this part of the forum.
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DRT
Fonseca 1966
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1936 Massandra (Ukraine)

Post by DRT »

"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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jdaw1
Cockburn 1851
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1936 Massandra Livadia

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Sotheby’s provided a plastic wrap, with its own label.
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jdaw1
Cockburn 1851
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1936 Massandra Livadia

Post by jdaw1 »

Orangey brown. Did the nose have apricots? Certainly sugar. even more certainly it was odd. AHB rightly described the nose as metallic. To taste marmalade, with so much sugar, and even more huge amounts of tannin. So much tannin in a 72-year-old thing of little repute! An odd creature.
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JacobH
Quinta do Vesuvio 1994
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Post by JacobH »

Does anyone know what this was made out of? I presume they aren’t growing Touriga Nacional out in the Crimea? What looks like a current website suggests they aren’t producing anything fortified to Port-levels but includes lots of grape varieties which I’ve never heard of like: Ekim-Kara, Kethessia, Capita-n-Kara, Lapa-Kara and Metin-Kara.
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
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Post by Alex Bridgeman »

I have absolutely no idea from which grapes this was made - is Livadia a region or a grape? The little knowledge that I have of the Massandra collection of wines would imply that there was no consistent blend or type of grapes used for these fortified wines.

My notes on the night:
Livadia wine. Pale colour, a deep variation of honey. An odd, almost soapy, nose with some strange metallic and pine needle tints; not attractive. The odd taste comes through in the mouth but is quickly replaced with sweetness from layers of different kinds of honey. The alcohol shows an initial flash on swallowing but then leaves behind a surge of marmalade that fades rapidly before lingering almost unnoticed for a while. A wine which is perfectly respectable. 86/100. Decanted approximately 2 hours.
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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DRT
Fonseca 1966
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Post by DRT »

AHB wrote:is Livadia a region or a grape?
Livadia
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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