Multi: Berry Brothers Symington Family Tasting

[Al B.]

Berry Brothers hold tastings in their London cellars from time to time and in early November they organised a tutored tasting of 10 wines from the Symington family portfolio. Leading the tasting were family members Paul Symington and Ben Campbell-Johnson with Simon Staples from Berry's.

My impression of the wines is set out below:

Senhora da Ribeira 1998 1 hour decanter time.
Situated on the bank of the Douro opposite Vesuvio, contributing wines to the Dow blend since the 1890's. Plum red colour, red tears sticking to the sides of the glass. Strong nose lifting beautifully out of the glass - blackcurrants, vanilla and a touch of mint. Dry entry, a leathery edge and then a blackberry fruit wave around a slightly harsh acidic structure. Tannins come through on the midpalate eventually but the acidity dominates the structure of the wine. The immediate aftertaste burns and slowly fades to be replaced by a blackberry / chocolate sensation that lasts a good and surprising time. Not a wine to my taste; it might integrate better given more time but I worry about that acidity. On the Tom scale, this is certainly bottom quartile and probably in the bottom 5% of wines to my taste and I don't know if it will improve. Perhaps it will so I'll give it 0/1. 84/100

Quarles Harris 1997 1 hour decanter time.
Deep red, opaque centre with colour into the rim and a surprising orange tinge at the very edge. More intensely coloured that the '98 Senhora da Ribeira tasted along side. Intensely fruity nose of pure blackcurrants. Soft and silky into the mouth, a touch hollow immediately but then wonderful midpalate development. Acidic structure with terrific fruit around it. Enormous aftertaste of sweet, sticky chocolate. Tannins help the acidic structure, but are not aggressive and fade away quickly. 89/100

Gould Campbell 1997 1 hour decanter time.
Deeper red than the Quarles Harris '97 that preceeded this wine in the tasting. Soft and restrained nose, less assertive than the QH, of blackberries and blackberry juice. Sweet entry with an immediate presence of ripe blackberries. Tannins grab the mouth and cheeks but there is a lovely midpalate complexity from the different layers of fruit. Aftertaste is faint at first but suddenly comes distinctly back into focus. 90/100

Vesuvio 1996 1½ hours decanter time.
Very dark, brooding red. Still purple in the rim. Huge extraction compared to the '97 QH and '97 GC tasted alongside this wine. Nose is spirity but carries a subdued cassis/blackcurrant element and an unusual soapy tone that I've not noticed in this wine before. Apart from the alcohol, the nose is quite closed. Light and silky mouthfeel and then the acidity attacks the tongue and makes the saliva glands kick into overdrive. The tannins are soft and hidden by the ever growing layers of fruit, of cherries and chocolates. The wine really thickens as you hold it in your mouth until you finally have to swallow. The aftertaste never develops into anything huge, but is mild, pleasant and lasts a while. I wonder if this wine is about to go into a dumb phase after having been a fruit bomb for 8 years? 88/100

Smith Woodhouse 1994 1½ hours decanter time.
Deep red, full of extract although slightly lighter in colour than the Vesuvio '96 shown at the same tasting. Lovely nose of primary fruit, of blackcurrants. Sweet entry, but then very tannic - a surge that puckers out the cheeks. The tannins give way to a beautiful and elegant, light bodied wine that is just full of cherry juice and kir. Long, long aftertaste that is just enourmous and complex, full of fruit and chocolate mousse. A much better showing than the bottle I had in April this year. 94/100

Warre 1985 1½ hours decanter time.
Surprisingly developed colour, looking far more mature than the Dow '83, the colour of the Warre '85 was closer to the Dow '63 than any of the other wines on show that evening. Clear, pale and transparent with a distinctly brown rim. Light nose, mostly of spirit and menthol. Sweet entry, leathery and tannic impact which changes to a lovely mid-palate of strawberry jam and vanilla fudge. Tannins are there from the first sip, but don't ever dominate. There is a long aftertaste of caramel and raisins. A lovely wine that is drinking well now but I was surprised by how forward the wine was. A wine probably at its peak and one which will likely stay there for a long time. 90/100

