As Roy Hersh dutifully worked his way through dozens of cask samples of 2003 Ports on the way to his fantastic vintage report on www.ForTheLoveOfPort.com, he kept inviting me to come taste some. Alas, the timing never worked, and I kept standing him up, even one evening where he had glasses and pours ready for me, ack what a jerk I am!!!
At last, the timing was right, and I was able to join him for my first-ever taste of Port cask samples. (Little did I know that just over 24 hours later my wife would be in labor, so the timing really JUST was right!)
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When I walked in, I was greeted by six bottles draped in lovely numbered bags of deep-blue felt. No paper bags for these beauties!
All in all, it was an honor and a pleasure to taste these wines so young. Color on all of them was inpenetrably black. I was expecting them to be very spirity and insanely tannic and primary, so I was surprised at how much one could actually glean from them. This certainly was an impressive lineup.
- 2003 Cockburn Porto Quinta dos Canais - Portugal, Douro, Porto
The nose is very spirity with some distinct orange peel. The palate succeeds in being very fresh with a surprising amount of citrus, juicy to the point of mouthwatering, some nice raspberry. The tannins here are fairly round and perhaps a bit shy. While I like the overall freshness of the wine, the acid seems to stand out in a very distinct way. (91 pts.) - 2003 Cockburn Porto - Portugal, Douro, Porto
The nose is even more spirity than the first wine, somewhat off-putting, a hint of volatility and then a pleasing note of tar. My initial impression was one of a glyceral wine, thick in the mouth with a lot of weight and pretty good structure. However, the more I sat with it the wine seemed very hot, hot on the finish, hot in the middle, just hot, hot, hot. Perhaps it is youthfulyl disjointed, but it bugged me a bit despite the overall quality of the wine. (88 pts.) - 2003 Quinta do Noval Porto - Portugal, Douro, Porto
Well here we go, the high point of the tasting, wow!!! Frankly I was being conservative with my points, but what a serious wine! The nose shows alluring notes of spicecake, some stalky/vegetal elements (in a good way), ayee, this is a freaking chameleon with a new smell every time I visit it. Eventually some awesome, Rhone-like notes of tar and roasted meat come forth, so intriguing on the nose. The palate shows huge glycerin and richness with some of the sneakiest and most impressive tannins I have ever felt. Wow, about a minute after a sip this would just grab hold of your teeth yet with a silkiness that was not overly drying yet rather fine and silky. Damn, this is utterly seamless with almost Cab-like notes of cassis in the middle. This succeeds at being both blockbuster big AND impeccably balanced and finessed, stunning! (NOTE: Subsquently I leaped at the first offer (from Garagiste) that crossed my inbox, a wine for the ages!) (96 pts.) - 2003 Quinta do Noval Porto Nacional - Portugal, Douro, Porto
Wow, this is a different nose with lovely violets and coffee. Wow, this is one big, jammy monster, loaded with blackberry, monstrous amounts of rich, primary, almost monolithic (to my inexperienced palate) fruit. Wow, what an utter monster, the most extracted and packed wine of the tasting with walls of fruit. Some notes of coffee continue on the finish, and then the huge, muscular tannins seize you. This is balanced and lovely but without the overall roundess of the regular Quinta do Noval (or the Niepoort Secundum about to be tasted after it). Pretty freakign awesome wine and a neat way to experience my first-ever Nacional. (95 pts.) - 2003 Niepoort Porto Secundum - Portugal, Douro, Porto
Well this is a plush little baby of a wine, very nice. Of all the wines, the spirit seemed uniquely integrated from the get-go, although with air it did peek out. Wow, this shows unreal balance, dancing acidity, round, surprisingly ready to enjoy, maybe a faint hint of coarse tannin on the finish. Overall, this was the most drinkable of the wines today, and the level of smoothness, balance and overall readiness is amazing. However, once the bag came off it seemed a little more obvious, as this label is indeed bred for more approachability. Very nice! (94 pts.) - 2003 Niepoort Porto - Portugal, Douro, Porto
Charcoal and pepper come out on the nose. OMG, the palate is punishing, massive structure, reach for some bread and some water, try again, egads, ouch, this is just so freaking tannic I am blown away. On my third try I started to see the beauty of this young gorilla, but man oh man did my mouth feel worked over. Clearly this was the most overtly structured wine of the tasting. Roy says it has the goods for the long haul, but certainly I can't make that call. An impressive wine but one for your grandchildren. (93 pts.)
- 1978 Hanzell Pinot Noir - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain
Double blind. Very light, the color of dark iced tea. The nose is lovely, peat and charcoal, hmm maybe an older Hermitage? On the palate this is silky smooth, very mature, yet hanging together with fresh acidity and a bit of a citric quality. It really still seemed Rhone-ish to me, but the weight wasn't right. Then Roy dropped me a BIG hint when he suggested "one varietal" in dropping a comment. Hold everything, it's not a blend? Well it CAN'T be Syrah or Grenache. At last it comes to me, it must be an older Burgundy. I don't have much experience here, but the acidity is right, the palate is right, and the peaty characteristic is something I have seen and loved in older Burgs. Then Roy pulled off the bag to show me an older Pinot Noir ... from California! Wow, this was impeccable, a lovely wine that I would have loved to spend more time with before needing to dash out the door. Thanks for sharing such a pristine example Roy, very eye opening! (90 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
