1995 Dow's Quinta do Bomfim Vintage Port

[Richard Henderson]

I took this bottle of 1995 QdB with me to Costa Rica and pulled the cork on Sept 19 in Heredia CR with some local "tico" friends. It could have used more decanting . A little hot not much fruit but it still went well with an assortment of Fudge Love chocolates I brought and manchego cheese a friend imports there from Spain.
I checked the Cellar Tracker ratings in the low 80's and that is my assessment of this wine.

[Moses Botbol]

I've been stocking up on this port and would put at rating at high 80's, perhaps an 87-88. I did not get the heat, but was still too grapey to take serious. Lots structure to this port lead me to believe it will have a long cellar life.

[Richard Henderson]

My previous experience with this port has been about the same mid-to low eighties, THis really did not get the decanting time it needed but this bottle seemd out of balance.

[Moses Botbol]

I did notice that the alcohol was a little more upfront on the next day than I would've imagined. I still feel this is going to be one of the deals of the decade when the dust settles on 90's vintages in 10 or so years. I can't wait to compare Dow 94's and 95's in 2015 and beyond.

[Jay Powers]

I had this out of a 375 mL bottle the other day before I read this note and had a slightly better take on it. Note:

Decanted 2 hours. Still closed with a nice nose (but only when you get your nose right into the glass). Dark like crushed blackberries, with a dark purple rim. First impression is very nice...fruit, blackberries/gooseberries, astringent, tannins, very long finish.

Will the wine improve? Based on this bottle I would say certainly. Overall this cam across as a younger wine than it really is. Unfortunately I liked it so much that I drank it over a fairly short period, so cannot say much more about it's evolution upon decanting.

Uncle Tom score 5/6, or 90 points. I would buy this wine again, and store for aging.

Jay