fortheloveofport.com

[Frederick Blais]

For this January, lets try some LBV with age. Anything from 2000 and older is allowed. Happy new year

[Eric Menchen]

2000 Quinta do Portal LBV here.
1996 Kopke LBV here.
What are the rest of you slackers drinking?

[Frederick Blais]

I'll have a 2000 warre's later this week. :)

Thanks for the whip cracking :)

[Roy Hersh]

I've had a 2003 Quevedo LBV and a 1983 Cockburn's VP which I am finishing tonight. I am not sure if I have any older Colheita here. My only real "oldies" are 1994 Noval LBV, now just 9 left ... but in my "other" cellar, w/ no chance for accessing them. So I'll have to look around the cellar. In fact, I'll walk over there now.

Wow, um, er... well, I must admit .. not only don't I have any old LBVs in my cellar (I thought I saw a label with Late Bottled on it ... but it was a '97 Infantado "Estate Bottled)... but I must admit, I do not have a single bottle of LBV in my cellar here today.

To the pillory!

[Glenn E.]

I have a bottle in mind - it's one I've had before - but I need to get down to Esquin in order to buy it. I'll probably check Fine Wines & Cigars first because it's closer, but I don't remember them carrying older LBVs in the past so I'd be surprised to find one there now. Might as well drop by Pete's, too, since after stopping at FW&C it is basically on the way.

[Eric Menchen]

Adding to the two above:
2000 Kopke LBV

[Frederick Blais]

I did open 2 bottles of Warre's 2000 this month. No formal notes but I really enjoyed both. The 2nd bottle I had definitively had more depth and complexity showing typical Warre's plum jam and hot peppery finish. I recommend this !

[Roy Hersh]

OK, I bought a bottle (on line) of 1994 Churchill's LBV. It was good, but mature and probably would have been better off being consumed about 5 years ago. My formal note will be in the newsletter at the end of this week. I enjoyed it even though it was a bit pruney and raisined. But the overall pleasure would have escaped all but real Port lovers as it was not the fruit forward type of Port but much more syrupy. In comparison to the 2003 Taylor LBV I had the other day, this was like something very much older. Fun to see the difference, although at the same age the 2003 Taylor will be a far superior bottle.

[Andy Velebil]

OK, I bought a bottle (on line) of 1994 Churchill's LBV. It was good, but mature and probably would have been better off being consumed about 5 years ago. My formal note will be in the newsletter at the end of this week. I enjoyed it even though it was a bit pruney and raisined. But the overall pleasure would have escaped all but real Port lovers as it was not the fruit forward type of Port but much more syrupy. In comparison to the 2003 Taylor LBV I had the other day, this was like something very much older. Fun to see the difference, although at the same age the 2003 Taylor will be a far superior bottle.

Was the Churchill's LBV unfiltered or filtered?

[Andy Velebil]

Bottled in 1988 according to the cork. This was an ex-cellars release and had the new style Smith Woodhouse label on it. The cork, as the picture shows, is in great shape with only some slight staining on the very bottom edge. A perfect fill level and just goes to show that provenance is everything.

The color has no doubt faded a bit since it was bottled as it's now a light ruby. Although the light and simple bright red fruit and cinnamon on this is showing it's age there is a lovely amount of acidity keeping this fresh on the tongue. There are some tannins just barely noticeable and there is no doubt this old LBV is showing its age. The acidity on the finish again keeps this fresh and helps temper a bit of heat. I would guess this was probably at its best 5-8 years ago, but still offers an enjoyable drink today.
01/25/10
85 points

[Glenn E.]

Just getting in under the wire... I have had other bottles open for various reasons all month and didn't want to open a new one until those were finished. Wouldn't want anything to go bad!

1995 Smith Woodhouse LBV

I've had this before and really liked it. This bottle was even cheaper than the first and was quite the bargain at $24.

[Markus D.]

A few days late to post, but I did taste in Jan It took me half the month to realize 2000 vintages now count as 10 years old!

2000 Dow LBV

Blackberry, spices and floral aromas on the nose. Lots of red fruits and hints of dark chocolate. A bit of a bite at first with a smooth finish. Quite enjoyable. Tried it over a few more days. 90 pts.

[Andy Velebil]

A few days late to post, but I did taste in Jan

Sure

Just kidding of course. Any tasting note is welcomed even if it's a few days late.