For The Love Of Port

1977 Gould Campbell (tasted 2007)

Decanted approximately 11 hours before drinking. Cork was in good shape and the fill level was near the bottom of the cork.

The wine was showing really well, almost no heat, smooth and silky but still with the perfect amount of tannins. The overall impression I got was of chocolate. Very nice, 92-94 points and surely in the top quartile of ports I will be likely to have this year. I have 13 more of these and would get more if I can find another deal.

Jay

I found this 77 vintage of GC for $75.
Considering your review would that make it a BUY at that price?

i too just had the 77 gc saturday night. i decanted mine about the same amount of time--12 hours. i'm in complete agreement jay, this was an exceptional bottle of port. i was impressed with the seemless body, a beautifully integrated , well made port. loads of fruit with very little heat.

i think it was alex b. who has raved in the past with me about the virtues of this vintage of gould campbell. i think its one of the better deals out there. i can name you two online merchants who carry it for around $75, which is what i paid, and i've purchased 2 cases recently. i've drunk 5-6 of them this year, and not a clunker in the bunch. this is one hell of a port and has a friendly price tag.

dave

David,

I was wondering where you have been the past month. Welcome back my friend, to the show that never ends ... so glad you could attend ...

ELP

I got mine for US$65 this year, but 75 seems more than reasonable for the quality. I would bite if that's the best you can find. Who knows, RP might rate it and then you will be paying a lot more!

Jay

I'll grab one at $75 and see that I think, if I like it enough I'll go buy a few more. I can't imagine it's that often that I can be drinking a quality 1977 VP for $75.

i think this is the best value for a 77 on the market right now. smith woodhouse and warres can also be had for around $75-100 right now, but i think the 77 gc is drinking better.

dave

Last weekend I opened a magnum of this wine for pairing with dessert at an offline eBob dinner. I decanted the wine 24 hours in advance, rinsed and dried the bottle, and then poured the wine back into the bottle just before leaving for the dinner.

My overall impression is this: I need to get much more of this wine!! It was excellent in just about every way.

The color is still very deep ruby. I didn't see any signs of age on the rim at all.

The flavors were heavy with plums and blackberries. The tannins are very easy right now but are still very much there, so there is a lot of years left to go on this one. This bottle could have been kept another 20 years and the wine would have continued to improve.

The only negative was that the alcohol was still a little hot after 24 hours and a double decant. I think an additional day in the decanter would have helped.

I'll be able to test the long-term storage of this particular bottle, as I still have about 1/3 left. I started a diet the day after the offine that prevents me from drinking alcohol for a couple of weeks. As soon as I can drink again, I'll have a glass from this bottle. It's sitting quietly in the cellar waiting for me. I can't wait!

All the best,
John

i just had my 3rd bottle of this vintage in the last couple months. i maintain it is one of the best values out there on the market. john's tn is spot on, although i did not get the alcohol on the nose as he did. i decanted it the standard 10-12 hours and it showed beautifully, and i agree with his assessment that it has some years to go. my only observation to add would be that i didn't think the finish was particularly long or memorable, but it's a gorgeous port.
dave

As I noted in my previous post, I was going to try more from this magnum after it had been open for two weeks. I did that yesterday.

The wine is still very good, but not as complex as it had been two weeks ago. The color is browning a bit, more like a brick red. The flavor is primarily cherries to me, and the tannins have given way but the acidity and alcohol is still there. It's a fine drink still, but not nearly as good. Put it this way, none of it's going down the drain!

John