2007 Warre LBV (unfiltered)

[winesecretary]

A fair bit of fine sediment on decanting. 95% opaque red glass-staining liquid, positively gloopy. I still have a cold, so nose difficult to determine, but it's not leaping out at one; there's some rosemary and white pepper. On the palate there is quite attractive warmth with a hit of damson and an under-note of cassis but in truth there is not a great deal of complexity to be found. Very dry, indeed mouth-drying, on the finish, the woodiness from the four years in cask showing strongly. Even allowing for my cold, no more than satisfactory port, and not one to keep for long. Tasted 17/11/19 after 1 hour decant.

[Andy Velebil]

If you have a cold that is affecting your smell, that means it is also affecting your taste. Not an ideal time to taste any wine or to write one off.

[winesecretary]

I have a cold most autumns, at some point, and have always continued to taste wines through them, so, while it's not ideal, it is something I'm used to having to do, and have adapted to doing. Last year's 80-wine 3-day tasting tour of the Cote de Beaune was a bit of a trial with a heavy cold, but I survived... But I agree that this wine is one I need to come back to, so I have put 50cl from this bottle in a stoppered 50cl bottle in the fridge and will try it again and update in a few days.

[Oddly enough there don't seem to be a tasting note on this wine anywhere openly visible. The pic with the notes on CT for the Warre 2007 LBV is of an unfiltered 2007 LBV, but the notes are probably for the filtered LBV, as I don't think the unfiltered LBV was released until 2015; the one other note on TPF is also for the filtered LBV.]

[winesecretary]

Retasted, twice, including on one occasion with another amateur du porto who concurred in the above (and below) description.

Still opaque, still glass-staining. There's a bit more fruit on the nose now the cold has gone but it's still underpowered. Still damson and cassis on the palate, still simple, and still woody on the finish.

It doesn't seem to be a bacterially off bottle, or corked, it just doesn't seem very good. The rest of the bottle will be used in cooking.

A shame, because I was quite excited to try it, given how much I enjoyed the 2004 unfiltered LBV of which I drank at least a couple of dozen in half, like everyone else.

Since there is a chance that there is a fault (low level VA? I am not hugely sensitive to it) in this bottle I have not picked up, I invite someone else to buy a bottle and try it and post a tasting note; I'm not prepared to do so, given that it is £19.

[Constandia]

95% opaque with garnet rim showing its evolution in the bottle. I tried this upon decanting at 12 noon (had fine sediment) and it was very closed, however when I tried it in the evning at our TPF virtual tasting it opened up marvellously. Pronounced intensity aromas and flavours of cranberry, redcurrant, blackberry jam, damson, blossom and spice such as cinnamon and clove. Structurally the port shows high acidity, medium soft and well-intergrated tannins with a long finish where the flavours of jammy red fruit& sweet spices follow through harmoniously. Pretty good stuff from a very good vintage in the Douro.