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Opaque, dark red. Fleshy palate that was very backward. Very good with potential. Chosen to drink with dinner.

Younger looking than the 78. High-toned notes to the bouquet. Sweet and simple palate with a short finish. A fair few rungs below the 78 and I wonder whether this could show better.

Red/brown. Cacao on the palate that was decent and pleasant. Very Good/Excellent port and I could happily drink this anytime.

Semi-opaque plum colour showing. Looks young. Closed nose. Soft, rounded palate that had length. Excellent port and the best of the 70's. Even then I don't think it will hit the heights of the 60's. Then again, it has been backward for many years and the colour is young.

Sherbet/icing sugar nose. Good start. Unfortunately it did not deliver with a short, insipid palate and finish. I was hoping for more.

Pale with brown stained colour. Alcohol and mahogany wood bouquet. Washed out palate with a tangy finish.

Closed on the nose with a baked caramel character. Heat-affected? I wonder if there are better showings of this as it is well-regarded.

Pale with some red/brown staining. This was lean and slightly insipid after what came before. Walnut finish.

Dark red with brown glints. The nose was also closed. The palate however was marvellous. Savoury with cacao. Still densely fruited. Surprisingly young and looking at jdaw's notes I see that we are firmly in agreement. Outstanding port. With time, could it eclipse the 55 for me?

Dark brown. Somewhat closed nose but a nice, balanced palate that was the equal best of the Malvedos ports for me along with the 87.

Lighter than 60 and 55 in colour. The nose had something unclean about it. I wrote "lacks purity". Slightly strained on the palate with a finish that wasn't as long as the 60 or 66. In fact this was a decent port but suffered between the 55, 60 and 66 for me. Very Good but I can't help won...

Similar hue to the 55. Dusted icing sugar as a top note on the bouquet. Intense and rich in the mouth with a very long finish. Alcohol poking out on the end but still an Excellent/Outstanding showing.

Brown with red glints. For some reason this just did everything I could wish for in a port. A bit like the 55's in the Fonseca v Warre tasting. I can only hope younger vintages will develop like these. Integrated nose that balanced brown spice with hints of red fruit. Rob mentioned mint and it did h...

Light brown and clear. Cinnamon bouquet. Palate of brown spices, walnut with almost integrated alcohol on the finish. Excellent.

Speaking of the Dows Master blend it is now £5.24 at Sainsburys. The 2003 VP is now £15. Good prices for Grahams LBV and Malvedos as well. Not the depths seen last year but not far off.

30 year old Offley for £36.99 at Aldi. Bottled 2012 and a small taste suggests rather good value indeed.

2008 Quinta do Crasto VP at Great Western Wines for £25 looks a good price as well.

Thank you for the excellent review. The sound of devilled chicken hearts is music to the ears.

Ch85, decanted 7am. Dark red, 70% opaque. Nose flat. Taste had big red fruit. Slightly short. Lots of sweetness. Needs time. But everybody else thought hopelessly corked. Damn! Five years ago I was thoroughly insensitive to TCA. And I had been learning. Or so I thought. Illusion shattered: the TCA ...

and the food?

One extra point from my notes; pre-90, the quality of the Malvedos single-quintas seemed to be noticeably poorer than the declared VPs (which makes sense, but I was surprised it was so marked) while from 90+ the SQ seems much improved. Are you certain you meant 90+? I don't recall having one. I did...

PhilW wrote:One extra point from my notes; pre-90, the quality of the Malvedos single-quintas seemed to be noticeably poorer than the declared VPs (which makes sense, but I was surprised it was so marked) while from 90+ the SQ seems much improved.

Are you certain you meant 90+? I don't recall having one.

Like others I am happy in theory but am unable to contribute in a vinous fashion. I was also thinking of bringing that 07 Meao but I'm sure there will be another occasion.

I just would like to say that this was a fantastic event. By and large the older ports showed very well indeed, to the point of making me wonder if the younger vintages will ever scale those heights. A big thank you to Rob for organising such a definitive tasting and thanks to everyone else for the ...

Nice label.

I would be interested but I wouldn't need more than 15. Anyone willing to share?