1995 Warre's Quinta da Cavadinha Vintage Port

[Kurt Wieneke]

1st night: pop and pour, blackstrap color, reticent plums and tree bark on the nose, very integrated on the palate, black-fruited, and fairly sweet. 2nd night: settled down a bit, now some plums, cigar box, and touch of black pepper on the nose, still integrated on the palate, standing out is the very long, dark, and grippy finish. 3rd night: syrupy sweet, nearly cloying, seems one-dimensional, still has that Dow-like darkness on the finish. 4th night: more of the same, still very sweet and cloying, decent finish. Overall, I'd give it 87 pts. Good but not great.

[Michael M.]

Kurt,
I had this VP in December 2008 and I found it to be a very good one. My TN is here: http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... f=9&t=7864

Michael

[Kurt Wieneke]

Hey Michael,
Thanks for the link to your note. Yes, the '95 has some firm tannins that are well-integrated IMO. To me it drank too sweet, possibly due to lack of acidity in the very hot '95 vintage. It was very good, I agree with you there, but it was not to the level of outstanding.

[Roy Hersh]

Kurt,

Thanks for the excellent impression on the 1995 Cavadinha.

I recently visited Cavadinha again and tasted the 1984, 1986, 1992, 1996 and 2005 Cavadina Vintage Ports. I've done other mini-verticals there with other Vintages poured and therefore, have a pretty solid understanding/impression of the style achieved by Cavadinha. I think that the property's VPs have improved significantly since 2003 when the new robotic lagar was installed there. The 2004 for example, is fabulous and the 2005 is pretty darn good too.

I definitely get what you are saying about that sweet style and other 1995s also show this and it might be a ripeness issue (as you've alluded to) with the vintage overall. Then again, I have enjoyed some that are a bit more balanced by the acidity too, regardless of the RS. Thanks again for your note.

[Michael M.]

Hey Michael,
Thanks for the link to your note. Yes, the '95 has some firm tannins that are well-integrated IMO. To me it drank too sweet, possibly due to lack of acidity in the very hot '95 vintage. It was very good, I agree with you there, but it was not to the level of outstanding.

Hi Kurt,

thanks for your reply. I am looking foward to your next TNs.

Michael

[Andy Velebil]

An excellent TN and I thank you for sharing it, especially since I was with Roy when we visited Cavadinha recently.