1977 Gould Campbell Vintage Port

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Derek T.
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1977 Gould Campbell Vintage Port

Post by Derek T. »

I have started a new thread for this TN as it is a different bottling from that posted recently by Philip.

1st bottle from a case of 12 purchased through http://www.uvine.com. The labels indicate Oporto bottling by Smith Woodhouse on behalf of The Wine Society. All bottles in very good condition.

I decanted the bottle and then immediately poured 375ml into a half bottle and placed it in the fridge.

On Decanting
Very dark bright red colour with a pink rim fading to clear at the edge. Slightly spiritous nose with lots of cherry fruit evident below the initial heat. Hot entry which faded very quickly to reveal very tannic dry fruits.

7 Hours
Colour seems even darker than before. Heat has now gone from the nose now but it now has a smell like an old peaty malt whisky - 10 yr old Lagavulin to be precise :shock: - Black cherry taste becomming very very dry on the cheeks and palate. Hard to believe this is 29 years old.

30 Hours
Two samples to taste at this point. The first was the last glass that had been in the decanter at room temperature for 30 hours. The second was from the half bottle that spent 24 hours in the fridge and then 6 hours in a decanter. Both samples were tasted at the same temperature.

1st sample - wet cardboard smell. Taste is now light and weak with a bitter finish. Not good :?

2nd sample - nice fruity smell with no spirit. Thick velvety mouth feel with big blackcurrant fruit and long slightly dry and tannic finish leaving the cheeks watering. Best yet, so I finished it there and then 8)

From my experiment at 30 hours I reckon that at 7 hours this wasn't quite ready. Perhaps at 10 to 12 hours from initial decanting the wine would show as it did for the 30 hour sample that had been in the fridge.

It would be interesting to see what this wine would do after 48 or 72 hours but from what happened at 30 hours in the decanter I'm not convinced it would recover. As I have another 11 bottles I suppose I could try it one day providing I can stop myself necking it down as soon as it peaks :P

Derek
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Al B.
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Post by Al B. »

I bought some bottles of this wine off Derek a few weeks back, so I assume this is the same bottling as the one that generated Derek's note.

'Opened Thursday morning and put into a half-bottle with minimal air gap and then stored in the fridge. Tasting note taken Sunday evening.

Strong deep red colour. None of the purple of youth but no signs of old age. Lovely open nose, reaching out even from arms length! Fresh and lively and smelling of blueberries and violets with only the slightest hint of spirit.

Dry, slightly bitter into the mouth - even harsh. Quickly resolves into a fruity mid-palate with a slightly off-putting harshness from the bitterness giving an odd grapefruit tone. Aftertaste is hugely long and very impressive. Bitterness quickly fades into a long and chocolately length that goes on for a full minute.

Overall, I would say this was on a par with the Cavadinha '88 recently tasted, disappointing for its reputation.' I scored this as 89/100 or 4-4 on the Tom scale.

Alex
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David Spriggs
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Post by David Spriggs »

Wow! These bottles are different from the one's I've tasted recently. Mine had a gorgeous nose. Very dark (as you noted). Tannic at first, but the palate was *huge* with a ton of fruit and structure. Obviously needs more time in the cellar, but lots of potential. It was a hit with everyone that tasted it. I saw none of the bitter grapefruit, peaty, or wet cardboard mentioned in the notes above. Also, very little change over the course of a week being opened. Maybe some slight softening of the tannins, but still a huge wine. ( 93+ points for me)

I'm wondering if Derek's first note isn't a corked bottle? Peaty and wet cardboard just doesn't seem right for a clean bottle.

-Dave-
Last edited by David Spriggs on Tue Sep 19, 2006 9:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
Frederick Blais
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Post by Frederick Blais »

I thend to agree with Dave, wet cardboard doesn't lie, especially when you can cleanly recognize it trough the intensity of VP.
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Derek T.
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Post by Derek T. »

Would you not expect to be able to detect the wet cardboard smell on decanting if the wine was corked - from my note it didn't appear until 30 hours after decanting and wasn't present in the sample that had been in the fridge. Is this corked or is it just a wine that doesn't hold itself together very well once opened?

Derek
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Andy Velebil
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Post by Andy Velebil »

It could still be corked, just not in large amounts. With air it could get "corkier", for lack of a better term. I've had a bottle of non-fortified wine that was like this, As I am not super sensitive to low amounts of TCA I didn't notice it at first. However, longer it was open the more it got worse.
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Frederick Blais
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Post by Frederick Blais »

It happened to me a few times that uppon decanting the corked flavours was not showing but once I'm my glass, it was not lying. The problem with Port is that the fruit and the concentration of flavours are often enough to give people some pleasure even if it is corked.
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David Spriggs
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Post by David Spriggs »

Andy V. wrote:It could still be corked, just not in large amounts. With air it could get "corkier", for lack of a better term. I've had a bottle of non-fortified wine that was like this, As I am not super sensitive to low amounts of TCA I didn't notice it at first. However, longer it was open the more it got worse.
Agreed. A slightly corked bottle will only get worse with more air time.

