Summary of a Port Tasting
Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 12:18 pm
Last night (2/22/2020) a group of random New Jersey Port drinkers gathered at my house. The theme was anything 30 years old or older; there were 7 of us. We had 6 VPs, which were tasted blind (everyone knew the Ports, just not which were in a particular glass) as a grouping followed by one Mystery Bottle (only I knew what it was). Every bottle made a strong showing, top to bottom one of the best. After the formal tasting we walked downtown for a nice dinner, came back and casually revisited the leftovers, finding that a few evolved quite a bit (and I revised my scores noting the best time for best results). Here is the recap:
1985 Offley Vintage Port - Faded to orange; a bit cloudy for this mid-weight Port. Aromas of a sweet faded strawberry; most pungent Port of the night. Lots of cooked orange over light strawberry with a long lingering finish. Note: opened pop and pour. 92 Points
1985 Ferreira Vintage Port - Moderate weight sporting a clear faded brick color. Very muted nose; maybe a touch of bottle stink. Delicate and soft; a bit of raspberry with a gentle finish. 5 hour decant. 91 Points
1970 Dow Vintage Port - Clear burgundy with a little fade around the rim. Smells older with a slight herbal to leather quality over a red berry. Incredibly soft and gentle yet with a pronounced peppery spice finish. Gentle contrasts here; luscious. 93 Points
1963 Croft Vintage Port - A leaker with a saturated cork-there was concern over oxidization yet turned out to be okay. Cloudy and faded burnt orange. Aromas of hazelnut and a candy brandy.A touch oxidized (the cork was soaked and leaked a little) yet has good legs. Steady heat but never overwhelming. Hints of strawberry. This bottle was fading, is it the wine or the leak? 90 Points
1985 Graham Vintage Port - Dense lovely brown red; moderate weight. A touch of fig aromas and a hint of plum jam. Faded sweet strawberry jam with a hint of spice. Finishes just a tad spirity; it is long and seductive. Just excellent. WOTN by me and the group. 95 Points
1983 Ferreira Quinta do Seixo - Moderate weight; this wine is just a little cloudy and is faded red to red orange. Slightly musty smell with grape stem; but it tasted a lot better. Strawberry and linzer filling; it just tastes great. A bit dry finish. Came off an complex and solid. The nose knocked my score down a point or two. Lovely stylistically. 93 Points
Royal Oporto 30 Year Tawny, bottled in 1988 - Yes, bottled 32 years ago. Purchased at auction in a mixed lot; it was a clear one-off and I gave it little stock when purchasing the lot. Deep yellow to burnt orange with a medium-high viscosity. Cooked lemon/orange with notes of butterscotch. For a tawny in the bottle 32 years it still came off fresh and vibrant. In the end, I felt I scored on the purchase as this was so good when I had discounted it so much. 93 Points
1985 Offley Vintage Port - Faded to orange; a bit cloudy for this mid-weight Port. Aromas of a sweet faded strawberry; most pungent Port of the night. Lots of cooked orange over light strawberry with a long lingering finish. Note: opened pop and pour. 92 Points
1985 Ferreira Vintage Port - Moderate weight sporting a clear faded brick color. Very muted nose; maybe a touch of bottle stink. Delicate and soft; a bit of raspberry with a gentle finish. 5 hour decant. 91 Points
1970 Dow Vintage Port - Clear burgundy with a little fade around the rim. Smells older with a slight herbal to leather quality over a red berry. Incredibly soft and gentle yet with a pronounced peppery spice finish. Gentle contrasts here; luscious. 93 Points
1963 Croft Vintage Port - A leaker with a saturated cork-there was concern over oxidization yet turned out to be okay. Cloudy and faded burnt orange. Aromas of hazelnut and a candy brandy.A touch oxidized (the cork was soaked and leaked a little) yet has good legs. Steady heat but never overwhelming. Hints of strawberry. This bottle was fading, is it the wine or the leak? 90 Points
1985 Graham Vintage Port - Dense lovely brown red; moderate weight. A touch of fig aromas and a hint of plum jam. Faded sweet strawberry jam with a hint of spice. Finishes just a tad spirity; it is long and seductive. Just excellent. WOTN by me and the group. 95 Points
1983 Ferreira Quinta do Seixo - Moderate weight; this wine is just a little cloudy and is faded red to red orange. Slightly musty smell with grape stem; but it tasted a lot better. Strawberry and linzer filling; it just tastes great. A bit dry finish. Came off an complex and solid. The nose knocked my score down a point or two. Lovely stylistically. 93 Points
Royal Oporto 30 Year Tawny, bottled in 1988 - Yes, bottled 32 years ago. Purchased at auction in a mixed lot; it was a clear one-off and I gave it little stock when purchasing the lot. Deep yellow to burnt orange with a medium-high viscosity. Cooked lemon/orange with notes of butterscotch. For a tawny in the bottle 32 years it still came off fresh and vibrant. In the end, I felt I scored on the purchase as this was so good when I had discounted it so much. 93 Points