A birthday present bottle, opened just a few days after my birthday.
Decanted at about 3:30pm. While decanting, the wine released a beautiful aroma of blackcurrants, which I thought of as the smell of blackcurrant lozenges but which my wife better described as the "smell of blackcurrant syrup".
Tasted almost immediately after decanting, out of curiosity as much as anything else. Very smooth in the mouth, very sweet and very much dominated by blackcurrants - it tasted like it smelt. Amazingly well knitted together for such a young wine straight out of the bottle. No VA and no overly alcoholic aftertaste. Very simple and pleasant at this stage.
Alex
1995 Dow's Quinta do Bomfim Vintage Port
Moderators: Glenn E., Andy Velebil
1995 Dow's Quinta do Bomfim Vintage Port
Last edited by Al B. on Sun Aug 13, 2006 4:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
Tasted properly at around 8:30pm, 5 hours after decanting.
A very dark, opaque shade of deep inky-black red. Thick and with long, glycerine dominated legs.
On the nose was still the blackcurrant syrup, with very little else and certainly no VA coming through.
In the mouth it had changed surprisingly little from the first sip immediately after decanting. Still very smooth and very sweet. Flavours of blackcurrants and blueberry jam which fill the mouth. The length is short but the balance is there for the whole taste.
Overall, a straightforward and well made wine that is drinking well today but which does not offer anything of complexity or challenge to the drinker. Pleasant and enjoyable, I would happily drink this again. 89/100.
A very dark, opaque shade of deep inky-black red. Thick and with long, glycerine dominated legs.
On the nose was still the blackcurrant syrup, with very little else and certainly no VA coming through.
In the mouth it had changed surprisingly little from the first sip immediately after decanting. Still very smooth and very sweet. Flavours of blackcurrants and blueberry jam which fill the mouth. The length is short but the balance is there for the whole taste.
Overall, a straightforward and well made wine that is drinking well today but which does not offer anything of complexity or challenge to the drinker. Pleasant and enjoyable, I would happily drink this again. 89/100.
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Andy Velebil
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Alex,
Thanks for the notes. I have only tried the 1986 (twice) which was a great Single Quinta porto. I still have one left that I need to drink. I will have to keep an eye out for the 1995 to try.
Thanks for the notes. I have only tried the 1986 (twice) which was a great Single Quinta porto. I still have one left that I need to drink. I will have to keep an eye out for the 1995 to try.
Andy Velebil Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used. William Shakespeare http://www.fortheloveofport.com
Tasted again, 28 hours after decanting.
Same overwhelming nose of blackcurrant syrup. Still very smooth in the mouth but alcohol beginning to show, but not obtrusively.
This time the flavours are more devloped. More like eating blackcurrant flavoured dark, bitter chocolate. Still smooth and sweet, slightly bitter on the aftertaste but still with no tannins to speak of. Length better, but not great. Probably scoring around 89/100 still.
Again, still a very enjoyable glass (or two!) of Vintage Port. I would estimate that this wine was at its best at around 12-18 hours of decanting.
Alex
Same overwhelming nose of blackcurrant syrup. Still very smooth in the mouth but alcohol beginning to show, but not obtrusively.
This time the flavours are more devloped. More like eating blackcurrant flavoured dark, bitter chocolate. Still smooth and sweet, slightly bitter on the aftertaste but still with no tannins to speak of. Length better, but not great. Probably scoring around 89/100 still.
Again, still a very enjoyable glass (or two!) of Vintage Port. I would estimate that this wine was at its best at around 12-18 hours of decanting.
Alex
Andy,
The 1995 Bomfim is a decent wine. However, if I saw it for the same price alongside the Malvedos 1996, I would buy the Malvedos. That was the wine that made me realise that drinking VP young could be quite a wonderful experience.
Up until that wine, I'd always thought "Why drink this now, its only going to be much better in 10-20 years?".
Would I buy the Bomfim to open and drink now? Not sure. If someone offered me a glass, would I accept? Absolutely. Would I buy a bottle to keep for 10 years and then open? Again, not sure.
I am interested to know what you make of the '86 Bomfim when you next open one. That could give me a clue as to whether I should be buying the '95s to lay down for a few years.
Alex
The 1995 Bomfim is a decent wine. However, if I saw it for the same price alongside the Malvedos 1996, I would buy the Malvedos. That was the wine that made me realise that drinking VP young could be quite a wonderful experience.
Up until that wine, I'd always thought "Why drink this now, its only going to be much better in 10-20 years?".
Would I buy the Bomfim to open and drink now? Not sure. If someone offered me a glass, would I accept? Absolutely. Would I buy a bottle to keep for 10 years and then open? Again, not sure.
I am interested to know what you make of the '86 Bomfim when you next open one. That could give me a clue as to whether I should be buying the '95s to lay down for a few years.
Alex
Last edited by Al B. on Tue Jan 31, 2006 2:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Andy Velebil
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Alex,
Next time I open the '86 I'll post on it. It will probably be later this year. I got lucky and found the '86 last year for about $30.00 (US). A great price for a almost 20 year old VP. That is why I bought several. The couple I have opened so far have been great after about 5-7 hours of decanting. I don't have any TN's handy for them, sorry.
