1977 Cockburn

Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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jdaw1
Cockburn 1851
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Re: 1977 Cockburn not officially VP

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jdaw1
Cockburn 1851
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Re: 1977 Cockburn not officially VP

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Plain capsule, rather out-of-focus:
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jdaw1
Cockburn 1851
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Re: 1977 Cockburn not officially VP

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jdaw1
Cockburn 1851
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Re: 1977 Cockburn not officially VP

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1977 Cockburn: an unofficial partners’ bottling, kindly brought by Miguel Côrte-Real. Its unofficial nature was emphasised by the word ‘Crusted’ on the cork. MC-R told us that two thousand bottles were made, of which seven hundred remain. 

Translucent red, a really nice colour, even if an edge paler than perfection. On the nose citrus, especially lemon, which was also present in the mouth. Very fresh and soft, utterly lovely, with great length. I wrote in the narrow score column ‟Great — I want”. The lemon in particular makes this delightful and unusual.
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DRT
Fonseca 1966
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Re: 1977 Cockburn not officially VP

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Dark and bright ruby red. I noted the nose to be "very closed" but recall that it opened up towards the end of the tasting session. My note of the taste simply says "beautiful and delicate".

It was a real honour to be able to taste this wine and I repeat my thanks to Miguel for letting us include it in the line-up.

I marked this as my favourite wine of the afternoon flight.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
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Re: 1977 Cockburn not officially VP

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

An unreleased bottle of port from the undeclared 1977 vintage, brought from the cellars of Cockburn. Light red in colour, light centre but with the colour holding into the rim. Lots of cherries on the nose, and a small hint of the alcohol, together with the characteristic Cockburn aged nose of mace and All Spice. Sweet Christmas cake in the mouth with dried (slightly tart) cherries and raisins. Wonderful mid-palate complexity. A lingering and delicate aftertaste which caresses the cheeks and tongue. A beautiful wine. 92/100.
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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jdaw1
Cockburn 1851
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Re: 1977 Cockburn not officially VP

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Miguel Corte-Real sent AHB some of his own notes on the various vintages, some obviously drafted in advance, some from the day itself.
Miguel Corte-Real wrote:1977

Generic Information
Crusted Port. Initially considered by some people outstanding and one of the best of the century, it is now considered of average quality and has a big differentiation among different houses. Declared by everybody with the exception of Corckburn's, Martinez and Noval.

Year/Viticulture
The year was cold and wet. During the vintage, in September, was very hot. At the beginning of October the rain started, reducing grape concentration. It was not an easy year.

Tasting Notes
In a recent tasting of all '77s in London with the Institute of Masters of Wine, I was invited as a speaker, together with David Guimaraens and Charles Symington, it was evident that the undeclared Cockburn's was on of the best, showing that even the best Port Houses make big mistakes. The wine is extremely well balanced, very, very enjoyable.

Other
There is a big division on the '77s: some are tannic but a little out of balance and others are nice and dekicate (as Croft) but lacking a bit of structure. Cockburn's is in the middle with the best of the two groups.

Last minute notes
Round, soft, elegant. Good example of good balance: acidity, sugar, alcohol, tannins.

MC-R notes
8.5/10 
Andy Velebil
Quinta do Vesuvio 1994
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Re: 1977 Cockburn not officially VP

Post by Andy Velebil »

jdaw1 wrote:1977 Cockburn: an unofficial partners’ bottling, kindly brought by Miguel Côrte-Real. Its unofficial nature was emphasised by the word ‘Crusted’ on the cork. MC-R told us that two thousand bottles were made, of which seven hundred remain. 

Translucent red, a really nice colour, even if an edge paler than perfection. On the nose citrus, especially lemon, which was also present in the mouth. Very fresh and soft, utterly lovely, with great length. I wrote in the narrow score column ‟Great — I want”. The lemon in particular makes this delightful and unusual.
I think he was a tad off on how many remain based on the Sym's releasing far more than that. And curious as to what this was originally declared as to the (then) IVP? Which really is just a curiosity since MC-R indicated it was a crusted port as evidence from the cork and this label tends to prove.

One can assume the late release from the Sym's will have new corks but how will it be labeled?
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RAYC
Taylor Quinta de Vargellas 1987
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Re: 1977 Cockburn

Post by RAYC »

Its an issue/problem I think the Symingtons have negotiated before, with the pre-Symington Malvedos originally being labelled as "crusted"
Rob C.
Andy Velebil
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Re: 1977 Cockburn

Post by Andy Velebil »

RAYC wrote:Its an issue/problem I think the Symingtons have negotiated before, with the pre-Symington Malvedos originally being labelled as "crusted"
And to be clear. I don't really care what they call it as it was made as and is a VP. I'm just curious as to what it was originally officially declared as there seems to be conflicting sets of information out there.
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