Dow 1983 1½ hours decanter time.
Deeper in colour than the Warre '85 shown alongside. Either less development in the bottle or more extraction to start with. Red centre in the glass, almost transparent, with a pale rose coloured rim. The nose is delicate and floral, with violets and menthol overlaying a touch of raspberry juice. The first impression in the mouth is of a sweet wine with the lovely thick texture of redcurrant syrup. Tannins are distinct, not gripping but slightly bitter. The midpalate develops a thicker texture and a more crème caramel complexity around the fruit core. Lovely midpalate. The aftertaste has a dry start and is tannic and sweet. It has a reasonable fruit-dominated length, but does not last very long - although the stickiness does! 91/100

Grahams 1977 2 hours decanter time.
Clear and sparkling appearance. Pale rose rim. Nose of ethereal menthol, slightly too alcoholic for comfort. Sweet into the mouth, tasting of raspberries and redcurrants. Develops brown sugary overtones around the acidity at the centre of the wine. Midpalate complexity is lovely, with warm brioche and soufflé flavours and some surprisingly strong tannins. Long length of sweet cherry juice that slowly morphs into a warm and toasty coffee flavour. The length doesn't stop, but just keeps on going for ages. This is a really serious wine that has at least a further 5-10 years of development ahead of it. 95/100

Dow 1970 2 hours decanter time.
Deep colour, deep centre which holds into the rim. Nose is a bit closed, but reminds me of the smell you get when you open a tin of fruit cocktail canned in light syrup. The wine tastes sweet and fills the mouth with its flavours. Lovely brown sugar flavours but still a strong, tanninc core. Fruit is ever present as a mature redcurrant and cranberry mixture. The aftertaste is warm and glowing. The alcohol kicks it off but doesn't burn. The initial flavours of brown sugar and treacle morph into a bitter coffee and then keeps going for ages. A much more impressive showing that the bottle drunk at dinner after Vesuvio, this was a bottle which is possibly still not at its peak. 93/100

Dow 1963 2½ hours decanter time.
From the cellars of the Symington family. A deep colour, although a distinctly brown shade of red, a pale rose rim that is almost clear. Treacle on an alcoholic menthol nose, some almost vegetal - courgette - tones. Sweet and soft, a sip of the wine makes you want to roll it around the inside of your mouth and coat the flavours over all your taste buds. Raisins stewed in light syrup with spices and cinnamon in the midpalate, probably coming from the tannins that are still there, although faint. The aftertaste of golden syrup is very pleasant and lasts a long time. 95/100

[Roy Hersh]

Alex,

Excellent report and I have had quite a few of these in the past year, so I will leave my comments solely to those bottlings. But first I must ask you a question, as I know and trust your palate's consistency: Do you feel that these Ports, which were decanted for under two hours, were in any way lacking due to the fact they had not started to blossom from their shell without having enough O2?

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Vesuvio 1996 1½ hours decanter time.
The aftertaste never develops into anything huge, but is mild, pleasant and lasts a while. I wonder if this wine is about to go into a dumb phase after having been a fruit bomb for 8 years? 88/100

I have typically liked this wine a lot more and wonder if your impressions were anywhere near the same as this tasting, when you tried this specific Port, 5 weeks ago?

Warre 1985 1½ hours decanter time.
Surprisingly developed colour, looking far more mature than the Dow '83, the colour of the Warre '85 was closer to the Dow '63 than any of the other wines on show that evening. A wine probably at its peak and one which will likely stay there for a long time. 90/100

Coincidentally, I tasted this VP within the past month and my TN is in this month's newsletter. We have dissimilar impressions of the color and development etc. I am also pretty sure it is not yet near its peak and would like another peak myself, as other FTLOP'ers have also mentioned that this normally has been showing brighter and younger. :type:

Dow 1983 1½ hours decanter time.
Deeper in colour than the Warre '85 shown alongside. Either less development in the bottle or more extraction to start with.

