1979 Warre's LBV Port -- Traditional

[Andy Velebil]

Bottled in 1984, decanted 6 hours, served blind to some friends.

I served this blind to a couple people at dinner tonight to get their unbiased opinion. I do hope they chime in here, but sufice it to say they really like it. I was first struck at how dark in color this was for an old LBV. Then was surprised at how much young fruit there was on the nose. Alex R. was correct to say this smelled like a Graham's Vintage Port, as I agreed. There was lots of christmas cake notes and young black plums on the nose. The palate was full bodied with lots of dark berries, spices, moderate tannins, and lots of acidity. I must say this was so youthful that guesses were mid-1980's to early 1990's Port. This in no way shows it's 30 years of age. Although the finish itself was a tad short, the fruit stayed quite prominant on the palate for quite a long time and was remarkable for an old LBV. This is the oldest LBV I've ever had, yet the youngest LBV in color and palate presence which is utterly remarkable. If there was more tannins I would say this would easily last another 20 years. But with only moderate tannins left I'd say this has about another 5-8 years of up-side potential. The fruit shows no signs of any secondary characteristics yet, which is absolutely amazing for such on old LBV. But without bigger tannins I'm not sure this will retain it's current balance so well. I was utterly shocked at how well this showed overall and would drink this again without question. 91 points.
03/08/09

[Roy Hersh]

Andy,

The reason for what you experienced in terms of extraction color and big fruit is actually no surprise to me. Back in the days when this wine was produced, preceded Quinta da Cavadinha's involvement with Warre's. The Symington's bought it in 1980 and you'll get to read a lot more about this whole dynamic which I have documented in detail with Warre's as this month's featured PROFILE IN PORT.

That said, the historic, Quinta Bom Retiro Pequeno (not to be confused with Ramos-Pinto's Quinta do Bom Retiro) had been the backbone for Warre's for many decades. It is up on the Rio Torto area and one of the characteristics of these old vines which make up a good part of the vineyard, is extrardinary extraction levels and profound fruit. Think about best bottles of 1963 and 1966 Warre's for example and you'll know exactly what I mean, however, your LBV shows the same character and I for one, am not surprised by this.