Christie's held a sale in London yesterday at which they offered a large parcel of various vintages of Morgan ports directly from the Fladgate partnership cellars. Out of curiosity, I took a late lunch and went to a part of the auction .... and was delighted to find that they had a range of these ports available for tasting! My notes follow:
Morgan 1963
Very pale, the colour of an old sherry, pale and brown with a distinct green tinge on the rim. The nose is of cherry juice, slightly dusty and with a hint of spirit that gives a menthol tinge. Surprising sweet and forceful into the mouth. Lots of liquorice and stewed raisins but with an offputting alcoholic bite. Pleasant in its own way. Good length which reminds me of the traditional "Fisherman's Friend" throat pastille.
Overall this is an old, fragile and delicate wine. Interesting and enjoyable, but it has probably never been a great wine and is on the decline now. Certainly in the lower quartile of the VP's I have tasted this year but saved from disgrace by some lovely development over two hours in the glass. 3-2 on the Tom scale or 86/100
Morgan 1966
Pale and brown with the same green tinge on the rim as seen in the '63. Nose of raisins soaked in Kirsch, very sweet smelling with the promise of plenty of fruit. Dry entry, alightly harsh acidity with fruit complexity building slowly in the midpalate. Very pronounced aftertaste of bitter cherries and chocolate ice cream that lasts a long time. Overall, this was a very nice wine and significantly better than the '63. However, it clearly is either at its peak or is just starting to decline. 6-6 or 90/100
Morgan 1970
Pale brown and lacklustre, lacking the sparkling clarity of the '63 or the '66, possibly slightly tainted on the nose? Slightly sweeter into the mouth than the '63 and the '66. Initial impact is weak but the flavours build well as you hold the wine in the mouth until it reaches a huge crescendo of aniseed. The aftertaste stays like an aniseed gobstopper filling the mouth and gripping it with flavoursome fire, fading away only slowly until all you are left with is tingling cheeks.
A slightly odd wine, huge in the mouth but empty on the nose. Possibly one to experiment with different decanter times to see if a boquet will develop. 5-6 or 89/100
Morgan 1977
Dark brown centre, paling at the rim. Nose of boiled sweets. Easy, balanced entry with the tannins still noticeable and with a bit of bite from the spirit. Fruity mid-palate with many layers of complexity. The aftertaste is gentle but evident and starts with cherry juice flavours before the bitter-dryness of slightly unripe hazlenuts. 6-6 or 89/100
Morgan 1985
Similar in colour to the 1977. A sweet cherry juice nose, almost as sweet as bubble gum. A swirl releases the spirit but the fruit remains present. Sweeter into the mouth than any of the previous wines. The tannins are fully integrated around a core of cherry juice and tobacco. The aftertaste is pleasant and of reasonable length, bringing flavours of warm cedar wood and balsamic vinegar. 6-5 or 89/100
Morgan 1991
This was a big surprise. Production techniques or sourcing of grapes or the winemaker must have changed. The difference between this wine and the 1985 - only a 6 year gap - was massively more different than between the 1985 and the 1963 - a 22 year gap. This wine had a deep red centre, holding right into the rim with perhaps only the slightest hint of brown. The nose was young and full of blueberries and promises the young port "fruit bomb" experience. This is exactly what it delivers when you taste the wine; ripe fruity entry with a nice acidic structure. Very different from earlier vintages. The only disappointment was a slightly short aftertaste. 6-7 or 91/100
Morgan 1994
Very deep colour, indicating a huge amount of extract. Opaque in the centre and absolutely no hint of browning. Nose was a little closed with hints of blueberries and an odd dusty tone countered by a freshness from the spirit. Clean entry with an initial impact of blueberry juice before a tannic hand grabs your teeth and cheeks. The tannins slowly back off and leave you with the fruit bomb again. The aftertaste starts with the dry, tannic grip which fades through a slightly off-putting bitterness before changing again to a long length of bitter chocolate. This will certainly improve over time. 6-8 or 88/100
Morgan 1997
Deep and opaque, the colour of morello cherries. Typical "young port" nose of blueberry juice with the spirit just showing through. Sweet into the mouth - but there is an odd vegetal tone underneath the sweetness. The spirit is hot and pronounced, but perhaps time will integrate it better, I don't have the tasting experience to be able to predict this. Eventually the wines settles down in the mouth to bring a well structured fruit bomb with a nice acidic backbone. Interestingly, I couldn't find the tannins in this wine. Aftertaste is a little slow to develop but eventually arrives as a fruity cocktail of cherries, raisins and cedar wood. Perhaps a little short to be ideal. 5-7 or 87/100
Christie's Sale of Morgan Wines
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Re: Christie's Sale of Morgan Wines
bridgema wrote:
Morgan 1963
......saved from disgrace by some lovely development over two hours in the glass.
bridgema wrote:
It was a busy day in London - I just insisted on being able to take my lunch between 2:30 and 3:30
Hmmm, 2 hours of development in a 1 hour lunchbreak, now that is very clever port
Derek
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He didn't say that he went back to work....
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