Churchill Brand

[John M.]

I struggle with Churchill as a brand. With the exception of a 1985 VP which was very nice, most of the Churchill ports across the spectrum have been under-whelming. Last night had a 1995 Agua Alta that was oxidized...so yet again a disappointment although a flawed bottle is not quite the same thing. Still, Churchill's so far has been my albatross.

Does anyone else have a similar experience with Churchill's?

Is there a brand you struggle with and just don't seem to like?

[Bradley Bogdan]

I struggle with Ferriera VPs. I personally look for a much more masculine VP and tend to discount the lighter body and grace that they bring. That said, I really like the '85 and a few other odd examples, but as a whole, I much prefer their Tawnies, especially the 20y.

I've only had a sole Churchill (a tasty Auction Reserve Ruby) , so I can't comment much, but I have been attracted to the price before.


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[John M.]

I struggle with Ferriera VPs. I personally look for a much more masculine VP and tend to discount the lighter body and grace that they bring. That said, I really like the '85 and a few other odd examples, but as a whole, I much prefer their Tawnies, especially the 20y.

I've only had a sole Churchill (a tasty Auction Reserve Ruby) , so I can't comment much, but I have been attracted to the price before.


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Interesting---I've found their VPs and LBVs to be good on the whole. Of course Graham is my favorite so maybe I just like them more feminine.

[Glenn E.]

I also struggle with Churchill a bit. I do like the 1985, but that's really the only one. I find the rest to be a bit too dry/austere for my taste.

The brand that I really struggle with, though... and this is going to sound a bit odd... is Noval Nacional. I just don't get them. Tasted blind I consistently rate them in the mid to upper 80s with only a couple of exceptions that crept into the lower 90s. I find them dry, tart almost to the point of being sour, and pretty one-note. I'm always willing to try another one because everyone else seems to think they're the cat's meow, but I just don't see it.

[Eric Menchen]

I've yet to have an Offley VP that I thought was worthwhile.

Glenn, what years were those Nacionals? Were they otherwise known greats, or from the low period of Noval, which I would characterize as the 1970s and 1980s, possibly 1991, possibly some of the late 1960s.

[Glenn E.]

Glenn, what years were those Nacionals? Were they otherwise known greats, or from the low period of Noval, which I would characterize as the 1970s and 1980s, possibly 1991, possibly some of the late 1960s.

I've had a pretty wide range from 1963 through 2011 (I think). I can't remember off the top of my head whether or not I've had a 1994 yet, though.

The most notably disappointing ones were from the 1980s (rated in the low and mid 80s), but even years that should have been good haven't lived up to the hype for me.

[Moses Botbol]

I haven't had enough Churchill's VPs to qualify and answer, but have had plenty of Ferreira vintages and like them. Never powerful, but elegant and can age really well considering where they are starting. Even '63, '70, and '77 aren't very powerful vintages for Ferreira, but are more powerful than lesser heralded vintages. I think they do SQVP's better than anyone (compared to their regular vintage releases).

[Andy Velebil]

I'm in a similar camp. I've had good and not so good Churchill's. Without looking at my notes, they seem to have had a VA issue for a bit in the 90's. At least I recall having several that had VA or other off issues.

Eric,
Try the 2000 Offley Boa Vista, pretty darn nice and in a good spot right now.

[Roy Hersh]

Churchill took a long time to find their way with Vintage Ports. I opened a dozen of my bottles from a variety of years going well back into the early 1980s, in sponsoring a wide vertical of their VPs. Quite underwhelming was the impression I was left with. A few exceptions to the rule and the best were the most recent vintages (2000 and later) where there has been a noticeable step up in quality.

Offley is an odd house, some of their really old vintages were excellent. Then in recent years they've been much better, the 2011 being a great example of how much this shipper has improved under the guidance of Luis Sottomayor.

I am a big fan of the elegant side of Ferreira Vintage Ports and find they typically nail the vintages in which most Ports were under the radar or less exciting like 1960, 1975, 1980, 1987 etc. But since 1994, they have continued on an upswing. But I love them with age and 1960 is a phenomenal example of how well they can age and improve despite their mild mannered tannins.

[Al B.]

There are a handful of ports which I find have a very odd blue cheese note on the nose from the spirit used when first released. This takes a while to integrate properly and it's only really with the 2011 vintage that I've been able to follow the evolution of the wine and the way in which the odd smell integrates into the rest of the wine and becomes another element in the complexity of the bouquet.

I had a Churchill 1982 last night and it was very tasty, vying for wine of the night with the Smith Woodhouse 1982 (bottled 1986). I've had mixed experience with Churchill 1985, which seems to suffer from the same VA problems as, say, the Croft.

I also had a Churchill Gricha 2012 before Christmas and that was really nice. The nose still showed the ghost of the blue cheese tone but it was pretty well integrated and was just one element of what was a thoroughly enjoyable bottle of port.

If I look back at my scores and my notes on the Churchill portfolio of ports (Vintage, Crusted, SQVP) the scores are consistently in the range 86-90 unless the bottles is flawed. That makes them reliably enjoyable, but rarely great.

[Scheiny S]

i only have experience with low end products, Reserve and LBVs, but i've never had anything i enjoyed by Dow. i believe folks on this forum said Dow's 2008 LBV is a near-perfect example of that house in that style, so my not liking it means i don't like Dow. that's good for me to know.

i've only had Noval's Reserve Ruby, Noval Black and aside from Dows Reserves it's the only Port i've had that i wouldn't want to have again. i have their 2009 SQLBV to try at some point and i'm leery.