The 1977 Port vintage was heralded from the outset. It had been seven years since the excellent 1970 vintage and 14 years since the outstanding 1963 vintage. The market, and Port enthusiasts, were ready.

 

I’ve always been a big fan of the 1977 vintage and have had a good representation of the vintage in my cellar. I’ve opened bottles on occasion but have always treated them as “hands off”, wanting to let them continue to develop and mature. So it was something of a surprise to me when 2017 rolled around and I realized that it had been 40 years since the 1977 vintage. It was time to organize a tasting to see where these wines stood.

The venue is important for any wine tasting. It needed to be quiet and accommodating to our needs. The Columbia Yacht Club in downtown Chicago has been ideal for hosting wine tastings and wine-oriented dinners for many years, so I immediately contacted Nick Philp, the General Manager of the Club, and we were set in a heartbeat. The Board Room was available for my chosen date, which was Friday, November 3, 2017.

I located 12 port aficionados from around the country who wanted to participate in the tasting and supply a bottle from their collection. Some were friends from the Chicago branch of the International Wine & Food Society while others were virtual friends from the For The Love Of Port forums. The attendees were:

  • From Chicago: Kevin Bratt, John Danza, Jan Danza, Neil Fine, Joe Glunz Jr., Chris Koetke, Ramona Koetke, and Ryan Smith.
  • From Houston: Tian Lewis, Brad Bogdan
  • From Seattle: Glenn Elliott and Roy Hersh

The ports represented 11 different producers. We had intended to have 12 different wines from the 12 participants, but a bottle of Offley that was in one person’s cellar had escaped some time previous when no one was looking. The replacement was a second bottle of Taylor. Here’s the list of producers:

  • Delaforce
  • Dow
  • Ferreira
  • Fonseca
  • Gould Campbell
  • Grahams
  • Niepoort
  • Quarles Harris
  • Smith Woodhouse
  • Taylor Bottle 1 (European label)
  • Taylor Bottle 2 (U.S. label)
  • Warre

We approached the wines in an organized manner by separating them into three flights of four wines. Roy Hersh applied his expert port skills at laying out the appropriate flighting for the wines represented. This allowed us to be able to consider wines of similar weight at the same time. The flights were:

  • Flight One: Quarles Harris, Taylor Bottle 1, Delaforce, Niepoort
  • Flight Two: Warre, Gould Campbell, Ferreira, Smith Woodhouse
  • Flight Three: Dow, Grahams, Taylor Bottle 2, Fonseca

The process we followed was to taste and discuss one flight at a time. All bottles were given at least a six hour decant unless otherwise noted in the tasting notes. We would then try them all with a cheese plate put together by the yacht club General Manager to accompany the wines. Lastly, we would declare an overall Wine of the Night along with a runner up (you know, in case the Wine of the Night can’t fulfill all of its obligations over the coming year, sort of like Miss America).

Tasting Flight One

Quarles Harris: This bottle didn’t have the opportunity to show its best, as it arrived directly from the airport, was decanted and then poured. Initially there was chocolate on the palate and nose, but not much acidity showing and the sweetness was muted. As the night went on, the wine continued to build up in character, showing revealing that with 4-8 hours of decanting before service, it would show much better than it did tonight. Drink within the next 10-15 years.

Taylor Bottle 1: Flawed, likely from heat damage. Medium red color, much lighter than originally expected. The acidity was there but muted. Again a chocolate nose with a plate of light sweet figs. Definitely not what a 1977 Taylor should be, but a nice drink in and of itself.

Delaforce: This bottle was doing a bit of leaking when initially opened, which likely accounted for some of the results. Light to medium red in color, with a palate that showed little sweetness but a lot of acidity. A little bit of chocolate started to emerge on the palate after a while, but the wine never came together.

Niepoort: Medium red in color. Balanced acidity and sweetness that was easy to drink. Figs, black cherries dominate the palate. An excellent wine that was clearly the best of this flight. Drink within the next 10-15 years.

Tasting Flight Two

Warre: Medium red color with an alcoholic nose and palate that calmed down a bit over time. Dark chocolate and Christmas spices on the palate. This is a really nice wine right now, but not a powerhouse, which I guess can usually be said about Warre in general. Drink within the next 10 years.

Gould Campbell: The darkest wine of all in the tasting. It was completely opaque purple with no ageing on the rim. This could have been bottled yesterday. The palate showed some alcohol heat but over time that moderated. The palate reminded me of fruitcake, the good homemade kind and not the junk in the grocery store. The top wine of the flight for me. The GC needed a minimum 12 hours of air to show its best. This is a wine with decades of life left in it.

