1980 Warre's Vintage Port
Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 1:47 pm
Decanted at noon on Christmas day for dinner at 4:30 pm.
1980 Warre's Vintage Port
The cork extracted almost entirely in one piece, with only one small chunk at the bottom crumbling off into my hand as the cork cleared the bottle. It is soaked through, though, and almost completely illegible. I can just make out part of the word "Vintage" and can barely see a smudge that was probably the Warre's logo, but that's it.
Brilliant, deep ruby red in color, with none of the "pinking" that I usually see in the stream as I'm decanting. It is clear and bright, and the aroma of red fruits wafted into the room as I was decanting.
I poured the dregs into a lowball as is my custom and let it settle for half an hour. A small amount of fine sediment collected in the bottom of the glass, but the Port is otherwise wonderfully clear and bright.
In the lowball there's a little alcohol on the nose. It is enough to nearly hide a hint of processed sugar, but not quite. In contrast to the color, it smells more purple than red. There's a little bit of cotton candy as you breathe in, but that is quickly overwhelmed by raspberries and blackberry jam.
The first taste is dry and tannic, with a nutty note between pecans and walnuts. There's a bit of heat throughout as well. The fruits are indistinct and overwhelmed by the tannins and an astringent note (but it's not medicinal).
Early in the finish there are some earthy tones and a minerality that can only be described as "tastes like a rock." After that it mellows out a bit, but the tannins carry through and wipe out just about everything except grape skin (which is powerful) and some desperate raspberries trying to escape.
I'm not sure this is going to be ready at dinner in 4.5 hours... it's amazingly youthful and strong at the moment.
+7 hours - the flavors have mellowed quite a bit and the astringent note has all but disappeared. The raspberry note is now more evident, but it's really still being overpowered by the tannins. The minerality does seem to have faded as the flavors mellowed, though.
I'm not sure we've hit the sweet spot on this one yet... either that or it just needs more time to age.
+30 hours - More of a brick red now, fading to pink at the rim. The nose is now dominated by alcohol, followed by some generic reddish fruits that seem to be mildly stewed (though not in an unpleasant way). The flavor starts out as sweet raspberries, but then turns tart. Combined with the still strong tannins, it's almost enough to make you pucker. It's also pretty hot due to the alcohol. I no longer detect any minerals.
A bit of a puzzler for me... it seems like it needs more age, but the sweet raspberries and mildly stewed red fruits are usually a sign of maturity for me. But the tannins are still quite strong, and the alcohol is rather prominent. I think I'd like to try it again after 10 more years.
1980 Warre's Vintage Port
The cork extracted almost entirely in one piece, with only one small chunk at the bottom crumbling off into my hand as the cork cleared the bottle. It is soaked through, though, and almost completely illegible. I can just make out part of the word "Vintage" and can barely see a smudge that was probably the Warre's logo, but that's it.
Brilliant, deep ruby red in color, with none of the "pinking" that I usually see in the stream as I'm decanting. It is clear and bright, and the aroma of red fruits wafted into the room as I was decanting.
I poured the dregs into a lowball as is my custom and let it settle for half an hour. A small amount of fine sediment collected in the bottom of the glass, but the Port is otherwise wonderfully clear and bright.
In the lowball there's a little alcohol on the nose. It is enough to nearly hide a hint of processed sugar, but not quite. In contrast to the color, it smells more purple than red. There's a little bit of cotton candy as you breathe in, but that is quickly overwhelmed by raspberries and blackberry jam.
The first taste is dry and tannic, with a nutty note between pecans and walnuts. There's a bit of heat throughout as well. The fruits are indistinct and overwhelmed by the tannins and an astringent note (but it's not medicinal).
Early in the finish there are some earthy tones and a minerality that can only be described as "tastes like a rock." After that it mellows out a bit, but the tannins carry through and wipe out just about everything except grape skin (which is powerful) and some desperate raspberries trying to escape.
I'm not sure this is going to be ready at dinner in 4.5 hours... it's amazingly youthful and strong at the moment.
+7 hours - the flavors have mellowed quite a bit and the astringent note has all but disappeared. The raspberry note is now more evident, but it's really still being overpowered by the tannins. The minerality does seem to have faded as the flavors mellowed, though.
I'm not sure we've hit the sweet spot on this one yet... either that or it just needs more time to age.
+30 hours - More of a brick red now, fading to pink at the rim. The nose is now dominated by alcohol, followed by some generic reddish fruits that seem to be mildly stewed (though not in an unpleasant way). The flavor starts out as sweet raspberries, but then turns tart. Combined with the still strong tannins, it's almost enough to make you pucker. It's also pretty hot due to the alcohol. I no longer detect any minerals.
A bit of a puzzler for me... it seems like it needs more age, but the sweet raspberries and mildly stewed red fruits are usually a sign of maturity for me. But the tannins are still quite strong, and the alcohol is rather prominent. I think I'd like to try it again after 10 more years.