For The Love Of Port

I was just re-reading Andy's thread What Is The Lowest Scoring Port In Your Cellar? for amusement, and realized that this companion thread might also be amusing.

This is not "what's the worst bottle of Port you've ever tasted?" I.e., it's not about flawed bottles. This is for bottles that, as far as you know, were showing correctly at the time you tasted them and were just... bad. Some of the responses here may very well be the same as the ones posted in Andy's thread, but some will hopefully be different.

The lowest score that I can recall giving to an allegedly proper bottle of Port is 80 points. I have 3 such scores in the TNDB, but 2 of those have to be discarded for the purposes of this post because there were external issues with them. So the lowest score that I've given a bottle of Port is 80 ...

... for a Taylor Chip Dry White Port.

What is your lowest score for an allegedly "proper" bottle of Port?

1980 Fonseca VP.

I don’t recall the horrible score I thought it deserved. But it remains the only non-flawed (corked, etc) VP I’ve ever poured down the drain because it was so bad.

My lowest score for a Port, non-flawed, is a tie between a 2009 Quinta Das Carvalhas LBV and a Fonseca Ruby Port. Both were lousy and nearly undrinkable. The former I have had a few of the brand and have never been impressed. As to the Fonseca, it was just entry level. 75 Points each.

The lowest VP was a 1989 Vesuvio I had at a Vesuvio vertical last year. Very odd. 82 Points

I have a number of TWAIOA near my bottom, all 10 Years. I love tawnies but just avoid the 10s--nothing to see here. Just start at 20 and pretend the 10s don't exist.

I found a few scores in my notes that were below 84 points, but they were for rubbery, vegetal, or acetone-like wines that would probably be best considered off wines for this discussion. That leaves me with:

1948 Suarez Vintage Port
Very brown in hue and fairly hazy. Musty dusty aroma, but sweet caramel too. The must aspect is a bit like some rotting leaves. With swirling, there is some solvent aroma. Let it sit and the sugar fights to come out. But the flavor is those rotting leaves. The sugar can’t push through them enough. It tastes like maple syrup, but somebody put the rest of the tree in with the sap. Later there was some cinnamon toast aroma, along with some malted chocolate. 84-86 points

NV Quinta das Lamelas Extra Dry Reserve White Port
(Bottled 2017.) Fairly aromatic–smells like a dry white wine like fume blanc, and floral. Dry with tannic puckering. This is probably great for a Port-tonic, but I don't need to drink it otherwise. Despite the dryness, there is some glycerine too. There also is some apple, and fresh off the tree green olive flavor. 84-86 points.

I bought five or six of those Suarez bottles in an auction lot. Several other bottles have been distinctly better, and I still have two left. (Fingers crossed)

Eric Menchen wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2020 4:41 pm rotting leaves

I love rotting leaves!

I think I saw that band play a few summers ago
They were called : the rotten leaves and the earth tones

'85 Hoopers is a highly regarded dud. I can't find my remaining bottle.

That's another dud we don't have in Montréal ...