January/February 2016 VT: Any Dows LBV

[Glenn E.]

Moderator Glenn is invited to edit the current note since I've made significant second-day additions; may I edit it directly in the TN forum?

You should be able to - when I split off a TN the new thread is owned by you in the TN forum.

It's given a posting date of your date tasted, though, so you may have to scroll down a bit to find it.

[John Trombley]

Bradley posted a nice note on this same Warres LBV on the TN forum (http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... 12&t=39280). Apparently he liked it even a little better than I did; his bottle showed a bit more tannic and a little less fruitr complexity, but overall very similar notes.

[Bradley Bogdan]

Bradley posted a nice note on this same Warres LBV on the TN forum.

Total coincidence I'd picked up the same bottle a few days ago, great minds think alike for inspiration I guess!


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[John Trombley]

A case of this Warres 2002 at about $240 or so would be a great addition to my cellar. Might be worth looking out for. I have to have something to replace the Ferriera 1994 that was my house go-to bottle-aged porto, but which is now drunk up. I bought a case of that for about $250 and at the end it was doing much better things than I ever thought it was capable of. The last bottle was the Easter Communion wine for 2015. Very distracting when you take a sip from the chalice and your thoughts are not on things holy but things earthly, like how is this wine doing, is it corked, etc.

[John Trombley]

I happen to have drained the 2002 Warres LBV, and I spotted the 2003 in my cellar, and decided to exercise the Durand:

Kroger's, Troy, OH: $26. On opening: Cork-finished; 2 mm deep purple-red. Standard but very thick tearing. Plum and umami with vanillin and blueberry tinges on nose, suggesting a deeper, bigger, more complex wine than the 2002. Juicy, with sulfury rubber fruit-nugget yet unresolved; porcini and venison broth; restrained sweetness, and firm, ripe tannins on the palate. Promising.

More to come.

[John Trombley]

I happen to have drained the 2002 Warres LBV, and I spotted the 2003 in my cellar, and decided to exercise the Durand:

On opening: Cork-finished; 2 mm deep purple-red. Standard but very thick tearing. Plum and umami with vanillin and blueberry tinges on nose, suggesting a deeper, bigger, more complex wine than the 2002. Juicy, with sulfury rubber fruit-nugget yet unresolved, restrained sweetness, and firm, ripe tannins on the palate. Promising.

At one hour: An almost Pauillac-like blackcurrant fruit breathing spearmint on nose, with savory plum. More sweetness and tannin are emerging on palate; superbly juicy and fragrant, and very long. Current estimate: 92-94/100.

At 3 hours in the Impitoyable: shows dusty, powdered-sugar nose, with a touch of weediness, underlain with thyme honey and plum. Orange-peel savory bitterness, with an edgy finish.

More to come.

[John M.]

I happen to have drained the 2002 Warres LBV, and I spotted the 2003 in my cellar, and decided to exercise the Durand:

On opening: Cork-finished; 2 mm deep purple-red. Standard but very thick tearing. Plum and umami with vanillin and blueberry tinges on nose, suggesting a deeper, bigger, more complex wine than the 2002. Juicy, with sulfury rubber fruit-nugget yet unresolved, restrained sweetness, and firm, ripe tannins on the palate. Promising.

At one hour: An almost Pauillac-like blackcurrant fruit breathing spearmint on nose, with savory plum. More sweetness and tannin are emerging on palate; superbly juicy and fragrant, and very long. Current estimate: 92-94/100.

More to come.

I had this a year ago and loved it too. But thought it would do well to cellar a few years and still massively fruit forward. I have another bottle---me thinks I should get more while they are around. Thanks for the nice note.

Thank you everyone who has contributed so far--its been a fun read. A few years ago I could get all manner of different years of Dows LBVs in local B&Ms, now all I can find are two. Then again, its been fun to see our reactions to the same couple of Ports. There are still 11 days left so please join in if you haven't.

[Scheiny S]

Dow's 2008 LBV, $23
Tasted 2/9/16
Not decanted

This is my first TN. I used John M.'s template from the Tasting Note/Score Structure thread http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... =7&t=39225

Color: maroon
Rim: magenta
Clarity: clear [though so dark it was opaque. I figure clarity refers to whether there was sediment; there was none.]

