2022: Wed 16 March, 1985s, B&F

[jdaw1]

George arranged, and supplied many of the bottles for, a 1985 horizontal, at the Boot & Flogger, on Wednesday 16^th March 2022.

Links:

• Review of the evening as a whole;
• 1985 Quinta do Noval;
• 1985 Fonseca;
• 1985 Taylor;
• 1985 Dow;
• 1985 Poças;
• 1985 Feuerheerd;
• 1985 Rebello Valente;
• 1985 Ramos Pinto;
• 1985 Churchill;
• 1985 Sainsbury’s;
• 1985 Martinez;
• 1985 Gould Campbell;
• 1985 Smith Woodhouse;
• 1985 Warre;
• 1985 Graham;
• 1985 Offley;
• Placemats;
• Planning and arrangements.

[nac]

My thoughts…
An interesting tasting with lots of nice wines and a few very nice wines, and only a couple of duffers.
So, a generally alright vintage, but not one where I’m going to now rush out and buy loads. Might get a few targeted bottles.
A pleasant drinking vintage perhaps?

[hadge]

Thank you for organise this George.

I have to generally agree with Neil comments above. I was a little surprised by the lack of energy (not sure if that quite the right word, but a few seemed to be going over in the glass for me) in some of the wines compared with other times I have enjoyed them.

I think that it is a pleasant drinking vintage and would not complain if I was served half of these with friends.

[winesecretary]

This was a good tasting - much better than the 1991 and 1980 horizontals I have arranged previously. There were a large number of very pleasant wines. However I do not find myself compelled to go and buy lots of them to add to what I already have. I have quantities of Fonseca, Martinez, Gould Campbell, and Warre, none of which I am unhappy to own. I consider that i am underweight Fonseca, and should buy some Ramos Pinto, Taylor and Offley.

[winesecretary]

Tasting Sheet

[Christopher]

Sorry to miss this. Looks like you had a fun evening. Not surprised the Fonseca one, I think it’s an excellent Port and what I would of expected.
However what I find interesting it that it was not really anyones favourite more consistently second or third choice that made it the winner

[winesecretary]

@ Christopher - indeed. the Fonseca was admirable port - but some of the others had a distinctive quality which appealed to one or another of us - Offley, Warre, Ramos Pinto. If those three had not been present, several of us would have been forced to give Fonseca 3 points.

[DaveRL]

Looks like an interesting tasting. I'm glad Warre did well, often up there for me. Surprised the Graham didn't do better, Was something not quite right with the bottle, or just that other Ports were better? Julian B - have you been diddled out of a point, or you are taking longer to finish scoring, in a nod to his absence, than even Alex?!

[winesecretary]

The Graham did not excite; I've had better bottles; but it was not discernibly wrong.

[hadge]

I think that the Graham's had been opened to early and started to go over at the end of the evening for me.