1980 Dow's Vintage Port

[Lamont Huxley]

From an informal gathering of east and west coast FTLOP'ers at the Palm in NYC on 3/9/12.

I was really looking forward to drinking this again after having it for the first time a year ago and loving it. It certainly didn't disappoint. The color is a dark, purplish burgundy - not quite as dark as I remember it from last time but still exceptionally dark for it's age. The nose is perfumed and lovely, filled with lavender-laced blueberries and raspberries. Impeccably balanced on the palate, the fruit is silky and lush, showing great freshness and the tannins and spirit have melded seamlessly into the wine so that there is a sense of firm structure yet mature finesse, along with a long finish. If I had to describe the Dow's 80 in one word: Harmonious. 95pts

[Andy Velebil]

Shhh. Don't tell anyone, it's our little secret. Seriously, the Symington's nailed 1980 with some fantastic VP's across the board. The same can't be said of some other producers.