1970 Offley

[uncle tom]

1970 Offley Boa Vista vintage port
First bottle out of an owc bought a couple of years ago. Bottle selected for being the only one not to have a level in neck.

Hard on the heels of a Graham '77, the glorious colour of this wine showed up the paleness of the '77. Indeed, this is every bit as dark as the Taylor '85 I had a week ago.

Decanted last night.

Sipping the dregs before dumping them in the cooking, all seemed well.

+ 4 hrs - a nightcap.

Superb rich ruby colour in the glass, with clear meniscus, but on the nose, a problem; a strong note of varnish...

On the palate however, there was no defect, a little bit hot, but otherwise a rich fruity wine.

Smelling the decanter this morning I got a full whiff of fruit, but no varnish...

More anon

Tom

[uncle tom]

Well, the varnish didn't go away; indeed, if you looked closely, it was possible to see an oil like film covering part of the surface of the wine, the next time I poured a glass.

After a couple of days the wine began to deteriorate, and now, supping the last glass, it is quite fiery, although the varnish has finally gone.

Duff wine or duff bottle? I don't know. I chose the bottle because it had a VTS level, unlike all the others which had levels in neck.

I hope it's just a duff bottle, as the wine is otherwise well extracted, and barely mature. No doubt all will be revealed in due course..!

Tom