Body: light

Nose: very grapey [sweet] with some cherry [tart]

Taste: grape

Mouthfeel:
-Acidity: little
-Tannins: little
-Sweetness Type: medium sweetness, hit mid-palette. tasted simple [like simple syrup, sugar, not artificial or fruity]
-Finish: medium, it lasted a minute or two.

A category we added to this template was how 'hot' was the alcohol.
The alcohol in this tasted 'medium' hot.

Conclusion: There are others I like much better that cost the same or less. Would I drink this again? Absolutely. Would I buy it again? Probably not.
Rating: 85? This part scares me.


I don't like light body, the heavier the better for me. I'd like more flavor than just grape, if I want that I'll drink grape juice.
I liked the sweetness, I liked that it tasted of simple syrup and I really enjoyed it hitting mid-palette. That made it more interesting.

[John M.]

Dow's 2008 LBV
Tasted 2/9/16
Not decanted

This is my first TN. I used John M.'s template from the Tasting Note/Score Structure thread http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... =7&t=39225

Color: maroon
Rim: magenta
Clarity: clear [though so dark it was opaque. I figure clarity refers to whether there was sediment; there was none.]

Body: light

Nose: very grapey [sweet] with some cherry [tart]

Taste: grape

Mouthfeel:
-Acidity: little
-Tannins: little
-Sweetness Type: medium sweetness, hit mid-palette. tasted simple [like simple syrup, sugar, not artificial or fruity]
-Finish: medium, it lasted a minute or two.

A category we added to this template was how 'hot' was the alcohol.
The alcohol in this tasted 'medium' hot.

Conclusion: There are others I like much better that cost the same or less. Would I drink this again? Absolutely. Would I buy it again? Probably not.
Rating: 86? This part scares me.

Excellent Note!!

Based on what you described, your score is consistent.

[Glenn E.]

Well done! I agree with John, your note and score seem consistent.

[Scheiny S]

Excellent Note!!

Based on what you described, your score is consistent.

Well done! I agree with John, your note and score seem consistent.

whew! thanks!

[John Trombley]

I actually found a 2009 Dow LBV and will taste it later.

[John Trombley]

I didn't read this through to discover what others thought of this wine yet. Here's the note:

Dow's 2009 Late Bottled Vintage Porto. 2/24/2016 rated 90 points: Purchased and tasted for the online tasting forum for TheLoveofPort.com.

19.5 pabv; $25/750 ml, Dorothy Lane Market, Washington Commons, Kettering, OH; 94799 0204 9; 2015 release (approx).

Decanted into an open-top crystal pitcher; and tasted fairly soon. T-Cork. Liberal tearing. Medium purple with no edge fading at all in the Impitoyable.

Leafy, smoky, bacon-fat, thyme, restrained plum, shellac, funky hints, various brambleberries, and mineral earthiness, with sesquiterpene (menthol, thymol, and so forth) top notes..

Limited sweetness and full, ripe tannins, with good minerals, energy, and juicy fruit. Lissome texture but lots of flavor. As is made from essentially the same vineyards as the Vintage, the fruit is anise-driven and similar in styling and definitely Dow terroir. A typical and somewhat rustically enjoyable example of this ready-to-drink wine, which has less stripping-out than many a filtered 6 year LBV. Quite drinkable now and will hold a few years. Good with 5 year old Gouda.

Would have to agree that this carefullly made example would be hard to distinguish from a 'traditional' LBV. The Symingtons have vastly improved their LBV wines; kudos to them.

[Bradley Bogdan]

Well, I seem to have lost my note on the '08, so why not open a Dow's 2009 LBV?


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[John M.]

Thanks everyone who participated.

Would love to see more people in this the next time.

[John Trombley]

Our pleasure, John.

[Glenn E.]

Would love to see more people in this the next time.

I normally try to participate, but just didn't have the time/energy this time around. I'm loving this new (as of last year) job, but getting used to the 4x9+4 schedule is taking a lot longer than I'd hoped.

[Scheiny S]

will the TNs here be added to the database?

[Andy Velebil]

will the TNs here be added to the database?

Yes, usually sometime after it closes (aka when we have spare time) Glenn and I will split them off as needed (some people cross post, so we won't recopy those).