Ferreira: The initial nose was rubber, like an inner tube. This improved over time, but never really went away for me. The color was reddish brown, the lightest color of the tasting save for the flawed Taylor Bottle 1. The palate was fruity, with dried
cherries and spice. I’ve only drunk a few Ferreiras over the years and was unimpressed, however others around the table who had drunk many more Ferreiras felt that this was much more typical of the house style and liked it more than I. I think this wine needs to be drunk within the next 10 years.

Smith Woodhouse: Opaque dark red, nearly as dark as the Gould Campbell. Overall the wine was flavorful and fruity, with an alcohol heat that was noticeable but not oppressive. The wine was good, but not very memorable. Probably the best Smith Woodhouse I’ve had, but still a second or third tier wine for me. In my opinion, this is a wine I wouldn’t keep for more than another 10-15 years.

 

 

Tasting Flight Three

Dow: Dark, translucent red. There’s a lot of alcohol showing that never really calmed down.
Typical Dow sweetness with a dry finish. Flavors of cayenne pepper and dark chocolate. The wine needed much more than the six hour decant that it had received, probably closer to 12. A wine with decades of life left in it.

Grahams: Another wine showing dark, translucent red. Very little acidity. The palate was fruity, with decent sweetness. A good, but not outstanding, bottle. The 1977 Grahams has gotten mixed reviews over the decades, from as little as “good, but not up to the house’s standard” to “excellent”. My experience has typically shown
the latter, but this bottle was definitely the former. The better bottles will keep for decades, but unfortunately you don’t know if you have one of those until after
you’ve opened it.

Taylor Bottle #2: Oh no, another flawed Taylor!! This one was clearly corked, so no evaluation was given. What bad luck to have two bottles of 1977 Taylor, a typically great wine, but both bottles flawed.

Fonseca: Dark translucent red with a clear rim. The alcohol and acidity are both present and perfectly balanced. Moderate sweetness, with cherries and some spearmint on the palate. Everything you could want in a 40-year-old port that is not yet at full maturity. The Fonseca is generally considered the best wine of the vintage. While that’s always an arguable statement, there was no way to argue against it tonight. While some people have reported bottle variation, over the years, I’ve been fortunate to not experience it. Decades of life ahead.

The ability to try all the wines with three cheeses was educational, showing that ports don’t have to always be paired with Stilton. The cheeses ranged from a mild double cream to a semi-hard cheese and then a traditional bleu cheese. Some of the lighter wines from Flights 1 and 2 went very well with the double cream and medium strength cheeses, showing that there’s no right answer when it comes to wine and food pairings. Always keep an open mind, and open palate.

At the end of the night, we had to pick a winner. We relied on the skills of Glenn Elliott, who is a master at tallying individual votes to arrive at an overall group score. When it was all done, it was no surprise that the Wine of the Night was the Fonseca. But the number two wine was a bit of a shocker for me. The Niepoort came in at second place for the group. My personal choice for second place was Gould Campbell, with Dow finishing close behind.

The evening was an overall fun and educational experience. It’s safe to say that the best wines of 1977 are still on the upswing and will last for decades. Many others should be drunk over the next 10 years, but there’s no rush. The 1977 vintage will provide a lot of drinking pleasure for many years to come.

The Columbia Yacht Club, Chicago, Illinois

Roy’s comments: Thanks to John who hosted this single blind, 1977 Vintage Port horizontal tasting inside the ship in the photo above, one of the coolest venues I’ve ever experienced for a Port tasting. As you’ve read, people came from near and far to partake in this excellent evening. John has been a member of FTLOP for 11 years now, and I knew of him virtually from another wine web-based forum. Initially we met several years ago, when a mutual friend hosted a 1955 Vintage Port horizontal in Chicago, one of America’s greatest cities! While our palates may vary, I’ve always found John to be extraordinarily detailed and consistent; the latter of which is why I’ve paid such close attention. John is a great guy and has been a Port aficionado for many years. I hope he will continue to share his excellent articles with us!

I am not going to list my notes here, as John’s were solid, but will include my scores on the Ports to give another vantage point. Quarles Harris (88), Taylor Fladgate (84 – overtly flawed), Delaforce (91+), Niepoort (93+), Warre’s (90), Gould Campbell (93+), Ferreira (93), Smith Woodhouse (92+), Dow’s (87 – off bottle), Graham’s (90 – not a proper showing), Taylor’s (2nd bottle; N/R – TCA), Fonseca (95+).

Thanks again to John & Jan Danza for hosting a fun Port event, and choosing a fascinating venue for it. The Danza’s introduced us to a lively family-owned and operated Italian restaurant that reminded me of some of my favorite Italian eateries in NYC; casual, loud and utilizing excellent quality ingredients: Chez Simo Bistro, 1968 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago, IL 60640