Roy's Last (before the Fair) Hurrah

[Glenn E.]

Roy and I have been trying to get together for the last few weekends but schedules just haven't cooperated. This weekend, though, I had a last minute cancellation on Saturday and Roy was free so we popped open some bottles!

I brought a bottle of the Ferreira Duque de Braganca 20-yr old Tawny because I know that's his favorite. He decanted two bottles at noon, and knowing that I think Port should be tasted blind he put me to the test. I had no idea what he had opened, which was a lot of fun!

We started at about 8 pm, so his two bottles had been in the decanter for 8 hours. The Duque was Bottle #2. Color-wise in the decanters, the Duque was the lightest followed by Bottle #1 and then Bottle #3. #1 was closer in color to the Duque than #3, which was a deep purple in the decanter. The Duque, of course, was a deep, rich, amber-red in the decanter.

Bottle #1
Roy says that my first opinion on this bottle was that it was a tawny, but I don't remember that. My notes:

Solid red (a dark almost brick) between a tawny and a ruby, fading to an orangish-pink before turning translucent at the rim. There's no green which I normally associate with Tawnies. The nose is quite rich, with just a little alcohol. Subdued fruits... very mellow nose.

Butterscotch, possibly dates, and caramel at various stages all appear in the mouth. None of those are strong impressions, however. A grapey note - almost concord-like - appears in the 2nd glass. I detected paste (read: glue) in the mid palate followed by a generic floral sensation. The overall impression is very smooth and very well integrated. Tannins are present but very subdued. They're really only obvious after you swallow, but are present in the mouth if you look for them.

The finish is fairly long and fairly generic - grape skin, grape stem, a few green apples.

I have very little experience with Vintage Ports. Most of the ones I have tasted have been real youngsters with huge tannins and bold fruits. My guess for Bottle #1 was a 1970 VP from a "lesser" house, in this case meaning one that had aged quickly and was already fully mature or possibly past its prime.

Bottle #2 - Ferreira Duque de Braganca 20-yr old Tawny
Very deep amber in color, blending to orange and then yellow near the rim. Again there's no green tinge.

Some VA on the nose and not much else. The bottle was in a wine fridge at 55 degrees until almost 7:30, so it's still cooler than I would normally drink a Tawny. When warmed in the glass by hand, some dark (but not spicy) wood shows on the nose.

There's a hint of almond that's almost-but-not-quite marzipan, along with a vanilla that reminds me of creme brulee. Strong citrus notes, but not as overwhelming as the last bottle of the Duque that I tried. Can't tell if that's a bottle difference or if my palate has just been affected by Bottle #1.

The finish is very smooth, but isn't as long as Bottle #1. The Duque is noticeably sweeter than Bottle #1, though, and I commented that tasting 1 then 2 works fine, but tasting 2 then 1 really doesn't leave you with a good impression of #1. Overall this is a fuller (is that a word?), more well-rounded Port than #1.

Bottle #3
Inky dark in the glass with a reddish tone; holds its color as it thins out from the center until it gives way and becomes pinkish near the rim. This port just looks solid, and my mouth is pre-puckering for the expected tannins already.

Some cooked tomatoes on the nose, but not fully stewed. I don't think it is unpleasant, but Roy mentions that the presence of tomatoes is usually a sign of a heat damaged bottle. Black currant and blackberry dance in the glass as well. After letting the glass sit for a few minutes, some sandalwood and tar can be detected.

Concord grape leads off in the mouth, which is almost creamy. The tannins are powerful but not overbearing and - given the creamy sensation - seem strangely smooth. They leap to the fore when you swallow, though, and there's the punch I'd been expecting. Even so, it's not as puckering as I'd expected, nor do I feel like I've been in a desert for a week.

The finish is very long and pleasantly smooth. It consists primarily of dark berries which slowly fade to nothingness.

To me, this bottle clearly had some age on it, but it was so dark that it didn't seem like it could be too old. It also felt like it must be a better-known house, but on the sweeter side. My guess was a 1991 Graham's. It just felt like a teenager, but one that was a little more sophisticated.

If you've already read Roy's blog then you know the answers. But if you haven't - and my notes make any sense at all - see if you can guess! I'll post the answers after a couple of days, and then will copy these TNs over to the TN forum.

[Todd Pettinger]

Great TNs Glenn! I can't wait to find out what they end up being.

I will take a stab in the dark that bottle #3 is Dow 1980.
Bottle #1 - I don't really have much of a clue. Your description of it is very good though and it sounds like it might be a very good Port.

Todd

[Roy Hersh]

Todd,

Would you believe it was a 1927 Graham's?

[Glenn E.]

Hahaha! Don't I wish!

Bottle #1 was a Ferreira 10-yr old Tawny, so I was way off. I was very surprised, because I didn't expect a Tawny to exhibit the tannins that I detected in this bottle. Plus as you can see from the notes, this bottle bore little resemblance to the Ferreira Duque de Braganca 20-yr old that was bottle #2.

In retrospect, the one thing that I think should have tipped me off was the color notes near the edge of the glass. I don't recall ever seeing a VP exhibiting an orange tone even near the edge of the glass, yet it is common in Tawnies.

Bottle #3 - Todd you were really close - was a 1983 Dow's. I was surprised by this because I thought Dow's was supposed to be on the drier end of the spectrum, and this bottle was far from dry.

Another interesting note, at least to me, was that the 3 Ports worked well as long as you drank 1-2-3-1-2-3-etc. If you reversed that 3-2-1-3-2-1 then the 2-1 comparison didn't work well at all. The Duque was sufficiently sweeter than the 10-yr old that you needed to wait between tastes or the 10-yr old was almost sour. Going from the Dow's to the 10-yr old, though, seemed just fine for both wines.

[Todd Pettinger]

Todd,

Would you believe it was a 1927 Graham's?

I would have been fairly surprised, although I never would have been able to guess that from having experienced the '27 Graham's