Symington 1994 Library Release

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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
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Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

1994 Library Release
1994 Library Release
Symington 1994 Release (3).png (318.48 KiB) Viewed 4369 times

I received an email yesterday from Symington Family Estates announcing a limited release of library stocks of the 1994 vintage from Dow, Graham and Warre. The release will include a small number of three bottle cases containing one bottle from each of the three houses.

I've been invited to a tasting of these wines in early November and will report back here with pictures and my thoughts on the wines.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
MigSU
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by MigSU »

Sounds excellent.
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Alex Bridgeman
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

I attended the launch event last Tuesday. It was really nice to be back at a wine tasting in person. The event was very well organised and led by three of the next generation of the family with Harry, Anthony and Tom leading the discussion of the wines in a very interactive style.

Left to right: Harry, Anthony and Tom
Left to right: Harry, Anthony and Tom
Leading the tasting.JPG (328.16 KiB) Viewed 4185 times

The placemats were a very clever idea to personalise the tasting but also to help the participants identify some of the components of smell and taste in the wines. Plus there was the bonus that once the wines had been tasted there was a healthy snack on hand.

Imaginative flavour comparison
Imaginative flavour comparison
Tasting mat.JPG (405.42 KiB) Viewed 4185 times

The wines were magnificent, with the Dow so precise and focused. The Graham was delicious, starting to show a little of the wonderful Christmas cake mature Graham offers. The Warre was to my taste a little closed still, but starting to open and show with all the elegance expected of Warre. As an unexpected comparison, a bonus glass of 1994 Graham Single Harvest Tawny was poured to allow a direct comparison of the two different styles of Graham's wine from this vintage.

There are 200 9 litre cases of each wine being released to the global market. The release price is acknowledged as being around twice the level of the current secondary market and it is hoped that the limited stocks will sell slowly over the next few years.

The four wines from 1994
The four wines from 1994
1994 Library Release.JPG (391.87 KiB) Viewed 4185 times
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

But the fun didn't stop there. This was also the opportunity to introduce the 1950 Graham Single Harvest Tawny, being launched to the UK market the following Thursday. This is the third wine in the trilogy of The Master (blender), the Artisan and the Apprentice with all three of these colheitas being shown today. These being the 1950, 1974 and 1994 Single Harvest Tawnies.

The Artisan
The Artisan
1974 Graham SHT.JPG (290 KiB) Viewed 4184 times

1974 was the year of the Portuguese revolution. Industries were disrupted and there was considerable uncertainty in business for a few years, to the extent that when bottles were needed to bottle the Port from what had been a very good growing season, there was a severe shortage of glass meaning more of the vintage was kept to mature in wood than was normal for that time. Happily, the wines have matured extremely well and are now drinking beautifully. I found the 1974 Single Harvest Tawny to be utterly delicious.

The Master
The Master
1950 Graham SHT.JPG (309.86 KiB) Viewed 4184 times

There was one pipe of the 1950 colheita remaining in the lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia. Half of this has been bottled this year and is being offered to the market - that's 356 bottles to be shared across the global market! This 1950 Single Harvest Tawny is a very fine addition to the family of Single Harvest Tawnies released by the Symingtons although I marginally preferred the 1974.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
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Alex Bridgeman
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

And finally there were some other Vintage Ports shown at the same event to allow some context to be put around the 1994 Library Release wines. Also shown were:

More advanced than the 2000 Graham
More advanced than the 2000 Graham
2003 Graham.JPG (230.3 KiB) Viewed 4183 times
2003 Graham tasting note

Such a confident wine
Such a confident wine
2000 Graham.JPG (271.3 KiB) Viewed 4183 times
2000 Graham tasting note

One to cellar for a while
One to cellar for a while
2003 Dow.JPG (290.55 KiB) Viewed 4183 times
2003 Dow tasting note

Harmonious and long lived
Harmonious and long lived
2000 Dow.JPG (271 KiB) Viewed 4183 times
2000 Dow tasting note

Needs a long decant
Needs a long decant
2000 Warre.JPG (268.01 KiB) Viewed 4183 times
2000 Warre tasting note

Slightly baked, but still enjoyable
Slightly baked, but still enjoyable
1985 Warre.JPG (241.46 KiB) Viewed 4183 times
I am unconvinced about the 1985 vintage at the moment, not just about Warre but in general. The vintage might be going through one of its more closed cycles and not showing particularly well. While this 1985 Warre was enjoyable enough it did not convince me that this is a wine or a vintage I want to seek out and accumulate - especially not when compared to the 1994 vintage!