This is probably the one TN where I immediately took note of the time in decanter. If you own a bottle, try one of your own and see if this is true to form or if extended decanting would make a significant difference. Personally, I think it would.

Grahams 1977 2 hours decanter time.
Clear and sparkling appearance. Pale rose rim. Nose of ethereal menthol, slightly too alcoholic for comfort.

Although my feelings about this particular bottling have been well documented, the last bottle I took part in, provided much better flavors than normal. I still found a huge amount of spirit on the nose, but on the palate it was not as over the top. Maybe this is truly the ugly duckling that becomes the graceful swan 30+ years out. I know that I felt that way about the 1977 Taylor when it was entering its teenage phase.

Dow 1970 2 hours decanter time.
Deep colour, deep centre which holds into the rim. A much more impressive showing that the bottle drunk at dinner after Vesuvio, this was a bottle which is possibly still not at its peak. 93/100

Stewart, if you are reading this, please remind me to open a bottle of this for you to try. I have not opened one of my own in a year or two? But from memory, this was no where near ready when I last tasted it (not including in the Douro Superior from Mag).

Dow 1963 2½ hours decanter time. From the cellars of the Symington family. A deep colour, although a distinctly brown shade of red, a pale rose rim that is almost clear. The aftertaste of golden syrup is very pleasant and lasts a long time. 95/100

Your note nailed this one and I have always loved this particular bottling!

Alex, thanks again for your well crafted tasting notes and I truly appreciate your efforts in writing up this account.

[Andy Velebil]

Alex,

I'll chime in here about the 1996 Vesuvio You're notes on this are very similar to mine from 5 weeks ago. IIRC, this was decanted about 1 to 1 1/2 hours by the time I tried it.

Q.d.Vesuvio 1996: Dark, with very very slight fading just becoming noticable on the rim. Very smooth and silky on the palate ,lots of cedar and cigarbox, but lacking in tannins. Very nice vibrant floralness, but lacking a bit on the fininsh. A good now drinker. 90-91 points

Not sure if a dumb phase or just a good mid-term drinker.

As for the Smith Woodhouse 1994, I agree that it is a light bodied wine. This had about 5 hours of decanting before drinking and I think it would have showed better with more time. It seemed the fruit was having a hard time showing through a slightly spirity/menthol that was present. The only thing that worried me was a slight advanced fading on the rim that was present.

The Dow's 1970 Mag was a good bottle but I was left wondering what it would have been like after 12+ hours of decanting, as the few it got was obviously not enough. I agree the color was deep, but there was still some unresolved heat on the nose and finish. I also wondered if it suffered from a very slight case of "Douro bake."

just my and thanks for a great set of notes.

[Roy Hersh]

"Douro bake" was a condition to describe Ports that were stored up in the Douro vs. in the lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia, following the legislation change (1986) that permitted storage, sales and marketing of Port from Quintas up in the Douro. Dow stored all of their VPs in Gaia, so there would be no chance of Douro bake affecting the bottle in question. Douro bake was due to the lack of cooling and/or air conditioning in the storage (adegas) facilities in the Douro, shortly after the rule change. This was quickly addressed by the majority of producers in the area, as we saw in person at the properties we visited. Fortunately, there were not many true declarations between 1986 and 1991, by which time the "condition" had mostly been addressed.

[Jay Powers]

Alex

Great notes, thanks for posting them. You seem to be getting some nice tasting in!

I was glad to see someone likes the Grahams 77, which makes me feel somewhat better about the case in my basement! I find my opinion of the Warre 1985 very similar to yours.....more mature than one would guess at this age, and drinking well. Yummy! I also found the 85 Dow to be more advanced than one might have guessed it would be, when tasted side by side with the Warres. In the end I preferred the Warres.

