1963 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port
One of the better showings of this Port. Some show past maturity and some right at the cusp. This was the later, and while a little heat, this was in a very good spot and I enjoyed this quite a bit more than usual. My Favorite of the evening.
1970 Warre's Vintage Port
Another very good showing. I've read some accounts this is past its best, but this bottle was showing brilliantly. Although it wasn't as complex as the Noval, it had a silkiness and delicateness that set it apart. My second favorite of the evening.
1977 Fonseca Vintage Port
Showing more mature than some bottles and some heat, this wasn't at it's normal best. As this tends to have some bottle variation, I'll chock this up to that. Otherwise, on it's own it wasn't bad, but a bit simple and a touch hot compared to spot-on bottles.
1977 Gould Campbell Vintage Port
This had a strange nose on decanting at the start of the evening. While no one detected any corked issues at the time, by the end of the event it was determined to be corked. By the next day it was very apparent this was corked.
1983 Fonseca Vintage Port
A bit light in color, but with very little spirit showing. Fully mature fruit and a little short on the finish. This was by far the best bottle of this I've had and except for being a little short on the finish, an enjoyable bottle. I'd recommend drinking these in the near future as I don't see it getting any better.
1987 Offley Boa Vista Vintage Port
While not the most complex VP there is, this was still opaque in color and full of primary fruit. I can't recall ever having this before and I enjoyed this easy drinking, yet youthful VP. I don't see this getting much better in time, but with all that youthfulness still present this should hold for a good number of years to come.
1992 Quinta do Crasto LBV (Unfiltered)
You would never know this was an almost 20 year old LBV by the color or nose. Still very dark and youthful on both the nose and palate. What set this apart from the VP's we had was the lack of complexity that VP's posses. Otherwise this was another very enjoyable Port and one that still hasn't reached maturity yet.
1997 Niepoort Vintage Port
I know this has a history of VA, luckily this bottle showed flawlessly. Still so primary in fruit with lots of tannins and bright acidity. Full body and a long young rich fruit finish. I've not had this in a long time and based on this bottle, this has a great long life ahead of it. A real treat for sure and my 3rd favorite of the evening.
1989 Kopke Colheita Port
Bottled in 2008. Lots of body, spices, acidity, dried fruit, and marzapan with a long full finish. This was a very good bottle and I look forward to trying this again from more recent bottles as this has the stuffing to make a fantastic old Colheita if it stays on its current track. My favorite Tawny of the evening.
1994 Kopke Colheita Port
Bottled in 2009 IIRC. Very young and still showing some primary fruit, but tight and restrained. It took about three hours for this to finally get its legs and when it did it was like a young race horse. I'd recommend decanting this one at least 3-4 hours and it's another one that shows good promise for future releases.
2000 Krohn's Colheita Port
Bottled 2011. Still youthful but without the overt young fruit that some Ports in a similar class (10 year Tawny's) show. Otherwise a bit simple given the company it had to compete with, but on it's own a easy drinking and enjoyable Port.
I"ll get back to the rest shortly...
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