For The Love Of Port

TN: Warre's 1995 Late Bottled Vintage Bottle Matured, Unfiltered--Bottled 1999;$30/750 ml; 20 pabv. Kroger; Troy, OH. Lot L 51669. Symington Family Estates, bottler; Imported by Vineyard Brands, Inc; American Canyon, CA.

Compare this with Andy V's note of a couple days ago: [ http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... php?t=1854 ]

Very inky and dense black-purple. Not much yet visible in the way of crust.

Warn brick or earth-toned; perhaps slightly volatile or alcoholic. Typical Warre's cherry, cherry stone, and violet nose, with what I'd call a hard, shiny surface to it. A slight hint of shoe polish confirms the possibility of a tad of volatility here. Some cardamom and perhaps nutmeg berry are also noted.

There's a good bit of leather here with the red fruit, accompanied by a very light dose of fine tannin, and a persistent finish. The profile here doesn't change much over three days except for a bit of integration.

Is it just my imagination, or are these hard surfaces accompanied by a somehat earthy or hard-spice emphasis quite typical of this vintage? This is a bit exotic for a Warre's LBV, but none the worse for that; I'd call it one of the best in the recent series up to this point. 91/100.

John,

Thanks for your impressions of the Warre's Port and I am wondering why all of a sudden the 1995s are coming up for sale. Very interesting that both of you bought these recently.

John,

good notes. Glad you were able to fill in the holes in my sparse account.

Roy Hersh wrote:John,

...I am wondering why all of a sudden the 1995s are coming up for sale. Very interesting that both of you bought these recently.

These are a relatively easy find around my area. I pick up a few here and there when I can get them for a decent price. Luckily retailers put them on sale from time to time, as they don't seem to be big seller.

This is one of my favorite LBV's. My local grocery store sells these for about $26 + tax. I should probably pick up several more bottles before they run out. Another very good LBV I've recently tasted is the 1998 Ramos Pinto. At about $6 less than the Warre's it's an excellent QPR.

At my local BevMo, these sell for ~$26US. Every time I go there to pick up some Young's Chocolate Stout I end up leaving with a bottle. Whatever marketing plan Warre's has with these is working for me. But I to wonder "why now"?

Jay