I agree that the 1970 Dow we had in the Douro was not as good as it might have been, with the spirit taking some of the enjoyment from it. As I recall you thought so as well? Ex cellars which might account for a "younger" port, but then so was the bottle at this tasting I presume? Even so, the bottle in the Douro was actually decanted longer if I recall.

Like Roy, I wonder if you liked the 96 Vesuvio better at the Quinta? I thought it was pretty good there, 90 pts or maybe better?

Jay

[Al B.]

Guys, thanks for the comments and thoughts on the notes I posted. I'll try to respond to them when I've got a bit of time - especially the questions on the Vesuvio '96 as this is a wine I have tried several times in the last 2-3 years and my notes appear to have show a very interesting evolution, hence my comment/question about the wine maybe entering a dumb phase.

Alex

[Al B.]

Do you feel that these Ports, which were decanted for under two hours, were in any way lacking due to the fact they had not started to blossom from their shell without having enough O2?

I personally would have given these wines much more time in the glass than we had the chance to do on this occasion. However, having tasted on the trip round the Douro "straight from the bottle" I was reasonably happy that the wines were given a chance to at least indicate what they might achieve with 5-6 hours of air contact time.

Quote:
Vesuvio 1996 1½ hours decanter time.
The aftertaste never develops into anything huge, but is mild, pleasant and lasts a while. I wonder if this wine is about to go into a dumb phase after having been a fruit bomb for 8 years? 88/100


I have typically liked this wine a lot more and wonder if your impressions were anywhere near the same as this tasting, when you tried this specific Port, 5 weeks ago?

I do recall that when we tried this together in early October that you and I differed quite markedly over this wine (and the '95, I believe) and my impression of the wine at this tasting was consistent with my impression in October. However, having also tried this wine in October last year and in February this year, I have noted a consistent reduction in the number of points that I have given this wine for its current drinking. On the 100 point scale these have gone 92, 92, 89 and 88. Since this is the first time that I have actually been able to track a wine over an extended time like this, I believe that I might be watching for the first time, a wine shut-down.

Quote:
Warre 1985 1½ hours decanter time.
Surprisingly developed colour, looking far more mature than the Dow '83, the colour of the Warre '85 was closer to the Dow '63 than any of the other wines on show that evening. A wine probably at its peak and one which will likely stay there for a long time. 90/100


Coincidentally, I tasted this VP within the past month and my TN is in this month's newsletter. We have dissimilar impressions of the color and development etc. I am also pretty sure it is not yet near its peak and would like another peak myself, as other FTLOP'ers have also mentioned that this normally has been showing brighter and younger.

This bottle of Warre '85 was shockingly developed in its colour. It was shown alongside the Dow '83 and the Dow'63. The Dow '83 was as I would expect but the Warre '83 was closest in colour to the '63 than to any of the other wines that night. However, this bottle was delicious but mature.

Quote:
Grahams 1977 2 hours decanter time.
Clear and sparkling appearance. Pale rose rim. Nose of ethereal menthol, slightly too alcoholic for comfort.


Although my feelings about this particular bottling have been well documented, the last bottle I took part in, provided much better flavors than normal. I still found a huge amount of spirit on the nose, but on the palate it was not as over the top. Maybe this is truly the ugly duckling that becomes the graceful swan 30+ years out. I know that I felt that way about the 1977 Taylor when it was entering its teenage phase.

Believe it or not, this is the first tasting note that I have made of the Grahams '77. I agree with your comment about the excessive alcohol on the nose but I thought this wine was the "real deal" and I'm glad I have a couple tucked away. This was a seriously nice wine.

I agree that the 1970 Dow we had in the Douro was not as good as it might have been, with the spirit taking some of the enjoyment from it. As I recall you thought so as well?

I did indeed. I've just read through my notes on that wine again and the heat is the main feature.

Alex