1985 Smith Woodhouse Vintage Port

[Glenn E.]

1985 Smith Woodhouse Vintage Port
imported by Premium Port Wines, Sonoma CA

I note the importer because PPW belongs to the Symingtons and is their importer in the US. I.e., bottles should be good.

Color: medium garnet with some bricking. Some orange approaching the rim, but the rim itself is clear.

Nose: at first there was a definite foul note of some sort. Something like bottle stink or a bacterial infection. It didn't seem to affect the flavor, though, so I kept it in a decanter and by the next day that stanky note had disappeared. That left a note of soft aged grape juice, some faint grape candy, some faint stem or other reedy note, some oak wood, and some very light blueberry.

Palate: pleasant and mature. I don't think there's much left in the way of improvement coming, but it should hang at this plateau for a few years or slowly decline. It's medium to medium sweet. Just enough acidity. The tannins seem mostly resolved. Lots of soft strawberry. Some spiciness that's coming from alcohol, but not enough to say it's hot or even warm. It's just spicy.

Score: 92 points.

I've had other bottles (importer not recorded) that have been hit-or-miss, so I'm trying to pay attention to that now because I feel like the PPW bottles are the good ones in the US. Other bottles can feel tired. I've seen several different labels for 1985 SW, too. This one is all black & white and uses what looks like 7 or 8 different fonts in various places on the label. Oporto bottled by Smith Woodhouse & Co. Lda.

[Glenn E.]

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