I think I'd agree with you about not opening the '95 now. A bit young IMO, I think I would hold it for about 5-7 more years. Considering this is the same vines that is used in thier declared VP, a bit of age would be preferable. This is only based on the '86 with about 20 years of cellering.
IMHO, If I got the '95 for a good price then I would get some to hold for short/medium term cellaring. Like I said the '86 was a wonderful Single Quinta Port when it had some meduim term age to it.
Next time I open the '86 I'll post on it. It will probably be later this year. I got lucky and found the '86 last year for about $30.00 (US). A great price for a almost 20 year old VP. That is why I bought several. The couple I have opened so far have been great after about 5-7 hours of decanting. I don't have any TN's handy for them, sorry.
I think I'd agree with you about not opening the '95 now. A bit young IMO, I think I would hold it for about 5-7 more years. Considering this is the same vines that is used in thier declared VP, a bit of age would be preferable. This is only based on the '86 with about 20 years of cellering.
IMHO, If I got the '95 for a good price then I would get some to hold for short/medium term cellaring. Like I said the '86 was a wonderful Single Quinta Port when it had some meduim term age to it.
Andy Velebil Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used. William Shakespeare http://www.fortheloveofport.com
I opened another of these at the weekend, roughly 9 months after my previous note.
Again the same overwhelming smell of blackcurrants was released by the wine as it was being decanted. A fabulous, inviting smell that just made your mouth water and made you want to taste the wine right away.
I resisted for 3 hours, and then took this TN:-
Deep red in colour, opaque and intense. The nose is of hot blackcurrant pie - berries and pastry, no alcholic overtones. In the mouth the wine is smooth, fruity and integrated. Tasting of the promised blackcurrants but with lots of floral overtones making for a lovely complexity. After holding the wine in the mouth the tannic backbone becomes obvious.
Swallowing allows a wonderful length the develop. The blackcurrant flavours slowly disappear to be replaced with a long, delicious aftertaste of chocolate and coffee. Overall, this was a much more impressive bottle than the one that I tried in October 2005. This was a really good wine and one which I would highly recommend. 93/100.
Alex
Again the same overwhelming smell of blackcurrants was released by the wine as it was being decanted. A fabulous, inviting smell that just made your mouth water and made you want to taste the wine right away.
I resisted for 3 hours, and then took this TN:-
Deep red in colour, opaque and intense. The nose is of hot blackcurrant pie - berries and pastry, no alcholic overtones. In the mouth the wine is smooth, fruity and integrated. Tasting of the promised blackcurrants but with lots of floral overtones making for a lovely complexity. After holding the wine in the mouth the tannic backbone becomes obvious.
Swallowing allows a wonderful length the develop. The blackcurrant flavours slowly disappear to be replaced with a long, delicious aftertaste of chocolate and coffee. Overall, this was a much more impressive bottle than the one that I tried in October 2005. This was a really good wine and one which I would highly recommend. 93/100.
Alex
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Richard Henderson
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I bought many bottles of the Q d B 95 a few years back for about $15 bottle. CT says we have 14 left and we probably had 3 cases to start. It is just very good stuff. I recently bought 2 cases of the 95 Malvedos at a close-out sale for about $15. I think I have rated them both here or on the Squires board at around 90+ and I think my palate "memory" would hold with those.
I have 18 of the Malvedos,left( gave some for gifts and darnk 2-3) so 32 of these two fine 95's will provide some fine value " off night" port drinking over the next few winters. Not sure how long to hold them but I got these at LBV or NV prices so I see no reason to hold them for a long time.
Good to see some notes on it.
I have 18 of the Malvedos,left( gave some for gifts and darnk 2-3) so 32 of these two fine 95's will provide some fine value " off night" port drinking over the next few winters. Not sure how long to hold them but I got these at LBV or NV prices so I see no reason to hold them for a long time.
Good to see some notes on it.
Richard Henderson
And a third tasting note on this wine, a bottle opened on October 13 2006. Deep, opaque red, dark rim. A nose of bruised plums and an odd hint of fresh mint. Dry entry, subdued fruit for a moment and then an explosion of acidity that just releases the fruit flavours in the wine. Lots of layers of fruit and liquorice complexity in the mid palate, but that acidity is fierce and makes the mouth water until you have to swallow.
Aftertaste is long, but subdued, dominated by bitter chocolate.
Overall, this is an enjoyable wine, drinking reasonably well now but one I suspect will be better in 5 years. 89/100 or, on Tom's scale, 4/5 (ie. below the median today but may improve to be at the median in 5 years).
Alex
Aftertaste is long, but subdued, dominated by bitter chocolate.
Overall, this is an enjoyable wine, drinking reasonably well now but one I suspect will be better in 5 years. 89/100 or, on Tom's scale, 4/5 (ie. below the median today but may improve to be at the median in 5 years).
Alex