Page 1 of 1

1980 Quarles Harris Vintage Port

Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:26 pm
by Bob bman
CAD$79.

As with at least the last dozen or more bottles I've opened, this one was much better a couple of days later than the day I opened it, even with 8+ hours in the decanter.

I tasted (and in fact, am tasting even as I type) sweet bing cherries, candied plums and Christmas pudding, but with some cough syrupiness on the finish. That said, I'm home sick with a bad cold at the moment, so these TNs must be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. And no, I've taken no cough syrup!

Fairly rich and full-bodied, which it was not the night it was opened (3 days ago).

Tasted with some aged blue cheese from Quebec.

Not a great port, but nice enough for the price and age, especially here in Ontario where aged ports of any price and quality are so rare :( :x

Though it might not be fair to score it in my current weakened state, I'll say 87 points.

Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 3:12 am
by Steven Kooij
Good to see you here Bob, and nice TN!

Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 9:06 am
by Bob bman
Happy to be here, though time will tell how frequently. :D

Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 11:37 am
by Mike Halerz
The Trader Joe's by me has a few Quarles Harris Ports for good prices. I've tried the Tawny (mediocre), grabbed a bottle of the 10yr Tawny (haven't tried yet) and will go back to check out the 2000 LBV at some point ($9.99 I think?).

Even though the 1980 VP is a totally different animal, I'm glad to read any note on Quarles Harris, since it's a producer I don't run into frequently when reading tasting notes...

Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:17 pm
by Bob bman
The 1977 Quarles Harris is quite good value for money. I've had it as both its own and under Berry Brothers and Rudd's own label.

Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:37 pm
by Andy Velebil
bman wrote:The 1977 Quarles Harris is quite good value for money. I've had it as both its own and under Berry Brothers and Rudd's own label.
Bob,

I recently had the QH '77 (link below) and it was surprisingly good, although showing some signs of fading.

http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... arris+1977

Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 3:50 pm
by Bob bman
I'm surprised that any top 77 would be fading so quickly, though I've heard others say the same thing. We had a 77 Warre a year ago that many thought was past its best, but I liked it just fine.

A group of us from the Wine Spectator Forums met in London a year and a half ago to taste 1970 and 1977 Taylor, Fonseca, Graham and Dow side-by-side, and the consensus then was that none of these 77s had yet even really reached their peak. I haven't been around here long so I hope I'm not stepping on any toes by pasting-in a link to that that thread with tasting notes: http://forums.winespectator.com/eve/for ... #748101813

Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 11:46 pm
by Jay Powers
Mike Halerz wrote:The Trader Joe's by me has a few Quarles Harris Ports for good prices. I've tried the Tawny (mediocre), grabbed a bottle of the 10yr Tawny (haven't tried yet) and will go back to check out the 2000 LBV at some point ($9.99 I think?).

Even though the 1980 VP is a totally different animal, I'm glad to read any note on Quarles Harris, since it's a producer I don't run into frequently when reading tasting notes...
They have Trader Joes in Michigan? Lots of Quarles Harris at the TJ's in the Bay area.....they seem to go in waves, presumably stemming from very large purchases. Before the QH it was Dows LBV. I found the 10-year tawny to be OK but certainly not great. The LBV I found to be dissapointing.

Jay