2000-2009 VP's

[Glenn E.]

The deserts, such as they are (or rather, will be), will more likely be caused by the gaps between '70 and '77 and then later between '85 and '91/'92 or '94. '75 just doesn't count, generally declared or not.

There's a lot of great, mature Vintage Port available right now because '63, '66, and '70 are all in prime drinking windows. They're spaced reasonably evenly and were all great vintages. That can't happen with '70 as the anchor because only '77 is within reach for a similar age span.

'77 can reach into the '80s so that generation could potentially be drinking from 4 generally declared vintages at one time - they may even have it better than we do! There are some really great Ports from '77, '80, '83, and '85 that could all be in their primes right around 2025.

But then we hit another potential desert. I wasn't that impressed with the 1991s at the FTLOP retrospective. It will be interesting to see what I think of the 1992s at next year's retrospective. But I can see a very real possibility that I won't count the split '91/'92 declaration as great as either '85 or '94, so that generation could be out of luck. '87 is good enough to help span the gap, but those VPs can be hard to find so I don't think the volume will last until they're 40+ years old. Between 2030 and 2035 people may be looking back at the remaining '85s with envy as we look at the '48s and '55s, or looking forward a few years to when the '94s have really peaked. I think the '91s and '92s may end up being considered fine, but not exceptional, during that time frame. I certainly don't believe that people will be looking at them the way we look at the '63s and '66s right now.

There are potential exceptions, of course, and those may be sufficient to carry people through to the other side of the desert.

[Andy Velebil]

No doubt the 1970's and 1980's don't seem to live up to the standards of the 60's. But is this really so? Many, if not most, of the 1960's have reached their peak or have started a slow decline. Most 1963's have peaked with usual favorites still doing well, and many of the top 66's are still on the upswing but others have peaked.

Most 1970's have peaked or are now in a slow decline with a few still on the upswing, 1975's almost all seemed to be on a slow decline already. 1977's have lots of bottle variation (no doubt due to poor corks) but good bottles are still young.

1980's mostly are peaked or reaching it soon with some notable exceptions from the Symington's and Ramos Pinto. 1983 is another vintage that the Sym's did well in, but many others would be considered lack-luster given it's a classic declared year and overall doesn't match the level of 1985. 1985 the Sym's did well again, Fonseca did too, but some others are also a bit weak given the classic declaration. 1987's seemed to be good from most Single Quinta's, and arguably should have been declared.

I really don't thing there is that much difference when comparing the 60's to the 70's or 80's. The 1990's are when things seemed to make a dramatic improvement. No doubt many things are the reason for this such as, viticulture, winemaking, hygiene, cork and bottle quality, and many more things. I firmly believe we'll see more longer lived Ports across the board starting with the 1990's.

[Eric Menchen]

My cellar currently is betting on 2003 being the best of the decade. Now I haven't tasted many of these, but checking my notes, I see my favorite thus far was the 2005 Taylor Quinta de Vargellas VP. Hmmmmm.

[Roy Hersh]

It is not easy to compare the decades' VP's from the 1960 onwards, except when doing comparative tasting of the Ports themselves. But so much morphed between every single one of those stepped terraces of decades.

Going from ox-drawn carts bringing single pipas to load onto barcos rabelos for the ride downriver to Gaia as late as the early 1960's and the practice of hand-driven corks into Port bottles and 100% foot trodden grapes during the decade of the sixties ... to autovinification systems in the 1970's which allowed for remontagem in stainless steel tanks, also the building of patamares and later in the decade the first use of vineyards planted vinha ao alta. Along with electric finally reaching all corners of the Douro all the way to the Spanish border (that was not the case in the previous decade ... when it was spreading but not as widely). Then we must look at the real "game changer" which came by way of regulation: compulsory bottling in Portugal after the 1970 vintage (actually in 1974) -- which has had tremendous impact on the region and the wines ever since.

In the 1980's dynamics continued to improve and a well-funded Douro grape research project unfolded, Also during the 1980's modern bottling lines with cork sealing (under vacuum) capabilities and automatic labelers came into fashion; not to mention block planting which quickly became the new viticultural rage. The most progressive move for the Port trade was Portugal joining the EU which brought a much needed influx of World Bank capital and the PDRITM project, along with the revolutionary rule change mid-decade which for the very first time in nearly 60 years, permitted single quintas to produce/bottle/market their Ports from up in the Douro. This was a monumental, historic change for the trade and the Duriense.

In the 1990's the Renaissance continued. UTAD the winemaking/viticultural school in Vila Real became the new beacon for the Douro winemakers and DOC movement in general. Along with some brilliant winemakers hailing from France and Australia who came to consult for quintas in the region, many native Portuguese, trained at UTAD were coming into their own and would later become well-known in their own right. Having the ability to produce Douro wines in addition to Port helped many small producers become popular names and developed brands in years to come ... but more importantly, gave them an easier way to sell bottles quickly, accumulating capital which translated into better cash flow, preventing some from going bankrupt or being gobbled up by the giants. Speaking of giants, multi-national beverage conglomerates were becoming ever more interested in obtaining failing family-owned or under-capitalized Port shippers. This was not new in Port, but the "arbitrage" was at its apex in this decade. The new highway from Porto to Pinhão was under construction and nearly finished during my first visit in 1994, and completed the subsequent year, it nearly halved the time spent trucking product between those imPortant destinations. By mid-decade, a real phenomenon took place when for the first time in history, the USA surpassed the UK in purchases of Vintage Port. Whether that had more to do with the economics at the time, the great 1994's being released or the cigar craze in which Vintage Port became "a star is born" in America ... it was likely the synergy of all three. At the end of in the 1990's, the first robotics showed up in the region, put into use by the Symingtons. These machines never came to work late or called out sick; and in years to come, robotics started to proliferate across the Douro region which had been struck by a declining workforce as opportunities elsewhere in Portugal increased. By the end of the decade the Port pendulum was on the upswing. The quantity of Port sold was at near record levels, bolstered by BOB (buyer's own brand) bottlings and the Special Categories were taking off like never before and new markets were taking hold.

