1966 Dow's Vintage Port

Michael J · Post by **Michael J** » Sat May 06, 2006 11:21 am

So, it's my 40th birthday dinner this evening, and we all know what happened 40 years ago. Yes, that's right, the 1966 port vintage. So a menu has been devised with the sole intention of leading up to a bottle of 1966 Dow's.

A caveat. I love tawny ports, but this is my first foray into the world of vintage ports. After much research here, I devised a decanting strategy. We will be having the port around 9:30 this evening, so at 1pm I decanted. The intention is to leave it in the decanter for 3-4 hours and then back in the bottle for transport to the dinner. Here are my first impressions.

@ Decanting -- As soon as the cork came out, you could smell the alcohol. But once in the decanter, wow. The color is much darker than I expected, though there is a little caramel around the edges. On the nose, is a deep, rich fruit with some leather. In the mouth, just a wow. The fruit is so forward, with a candied element. Really no hint of alcohol. Even just after decanting, this is a beautiful bottle. It almost feels like infanticide.

I will follow-up with further notes, to be sure.

Cheers,
Michael

Richard Henderson · Post by **Richard Henderson** » Sat May 06, 2006 12:17 pm

This is maybe the very best of the fine 1966 vintage. A great choice for anything related to 1966.
If you enter the 66 Dow on the search mode of this BB, you will find other notes to compare, in fact, I posted on it a couple of months back when I surrendered a bottle for a friend's 40th.
We look forward to reading yours.
While I think your total decant time is good, I think Roy and others would recommend that you transport the decanter rather than pour it back in to the bottle, That might be too much aeration.

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Sat May 06, 2006 12:19 pm

Welcome to the website Michael and happy 40th birthday. You are opening one of the truly great bottlings from the 1966 vintage. It is by no means infanticide, even though this wine drinks exceptionally well today, if not young for its age.

I'll say no more so you can just enjoy it and provide us with your own insights. Even though you are a Tawny guy, this might just be the VP epiphany to convert you to a full bore "PORT LOVER." That term fits those that gain nearly equal enjoyment from Tawny or VP.

Have a great time!

Michael J · Post by **Michael J** » Sun May 07, 2006 8:30 am

@ 3 hours -- The fruit merges into the background a little. Drinks a bit less like a fruit bomb. A swirl of complexity: deep cherry fruits, nuts, caramel, vanilla. My, oh my, this is good.

A seriously good port. And a seriously good cheese: Jasper Hill Bayley Hazen Bleu. Served with an amarone mostarda. I could have lingered on this course for ever.

I am a convert. vive le VP!

If you would like a full report on the dinner, you can find that here: http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/vil ... php?t=1005.

Cheers,
Michael