Multi: 2007 and other Ports with Dominic Symington

[Alan Rath]

Just catching up on some notes, this was back in October, at Beltramos with Dominic Symington.

2007 Dow - Deep, intense, vibrant, bit of anise and spice, good finish. 94

1994 Dow - Medium/light body, nice sweetness, some spice, decent finish. 91. Given that I tasted this early, and Richard showed up a bit later, I have to assume we tasted from two different bottles. I should have gone back, as I have to believe this was somewhat unrepresentative. Brought back some memories of having bought this wine at Costco when released, for something like $30 :)

2007 Graham's - Huge, lush, vibrant, typical Graham's with it's higher toned riper style. 94

1980 Graham's - Medium/light body is a bit deceptive, giving way to a huge, intense, deep, lush wine, with a full bodied mouth feel and great balance. It would be nice to see a little more color intensity, but that's a minor nit. Drink this in a dark room. 95

2007 Vesuvio - Deeply flavored, a touch raw relative to the other 07s, shows the more baritone house style with hints of anise, herbs, and lavendar. Always a favorite of mine. 94

2006 Vesuvio - Gorgeous deep, vibrant, huge dose of complex spices, wine of the tasting for me. I love the lesser ripeness (though 06 was supposedly a warmer vintage), and that melange of Vesuvio spice, a wine that anchors the other end of the spectrum from Graham's. 96

2007 Smith Woodhouse - Expectations? don't know, but this was a bit unbalanced, moderately sweet, maybe a bit syrupy, lacking much complexity. 88

2003 Smith Woodhouse - Deep and dark, though just starting to shed it's opaqueness relative to the 07s, huge, deep, medium sweet, a bit one-dimensional but enjoyable. 91

2007 Warre's - Big and bold, medium sweetness, some anise and nice complexities. 93

1985 Warre's - Medium bodied, intense, deep, lush, spices, excellent balance, long finish. 95. A reminder that every bottle is different, as this vintage was poured the last time Dominic Symington came around a few years ago. While good, it wasn't as good as this bottle, showing softer, with a bit of caramel.

Overall, nice wines in 2007, though I remember being more impressed at this stage with many of the 03s and 00s. These 07s seem more approachable to me than 03s were (I remember walking out of tastings then with my tongue in knots from the tannins, which I didn't do this time).

[Roy Hersh]

Alan,

Great impressions and glad to see you liked the Ports. Did you happen to meet up with Andy whilst at the tasting?

[Alan Rath]

Roy, I think Andy did a similar tasting in L.A., this was here in the Bay Area. I did like them, but in some ways they seem a little modern and forward. Obviously this was just a snapshot, so I should reserve some judgement, but I wonder if they're 50 year wines?
Cheers

[Roy Hersh]

Hey Alan,

Good point. Some of them definitely will age better than others. It is hard to sum up an entire vintage of even the 9 or 10 controlled by the Symington Family Estates. But there are definitely some stellar 2007s that will age 50 years with great aplomb. However, since neither of us will be around in 40 years from now, is that really a concern?

[Alan Rath]

I think you and I are similar in age I'm planning on being around and drinking good wine/port in 40 years. 50? not so sure

[Roy Hersh]

I'm 52, so 40 years from now the only way I am doing Port is through an IV, and actually that is a great way to go although it might not taste as good that way.

[David Spriggs]

Wow... Nice tasting. I wish I had been there!
Thanks for post the notes.
-Dave-