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In 2010 the annual Christmas event, The Unknown Shipper and His Peculiar Friends, happened on Thursday 16 December.

Links:

• Review of the evening as whole;
• Tasting notes:
  • 1904 Croft;
  • Unknown, perhaps 1917 Taylor;
  • 1917 Unknown, perhaps Croft or Fonseca;
  • 1927 Martinez;
  • 1942 Niepoort;
  • 1947 Smith Woodhouse;
  • 1955 Barros;
  • 1955 Taylor;
  • 1955 Tuke Holdsworth;
  • 1966 Fonseca;
  • Vargellas Crusted bottled 1969;
  • 30Y Niepoort Tawny;
• Planning and arrangements;
• Paperwork (tasting-note sheets, and several sets of stickers).

Deep red in the middle, with a pinkish edge. Tobacco and peat predominated on the nose. In the mouth, good, elegant fruit. After-taste tasted oddly of Cognac but attractive nonetheless.

J Sarson & Son bottled. Lovely mature, red colour. Gorgeous, open nose, full of ripe cranberry. Big palate presence, sweet and full of red licorice with hints of Angostura Bitters. Bitter aftertaste, but big and mouthfilling; this morphs into a long, sweet finish. This has a surprising amount of structure. 88/100.