1985 Smith Woodhouse

[winesecretary]

2 hour decant from bottle in perfect condition.

Middling red, looks mature, 40% opaque.

Dumb until swirled then rubber, poached strawberries, liquorice, coal tar, fresh linen, parma violets. Lots going on.

Front and top of palate sweet caramel with some fairly exuberant fruits later. A toffee-apple, fruit acid, note, with star anise on the finish.

'The cello register is missing' comments my co-taster. Not incoherent, but not congruent. I don't think it's going to get deeper richer or stickier, I think, more likely will get lighter and take on apricot notes. Fully mature.

+ 24 hrs

Hasn't changed in appearance.

Rubber more prominent on nose, and on palate, neither unpleasantly. Slightly more classic damson.

Still an apple note but the parma violets have gone. It has developed more cinnamon-boiled-sweet qualities, almost kola kube. Sugary but not rich

More promise on nose than yesterday but less interest on the palate, fewer interesting nooks and crannies. Hasn't fallen over, but has changed, more conventional, I'm not clear whether this is better.

Consumed 21/8/20 & 22/8/20 (with co-taster).

[Glenn E.]

The rubber and coal tar make me think this was an off bottle in some way. I've recently had it twice, and neither exhibited rubber/tar or caramel or apple, nor would I have called either of them fully mature. They were big, bold bruisers and showed primarily dark purple/black berries and stone fruits (black cherry, et al).

I my experience this Port currently needs a 7-8 hour decant to show best.

[winesecretary]

I am open to the suggestion that this is an off bottle. But, now reading up on the eleven earlier notes on TPF over a period of ten years, seven of the eleven mention 'weak', 'watery', 'acidic', 'astringent' or 'thin' notes; which I think are different ways of saying the same thing. There are also a couple of notes which suggest that this port can be something closer to what you are considering; but that is way too low a hit-rate to re-buy from a UK perspective.