By the way, the wooden case that my 1977 Gould-Campbell's came in was corked! :shock: I refused to even bring the case into the cellar and transferred the bottles into the cellar and then threw that case away! Wow, was it strong smelling!

-Dave-
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Al B.
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Post by Al B. »

I opened another bottle of my GC 1977 - Smith Woodhouse bottling for the Wine Society in the UK.

This bottle was clearly corked. So far I am 0/2 on this wine, but I took a tasting note anyway after 5 hours decanter time.

Deep red, slightly brown tone, the colour of Victoria plums. Nose is musty, mushroomy. Clearly tainted. Alcohol comes through on the nose with plums and prunes. Stuffy, not fresh.

Dry entry, some sweet fruit on the mid-palate but dominated by taint. Work brings out walnuts and raisins and a surprising amount of tannin. Good length of bitter chocolate and Christmas cake - a real shame to have had the wine spoiled. 100 point score - 82/100. On the Tom scale, this is certainly one of the 5% worst wines I expect to taste this year and is not going to get any better so 0/0.

I would also caution anyone who has the opportunity to buy Smith Woodhouse Oporto bottlings of this wine that were shipped to the UK for the Wine Society. Given my experience and Derek's, we are currently 0/3 - don't take the risk!
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David Spriggs
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Post by David Spriggs »

Thanks for the warning. I'll take a look at my bottles when I get a chance. I purchased these in bond inthe UK and imported them to the US. So far all of mine have been great!

-Dave-
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Al B.
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Post by Al B. »

Gould Campbell 1977 1 hour of decanter time.
At last, I finally understand what all the fuss is about this wine. I've just opened my first, untainted bottle of this VP. As everyone before me has already said, it is superb.

UK Wine Society bottling (from the same case as my previous two TCA tainted bottles). Very deep red in colour with very little sign of evolution in the tone. Nose of a young wine, full of ripe fruit, of brambles and blackberries. Dry entry, fruit and cedar wood to the fore. Acidic structure and tannins still evident. Lots of midpalate development of layer after layer of sweet, ripe fruit with hints of leather. The aftertaste is stunning in its complexity, ripe blackberries running through to a deep, rich, fruit laden bitter chocolate. Quite magnificent - I wonder what the QdN 1931 was like in 1961? One of the best wines that I have had this year. 10-10. 97/100

3rd time lucky, and when I compare the total cost to me of the three bottles I had to open before finding a good one versus the current retail price for, say, a Taylor '77, this was still good value. Thanks Derek!

Alex
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Derek T.
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Post by Derek T. »

Great to hear this Alex - perhaps I will pull the other 6 out of storage and give them a try 8)

Derek
Philip Harvey
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Post by Philip Harvey »

Alex
Welcome to the GC77 supporters club! Maybe the Wine Society had a duff batch. I am currently working my way through a case of a Justerini's own label bottling and each one has been superb. I'm down to my last 5 bottles and am starting to get worried - prices are creeeeeeping up.

Anyway, it's time to come out, so here goes.....



This is my favorite vintage port for current drinking....by miles.



There, I've said it, and I feel so much better already. Phew.
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Al B.
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Post by Al B. »

Philip

I've just read Jancis Robinson's article on VP - she tips the GC '77 as "the insiders secret" !!!

Buy up what you can, while you can. Now she's tipped it there won't be any left for us!

Alex
Philip Harvey
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Post by Philip Harvey »

Alex

Sadly, I think you're right. Fortunately, she failed to mention the other insider's secret which happened to the same house six years later. And that I do have plenty of.
dave leach
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Post by dave leach »

hi guys,
i must say i've been a lurker, but finally ready to get out of the closet. i recently had a 77 gc christmas night, with 4-5 port drinkers, and we prefrrred it to the 77 grahams and the 77 warres we enjoyed that night also. all were decanted about 8-9 hours, served with pears, nuts and some wonderful stilton. some brief notes and observations:
77 warres--was more mellow, tawney like with caramel, toffee and toasted nuts flavors, some fruit, but very sudued. i've had 4-5 bottles of this in the past year, all of which were much fruitier, jammy, and typical of this producer.
77 gould campbell--my favorite of the three. some slight spirit, even after 9 hours decanted, but posessed the most fruit, very blackberry, spicy and forward, and with tannins that were obvious to the palate. a richer, full-bodied port which inspired me to buy another case the next day.
77 grahams--a lovely port, but curiously mellow, smooth, very velvety. lacked the finish of tannins and fruit i normally get from grahams, almost like it had been decanted too long?(but the same as the others-9 hours). still, it was a fine finish to the evening, but i felt it lacked a certain something that most 77s posess right now.
happy new year!
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