Painful to find but I am glad I did. I don't have enough time to change this over from a .pdf or .docx, so the formatting won't be great ... but that should easily be made up for by the incredible information in this segment of the newsletter. Enjoy!
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The "collective Port wisdom" of FTLOP brings this question to you from both sides of the pond. It was the topic of a recent discussion with varying viewpoints, so we thought we would come directly to the Port trade to get their impression. We hope you will be willing to help us with the enigma called the "dumb phase" as it relates to Port.
There will be a few interrelated questions about what some call the "closed" or "dormancy" or "dumb phase" during a Port wine's life. We would like to understand:
• What is the cause of this "dumb stage" in a Port wine?
• Is this more prevalent in Vintage Ports than all the other types and does it affect wood-aged Ports any differently than it would a bottle-aged Port?
• At what age do you typically see the onset of a dumb phase with your company’s own Ports?
• How long does this phase last and what brings an end to it?
• Would an entire cross section of a Vintage ... say 1994 or 2000 enter the "phase" at the same time; or is it more likely to affect different shippers' Port and different vintages at different times?
And without any further ado, here are the diverse and brilliant responses from ¬¬ten individuals in the Port Trade. They come from companies both large and small and this month you’ll be introduced to a handful of new folks, who’ve never participated here before. Enjoy the read:
From Bartholomew Broadbent, Founder and CEO of Broadbent Selections:
The “dumb stage” is the same as stupidity in adolescence. It is part of growing up. It is the tide turning between over-concentrated fruit, overpowering everything when it is young and when the alcohol begins to show because the fruit is maturing faster than the alcohol. The onset usually takes place from four to eight years after bottling and by about 10 years, it is coming out of this phase due to natural maturation. Harmony comes back when the alcohol mellows and catches up with the mellowing fruit.
Wood aged Ports are not bottled until they have matured through the various stages to become ready for drinking. Only Vintage Port, Crusted Port and unfiltered LBVs are susceptible to ageing in bottle. Tawny Ports can close up and become stale in bottle but that has nothing to do with the dumb stage.
It will affect different Ports at different times. Can you predict your child? I have twins and they go through the same stages but at different times. Even bottle to bottle can vary but you can generalize and say that, during a certain time period, it is likely to be within the boundaries of the dumb phase. Certainly, house to house it will vary. Taylor’s is notorious for being sublime at its peak but showing a lot of alcohol until it peaks, whereas Graham’s is more approachable throughout its life span, with a relatively short dumb phase, because their sweetness balances it.
Certainly, every one of Broadbent Vintage Ports have differed in when they mature because we have used different blends, different grapes. The 1994 was just two varieties, the 1997, three. The 2000 is more of a classic. The 2003, this is going through the dumb stage now. The 2007 isn’t bottled yet.
From António Saraiva, General Manager, Rozès Porto:
Port is in permanent evolution due to chemical composition change. This change is due to a slow progress of chemical species (molecules) to equilibrium which may be changed by temperature differences or incidence of light. Most of this evolution is promoted either by an availability of oxygen or total absence of it. This is called the “redox” equilibrium which swings between oxidation (the «ox» part) or reduction (absence of oxygen, the «red» part). As a result of evolution, young, fresh Port filled with fruit and resinous flavors will slowly move away from these notes and develop balsamic, ethereal, more complex aromatic notes. The «dumb» phase happens when a significant part of young flavors (fruit, resin, chocolate) are not there anymore and not enough time has passed for complex notes (spicy, liquorice, balsamic) to appear.
Wood-aged Ports evolve by oxidation, therefore changes are much faster. The dumb phase, in barrel typically lasts between 1 to 2 years. Vintage Ports, however, are closed in a bottle and therefore oxygen availability is very scarce. They evolve by reduction, hence at a much slower pace and the notes they develop are far different. When Vintage Port was properly bottle-aged before being drunk, no-one would notice the «dumb» phase as it would only be drunk way after it was over. But with emerging markets (notably USA) requiring Vintage Ports to be released much sooner, the «dumb» phase becomes quite visible. In Vintage Port, this phase may last 4 to 10 years, depending on the style of the wine and the year’s quality. It ends when continuous aroma evolution brings about those complex notes that replace the young, fresh ones.
* Would an entire cross section of a Vintage ... say 1994 or 2000 enter the "phase" at the same time; or is it more likely to affect different shippers' Port and different vintages at different times?
It may happen both ways, depends on year quality and house’s style.
