1982 Ferreira Vintage Port

[Philip Harvey]

Not a name, or vintage for that matter, that we see that much of in the UK so I bought a bottle over the internet out of interest.

On decanting - An absolutely pristine label, seal and a cork that looks like it could have been put in yesterday....hmmmm. When pulled however, the cork is slightly crumbly and obviously genuine and a wonderful rich smell of cherries and kir fills the kitchen - always a good sign.

10hrs later Oooohhh, I like this. Deep dark opaque ruby purple and a sweet spirity nose, reminiscent of red wine gums. To taste, smooth as my three month old's bottom with delicious sweet black fruits, toast and a hint of mocha coffee with plenty of grip and stuffing. And for my palate at least, a lovely balance between sweetness, well integrated spirit and a flush of ripe tannins on the finish which suggest that this wine is not about to keel over just yet. Delicious.

I have to say, this is a very pleasant surprise. At £27 not a snip, but well worth the money nonetheless. I for one would be the first to admit that I can be seduced by the allure of the big names in the top years but this is a prime example of the adage that there's no such thing as bad vintage port.

It'll be tough to let the other half of the bottle sit out the next 24hrs in the fridge. If I wasn't getting up to feed the baby in a couple of hours.....

[Roy Hersh]

Philip,

Thanks for the TN. I had to look all the way back to my hand scribed TNs from 1994-2000 that I have never put in the db yet, but someday. I looked at some crazy verticals of Ferreria with 1854 and 1863 and 1830 in there. It seems that I have participated in three verticals of Ferreira over those 7 years as one of my close friends is the US importer. Lots of mediocre wines from them in my TNs from those verticals, but the 1982 (with the exception of one remarkably spirity bottle) showed nicely in the 86-89 point range. The most recent note of this particular wine though was in 2000. Maybe it is time to revisit it.

I enjoyed your impressions and hope that you will enjoy the balance of the bottle!

[Al B.]

Philip,

Thanks for posting this note. I've seen a few '82s come on to the market recently and they are generally quite cheap. Given your experience, I might try a couple and see how they are drinking.

Alex