The "noughties" saw tons of changes too. Consolidation was to me, the largest metamorphosis in the Port trade during the decade. Old stalwart Port shippers were falling faster than even in the late 1980's. Based on the success of some in the 1990's and with the multi-nationals' involvement and some firms winding up under-capitalized in recent times, more than a dozen well-known Port companies changed hands over the course of a half dozen years. The Port trade was now dominated by "the Big 5" and smaller groups banded together, e.g. The Douro Boys and at the same time Douro wine took on greater importance in the region (than what it had been even a decade earlier). What may have become one of the most significant changes mentioned in this post, the Port trade regained the ability to purchase aguardente on the open market from "approved" sources of their choosing. A trade-centric buying co-op for the grape neutral spirit was set up, but folded a few years later and Port producers were on their own. Nonetheless, the overall improvement in the quality of the aguardente that was now being purchased, has significantly improved the quality of Port wine produced. Noted Portmaker David Guimaraens certainly feels that it is the single most important factor of all.

It is due to these dramatic improvements (in regulations/viti & vini-culture/technology) in each successive decade, that it is so difficult to compare one to the next no less spanning decades further apart. The rapid improvements realized in the past few decades are far more noticeable in the quality of Port across product lines, than the previous hundred years that followed the onset of Phylloxera. Obviously, we can do tastings to show how much the quality has improved and look to the past decade as evidence, inwhich so many harvests yielded beautiful Ports. Sadly, given the economy, the traditional image of Port, toughened drunk driving laws etc., the Port trade has seen sales erode for the majority of the past decade. There are glimmers of light and hope springs eternal as the new decade turns yet another page.

[Ray Barnes]

Thank you Roy, this is a most rigorous submission for a discussion thread. I enjoyed this very much. We are lucky to be living in an era where wine making has never been better. However, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that 20 years from now, people will make the same declaration.

[Jeff G.]

Thank you Roy, this is a most rigorous submission for a discussion thread. I enjoyed this very much. We are lucky to be living in an era where wine making has never been better. However, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that 20 years from now, people will make the same declaration.

you mean chemcially analyze a noval 31 and being to recreate it for under a buck like they do they with diamonds?

[Eric Menchen]

you mean chemcially analyze a noval 31 and being to recreate it for under a buck like they do they with diamonds?

If it ends up tasting exactly the same, does it matter? I saw a story a while back about a counterfeit Wyeth. The copy was so good that many pros couldn't tell the difference. So if you then look at the fake, can't you not get the same enjoyment as the real deal?

[Glenn E.]

If it ends up tasting exactly the same, does it matter?

That's a VERY big if, but if true I'd say no it doesn't matter.

To me, a perfect synthetic diamond is the same as a perfect natural diamond. The latter may be considerably rarer, but you really can't tell the difference so it only matters for sentimetal reasons.

[Rob C.]

you mean chemcially analyze a noval 31 and being to recreate it for under a buck like they do they with diamonds

I like this idea...so in 2100 you would also be able to have a true "one bottle vertical" with the legendary Noval 2031, as recreated at 2 years old, 10 years old, 20 years old etc...!

[Rob C.]

If it ends up tasting exactly the same, does it matter? I saw a story a while back about a counterfeit Wyeth. The copy was so good that many pros couldn't tell the difference. So if you then look at the fake, can't you not get the same enjoyment as the real deal?

Exactly the conundrum facing Arnie in Total Recall!

[Paul Fountain]

On the whole there is going to be some great long term drinking from last decade, but for me, it is the 03 all the way for both LBVs and VPs. I'm going to be watching some of the 04s with interest. The 04 Malvedos got some big plaudits from the whole group on the harvest tour when we tried it as part of a vertical and the Vale Meao is also one of my favorites. While 04 perhaps wasn't as good overall as 01 or 05, I think there are some gems there.

[Roy Hersh]

Paul,

Serious thanks for bringing this topic back to Port and the original idea of selecting which Vintage and LBV you prefer from the aforementioned years. The Graham's you've now tasted is one I enjoyed in cask too. You can read my very early impressions of this wine along with the rest of the 2004's. As you may be surprised, my favorite was the Warre's and a few others that showed very well too. I hope you will enjoy this read on the 2004 VP's.

Feel free to provide any thoughts after reading it.

http://wineloverspage.com/port/2004forecast.phtml

[Andy Velebil]

No doubt it's difficult to compare these decades, as Roy alluded to so much has changed in the Douro in regards to schooling, technology, and a myriad of other things. When you really think about it, in the past mother nature really dictated how a vintage turned out. Now with so much technology, a better understanding of growing grapes, and viticulture and wine-making training is enabling producers to make a pretty solid product in all but the worst of years.

[Roy Hersh]

There must be an echo in here!