From Miguel Côrte-Real, Cockburn’s Commercial & Viticultural Director:
Wine, including Port, is a very complex and chemically instable liquid, highly reactive to the presence or absence of O2. Inside a bottle with a big cork as we use for Vintage, and after some time, this absence or drastic reduction of O2, will start producing some chemical changes ... Some of these changes will impact aroma and taste. This phase can be called “the reduction phase”, or “closed” or “dumb.” Then, after this instable phase, slowly, the wine will find their right chemical stability and balance. In my opinion it happens only with Vintage / SQ Vintage Port.
To answer the “onset” question regarding our own Ports, it depends much of the characteristics / chemical composition of every wine. So every new Vintage is different. It also depends on the type of storage during the previous two years before bottling, but this point has not been studied enough. On average, and in our case, this phase will have a bigger incidence between years 10 and 15, for Cockburn’s Vintage Port, and between 8 to 12 years on Canais SQ Vintage Port.
From Luis Sottomayor, Director of Oenology, Sogrape Vinhos, S.A.:
Porto Wine is a living product, and by this I mean that it goes through many stages during its life. In fact, in my opinion, there’s only one period when the wine doesn’t develop, which is straight after bottling. This process ends up being quite violent for the wine, and therefore it is only natural that it is traumatizing, requiring the wine a longer time to react. Naturally, this period can last longer or shorter, but generally, the more body and structure the wine has, such as Vintage Ports, the longer it will take to recover.
Later on, there is a stage I wouldn’t call dormancy but it’s when the wine is atypical, showing a difficult and uncharacteristic tasting. This happens when the wine starts losing its primary and secondary aromas (that come from the grape itself and its fermentation) to get the typical aromas of bottle ageing, what we call Bouquet. Unfortunately it’s not possible to know exactly when and how long should this stage this take. But one thing is for sure, the more structure and body the wine has, the longer will the primary and secondary aromas resist. But also, the longer will this “dumb phase” last…
Naturally this “dumb phase” occurs in every wine, Tawny Porto included, but in a much lighter and faster way. As I mentioned above, the most structured wines with bottle ageing are the more affected.
Each wine is unique and with a life of its own! The only thing I’m certain about the “dumb phase” in our wines is that it happens only after a long period in bottle, due to the great structure and acidity they have.
Unfortunately there’s no scientific answer (how long the phase lasts) for that! We don’t know when this phase ends or starts, but what we do know is that in great wines it is extremely slow and only after many years the bottle ageing aromas will prevail. Having the opportunity to regularly taste some old Vintage Ports from our cellar, I dare saying that within the Sogrape Vinhos brands only wines that are nearly 100 years old show exclusively these aromas.
1994 and 2000 were two exceptional years, but very different, what leads to different evolutions. Different brands have different wine styles, and therefore different progresses. From what I’ve recently tasted, only some 1994’s are now getting the bottle aromas…
From David Guimaraens, Technical Director and Winemaker, The Fladgate Partnership:
When one refers to the dumb phase in Port wine, one is speaking specifically about Vintage Port. Wood Ports are not intended to be set aside for further development in the bottle, and are recommended to be drunk within a couple of years after bottling.
In Vintage Port, the dumb phase is the period between the loss of a vintage’s young and expressive fruit characters, and the development of the characteristic bottle age aromas and flavors. During this period a bottle of vintage will show less well as it neither has enough fruit to make it attractive, nor is there enough bottle maturation complexity.
The enormous improvements in the quality of the spirit we use since the mid 1990’s has resulted in both this dumb phase being shorter, as the cleaner and more elegant spirit doesn’t mask the fruit as much, as well as the dumb phase is not as unpleasant as it was in some of the older vintages, particularly those of the early 80’s.
The onset of the dumb phase in a vintage Port depends entirely on the year. Generally, the classic vintages enter their dumb phase later than a non-classic/single quinta. The classic years have greater intensity of fruit and structure, and thus hold their freshness for longer, in the same way as classic vintage live for longer.
A dumb phase will start between the 8th and 15th year, depending on the vintage, and can last between 3 to 6 years. The dumb phase ends when sufficient bottle maturity develops to add to the character of the vintage.
The stage they enter their dumb phase will vary from one shipper to another, as this is dependent on the quality and style of each house’s vintage.
From Nick Heath, Marketing Director, The Fladgate Partnership:
Note: Nick was the Port maker at Sandeman for about a dozen years, until he joined TFP in 1986. His grandfather was a Managing Partner of Fonseca.
The ‘dumb phase’ refers to the transition from the youthful fruit-dominated early life of the wine to the multi-dimensional complexity of maturity. It could also be referred to as the wine’s ‘adolescent’ phase, when it gradually loses the simple charm of early youth but has not yet developed the more rounded and nuanced personality associated with age.
