NV Gould Campbell Fine Tawny Port

[Glenn E.]

A bottle from Roy. It appears to be rather old, but there is no bottling date listed on the label. My first guess was mid-1970s. Roy thought 1970s or 1980s.

Gould Campbell Fine Tawny Porto
bottling date unknown, but likely 1970s or 1980s

The t-stopper twisted right in half when I attempted to open the bottle, so I pushed the stub down a fraction of an inch to break it loose and then used a corkscrew to extract it. Even then it tried to crumble, so I decanted the Port through a fine metal mesh. There was significant sediment in the bottle, so I held back about a serving to avoid pouring any of it into the decanter.

Color: While pouring, the Port's color was a pinkish orange. In the decanter (and in the glass) it takes on a full medium brown hue with faint orange highlights around the rim. The color fades evenly out to the rim but gets quite thin and takes on a pinkish hue near the rim.
Nose: Leather, alcohol, and some very muddled, stewed, dried fruits. Yes, stewed and dried. It's weird. Some of the alcohol is faintly medicinal. With a swirl the whole thing takes on a faint brandied fruit compote note, but the main impression is leather and alcohol.
Palate: Semi-sweet entry, not cloying, which is followed by candied secondary fruits. Then heat, very nearly hot. The warmth cascades down your throat when you swallow. Some dark molasses and brown sugar. There's a flavor playing with my memory, but I can't put a name on it just at the moment.
Finish: Heat - very nearly hot, some secondary fruits, a fairly sharp tang, then an echo of the brown sugar on the palate and a very faint sensation of caramel. The tang becomes pretty bitter, but it isn't strong so it isn't obnoxious. The heat lasts quite a long time, as does the tang/bitter flavor, but the fruits are gone after 20-30 seconds.

Score: 80 points. It reminds me a lot of my 1970 Royal Oportos, but seems a little bit weaker. The finish doesn't resolve as well as the '70 RO either. I'd still call it "good" - it's certainly drinkable and pleasant - but it wouldn't take much to get me to switch to something else. It will be interesting to see how long it lasts now that it has been decanted.

[Roy Hersh]

Thanks for taking one for the team. I am interested to see how this evolves for you ... or not.

[Glenn E.]

So far not much has changed, which I think is remarkable given its (assumed) age.

I did get a strong impression of dates earlier, but that was the flavor that was tugging at my memory on the first day so it's nothing new. The finish seems to have mellowed out a little bit which helps quite a bit, and the bitter note in the finish is starting to resolve as apples or perhaps tart pears. I doubt I'd want to drink this with food or even appetizers, but for sipping while posting a TN backlog it's... well, it's fine! It's still pretty hot, though, which is what's holding it back the most.

Soldier on, Fine Tawny Porto, soldier on!