For The Love Of Port

Last night 12 of us met for a tasting of Ports; it was a fine night with all six Ports showing quite well plus a surprise guest "Port" from New Jersey. These were served in pairs as presented below. WOTN per the group was the 1977 Dows with the 1985 Gould Campbell and 2000 Dows well favored (these 3 got all the 1st and 2nd place votes except for one half vote).

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1977 Dows VP. Silver Jubilee. Decant 2 Hours. Clear Red Brick Brown. Aromas of sweet grape, light cherry and just a hint of musty (decanted for only two hours to avoid any cork taint); quite aromatic. Balanced start with white pepper, strawberry, touch of floral/plums and licorice. The finish is clipped and strong alcohol--the only flaw. Group avg 91.0 pts.

93 Points

2000 Dows VP. Decant 23 hours. Taking one for the team and there are no recent TNs. Ruby red color but dense with purplish core. The nose ekes out vanilla, sweet dark fruit to raisin, hint of cocoa. Most pronounced cranberry flavor up front and slightly awkward overall--other flavors of chocolate, dry cherry, a little floral and grape. Not too deep in the flavor profile; this wine has been evolving and headed in the right direction. Group Avg 90.3 pts.

91 Points
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1981 Ferreira LBV. Bottled in 1987--six years in cask. Decant 23 hours. Slightly cloudy burnt brink red. Came with a T-Cork, no leaks and level was fine. Nose of burnt sugar, maple and raisin. Tastes offered were raisins, pepper, spices, a little earthy. This was slightly oxidized. Acidic & tannic still--the finish was moderate and slightly spicy. Group Avg 86.8 pts.

88 Points

1985 Gould Campbell VP. Decant 23 hours. Baga-esque deep red with a little brown. Hints of coffee, mild grape and holding forth dark fruits. Fruity and floral, with licorice, leather, aged grapes it finished softly and lingered nicely. Very enjoyable. Group Avg 90.8 pts.

93 Points
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2007 Quarles Harris LBV. Dark purple and lush, yet dry fruit bomb. Clipped finish, berries, mostly raspberry and a little leather. Medium tannins, short finish. Great QPR. Group Avg 87.2 pts.

89 Points

2008 Quinta do Noval LBV; Single Vineyard. This is the Single Vineyard version. Deep purple, Floral and mashed dark fruits aromas including cherry. Nicely balanced at start and finish with a little bite and the end. Flavor profile with grape stem, black cherry. Has aging potential and would be more fun in 5-10 years. Group Avg 88.6 pts.

90 Points
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2010 Alba VP. From Alba Vineyards in New Jersey. Purple with reddish rim--looks a touch thin. Aromas of pepper, smoke and cherry. The port is overly sweet, saccharin, earthy, pepper and tends towards cough syrup. Group Avg 81.0 pts.

80 Points

Hi John,

Thanks for the notes. It's good to hear the Ferreira 1981 LBV performed pretty well. Do you think the 23 hour decant may have been too much for it?

I'll have to take another run at tasting the Quarles Harris 2007 LBV, as my experience with that wine is not as good as yours. My notes say the wine is generally "blah". Mine was popped-and-poured, so perhaps some decant time is needed. What lead time did you use for yours?

Thanks again.

As to the 1981 Ferreira: Yes, 23 hours way too much. Do not know why I did that; was playing more attention to the VPs and was looking at this one as a bit of a curiosity. I purposely held back the 77 Dows due to TCA issues; easily could have done the same with this.

2007 QH: Funny wine---I've had it twice now and its certainly is not great, but a good QPR. The group average at 87.2 is about right--the lower side of average--but at $13 a good deal IMHO.

Sounds like a great event!

I'll split out your TNs into separate threads in the TN section so that they'll get properly integrated into the TNDB. :)

Thanks for the follow notes on how the evening went. On the whole I often find these very old, for LBV's anyways, are exactly as you describe. Fun to try but typically well past their best days as a Ruby Port. And glad you got a good bottle of '77 Dow's!