Much better than the previous week's bottle!
Much better than the previous week's bottle!
1980 Warre.JPG (291.45 KiB) Viewed 4183 times
I was so pleased to see this wine being shown at this tasting after a somewhat disappointing bottle at our 1980 Horizontal on October 20th. This bottle showed better and much more in the way I would hope and expect when I open a bottle of 1980 Warre.

All in all it was a great opportunity to visit some new wines and some older wines and to talk with some fellow Port lovers.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
MigSU
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by MigSU »

Great post, and fantastic pictures, Alex. Did you get to keep the wooden 'placemat'? Shame they misspelled your surname :|
Glenn E.
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by Glenn E. »

I'm so very jealous of those "placemats"! I would have loved to have been able to attend an event like that.
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Alex Bridgeman
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

MigSU wrote: 20:47 Tue 09 Nov 2021 Great post, and fantastic pictures, Alex. Did you get to keep the wooden 'placemat'? Shame they misspelled your surname :|
The placemat is now my new cheeseboard. And I have changed my name to match the spelling on my new cheeseboard.

Ironically enough, that was the spelling back in the late 1800’s. Somewhere in history, a registrar mis-spelt the surname and added an “e”, which we have used ever since.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
MigSU
Warre’s Otima 10 year old Tawny
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by MigSU »

Alex Bridgeman wrote: 21:28 Tue 09 Nov 2021 And I have changed my name to match the spelling on my new cheeseboard.
The only reasonable solution, naturally.
winesecretary
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by winesecretary »

This sounds like that truly rare thing, the marketing event which significantly exceeds expectations. What fun!
Andy Velebil
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by Andy Velebil »

Wonderful write up.

I think you may be on to something about the 1985's going into a phase. Too many reports of various ones all of a sudden not showing so well. Stuff them away for a few years...

and cool cheeseboard!
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nac
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release - PRICES

Post by nac »

Just got the pricing for these from C&B:
Dow 94 - £516/6IB
Graham 94 - £516/6IB
Warre 94 - £438/6IB
One bottle of each - £264/3IB
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JacobH
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by JacobH »

This is an extremely pedantic and niche point but is anyone else slightly annoyed that the Dow 2000 label reads “Bottled by Symington Family Estates” when it was actually bottled by Silva & Cosens? I think Dow was only folded into SFE in 2005. I appreciate they have tried to emulate the old S&C logo by adding “James R Dow” in a similar style but still...
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Doggett
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by Doggett »

JacobH wrote: 09:56 Fri 12 Nov 2021 This is an extremely pedantic and niche point but is anyone else slightly annoyed that the Dow 2000 label reads “Bottled by Symington Family Estates” when it was actually bottled by Silva & Cosens? I think Dow was only folded into SFE in 2005. I appreciate they have tried to emulate the old S&C logo by adding “James R Dow” in a similar style but still...
I thought the Symingtons have owned Dow for decades.
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by Glenn E. »

SFE has owned Dow (and Warre) since the early 60s... 1961 according to the googles.
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JacobH
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by JacobH »

I thought the original 2000 Dow labels said “Bottled by Silva & Cosens” which was traditional for Dow’s up until about 2003. I don’t own any but you can see the wording on the 1994. As I understand it, Dow was merged into Silva & Cosens in 1877. Initially they made Port under both S&C and the Dow name but later under the Dow name alone. Various members of the Symington family acquired shares in S&C from the early 20th Century and by 1961 they were the sole shareholders. However, S&C was still a separate company and it was only in the 21st Century that I think they started to merge it into the rest of the group. Have a look at the accounts for the Y/E 2018 here if you are interested in the more recent history.
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MigSU
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by MigSU »

Both my 2000 and 2003 say S&C.


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Glenn E.
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Re: Symington 1994 Library Release

Post by Glenn E. »

Ah, I see what you're saying. Dow was owned by SFE from 1961, but was probably what I think is called a wholly owned subsidiary (or something like that).

That said, I have 2 bottles of 1994 similar to the one in MigSU's picture, and 2 bottles like this:
2021-11-12 14.08.33.jpg
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