Summary of a Port Tasting

[John M.]

Last night (2/22/2020) a group of random New Jersey Port drinkers gathered at my house. The theme was anything 30 years old or older; there were 7 of us. We had 6 VPs, which were tasted blind (everyone knew the Ports, just not which were in a particular glass) as a grouping followed by one Mystery Bottle (only I knew what it was). Every bottle made a strong showing, top to bottom one of the best. After the formal tasting we walked downtown for a nice dinner, came back and casually revisited the leftovers, finding that a few evolved quite a bit (and I revised my scores noting the best time for best results). Here is the recap:

1985 Offley Vintage Port - Faded to orange; a bit cloudy for this mid-weight Port. Aromas of a sweet faded strawberry; most pungent Port of the night. Lots of cooked orange over light strawberry with a long lingering finish. Note: opened pop and pour. 92 Points

1985 Ferreira Vintage Port - Moderate weight sporting a clear faded brick color. Very muted nose; maybe a touch of bottle stink. Delicate and soft; a bit of raspberry with a gentle finish. 5 hour decant. 91 Points

1970 Dow Vintage Port - Clear burgundy with a little fade around the rim. Smells older with a slight herbal to leather quality over a red berry. Incredibly soft and gentle yet with a pronounced peppery spice finish. Gentle contrasts here; luscious. 93 Points

1963 Croft Vintage Port - A leaker with a saturated cork-there was concern over oxidization yet turned out to be okay. Cloudy and faded burnt orange. Aromas of hazelnut and a candy brandy.A touch oxidized (the cork was soaked and leaked a little) yet has good legs. Steady heat but never overwhelming. Hints of strawberry. This bottle was fading, is it the wine or the leak? 90 Points

1985 Graham Vintage Port - Dense lovely brown red; moderate weight. A touch of fig aromas and a hint of plum jam. Faded sweet strawberry jam with a hint of spice. Finishes just a tad spirity; it is long and seductive. Just excellent. WOTN by me and the group. 95 Points

1983 Ferreira Quinta do Seixo - Moderate weight; this wine is just a little cloudy and is faded red to red orange. Slightly musty smell with grape stem; but it tasted a lot better. Strawberry and linzer filling; it just tastes great. A bit dry finish. Came off an complex and solid. The nose knocked my score down a point or two. Lovely stylistically. 93 Points

Royal Oporto 30 Year Tawny, bottled in 1988 - Yes, bottled 32 years ago. Purchased at auction in a mixed lot; it was a clear one-off and I gave it little stock when purchasing the lot. Deep yellow to burnt orange with a medium-high viscosity. Cooked lemon/orange with notes of butterscotch. For a tawny in the bottle 32 years it still came off fresh and vibrant. In the end, I felt I scored on the purchase as this was so good when I had discounted it so much. 93 Points

[David Spriggs]

Wow! Nice notes and interesting wines. Thanks for posting!

[John M.]

A couple photos.

[Mike J. W.]

It was a fun night for sure. Very good Ports and even better company. My WOTN was the '85 Offley Boa Vista, which completely surprised me. It was also my very first Port tasting and I learned a lot from our gracious host John (thank you again John) and the other Port aficionados that were present.

[Andy Velebil]

Cool tasting. 1985 Offley...there's one you don't see everyday!

[John M.]

Cool tasting. 1985 Offley...there's one you don't see everyday!

Purchased in the Ironbound section of Newark (Lots of Portuguese Heritage)

[Mike J. W.]

Cool tasting. 1985 Offley...there's one you don't see everyday!

I enjoyed it so much I purchased one at auction the next day.

[Andy Velebil]

Cool tasting. 1985 Offley...there's one you don't see everyday!

I enjoyed it so much I purchased one at auction the next day.

Nice!!