As the term suggests, it is the period during which the wine is at its least expressive. There is often also a certain awkwardness and lack of harmony, the aromas and flavours appearing disjointed and unresolved. During this period in a Vintage Port’s life it is sometimes described as being ‘dusty’, referring to the fact that the wine’s aromas appear dull, subdued and uninteresting. The development of the tannins is also a factor, with the firm and clearly delineated tannins of the young wine evolving towards the more integrated structure associated with a mature wine, passing through a phase where they may seem gritty or dusty on the palate.
Different wines will undergo this process at different stages and the timing may also be affected by storage conditions which may accelerate or slow up the evolution of the wine.
The advent and duration of the ‘dumb phase’ is very difficult to predict but can occur any time from around five or six years after bottling and can last anything from a few months to several years. The mechanisms which account for the evolution of aroma in wine are complex and vary depending on factors like grape variety, climate and method of vinification. In a fortified wine like port they will also be affected by the nature of the fortifying spirit. However the most important contributor to the ‘dumb’ period is probably the reductive process that the wine undergoes once it has been in bottle for some time. The aromas produced by this reduction are not always very pleasant and this accounts for the strange ‘off’ smells which are sometimes encountered during a wine’s ‘dumb period’.
The reductive components of a wine are essential to ensure a long life in bottle as they protect the wine from oxidation. Vintage Port – one of the world’s most long lasting wines – is rich in these reductive compounds and therefore perhaps more likely to go through a prolonged ‘dumb phase’ than wines with less stamina. The ‘dumb phase’ is therefore the price we pay for the sublime complexity which a Vintage Port develops after decades in bottle. It also justifies the principle that with Vintage Port – as with other great classic red wines - you should either enjoy it young, or wait.
From Adrian Bridge, Managing Director, The Fladgate Partnership:
Although they are both (David Guimaraens and Nick Heath) pinpointing the same reason for the 'dumb' phase, the adolescence of the wine, they are giving different dates for the onset and the duration. This is interesting because it underscores the fact that there is no easy answer given each wine is individual. Additional factors in the process will be the way that the wine is stored. We would expect vintages stored in colder cellars to enter the stage later than those in warmer. There certainly used to be a great variation here in Portugal from our own cellars as historically we had a few that were above ground (now we only store below) and these wines did often reach the dumb phase earlier.
In my experience it is often not as simple as a single phase. The aging process is complex and cannot be considered to be wholly linear. Thus vintages may have an initial dumb phase, return to a new phase in development only to fall back into a more subdued phase again. I remember very well a discussion in the late 1990's regarding the 1977 vintage. We normally present a guideline for great classics to be 'ready to drink' at 20 years. Thus a UK journalist who tasted the 1977 in 1997 was able to state that the wines were not that great and maybe should not have been declared. Yet, three years later they had completely opened out and were showing their real style.
Of course this brings us to the question of house. Not all wines are equal just as not all Vintage Ports are. It has long been a view that what matters more is the year not the shipper. However, I think that this view is changing. Vintages that are often easier to approach when young may not have the stamina to go the distance. Tasting a young Vintage is very difficult and assessing the ability to age a very serious task. We are in the process now and I must return from this note to the tasting room where our tasting panel of 11 are currently combining their collective wisdom.
From Claudia Quevedo, Winemaker for Quevedo, at Quinta da Sra. do Rosário:
The dumb phase represents the gestation period of a wine; this is when it evolves improving slowly its quality. This period is mainly caused by the reduction-oxidation reactions which affect the wine before and after the bottling. Once the wine is in the bottle, it will be affected by the reduction phenomenon which will "hide" its aromas. Then, the oxygenation through the cork will occur and little by little will polymerize the tannins, making the wine more balance and integrated. This phase will take a long time, because the oxidation through the cork is minimal and therefore really slow. The more complex and full bodied the wine is, the more slowly these reactions will take place.
While referring to Port Wine, the dumb phase is more usual in young bottled wines, mainly Vintages. Some people say, the dumb phase of Vintage port happens between the third and the twelfth year after the harvest. After this, the wine evolves to a level of higher complexity. Nevertheless, it is very difficult to know when it starts and when it finishes. It depends on each wine, its reduction potential, its acidity, the temperature and aging conditions, and other variables such as the volume of the bottle, absence of light and the perfect conditions of the cork.
Regarding the wood aged wines, they will not go through this dumb phase. When they go to the bottle they have already passed by the oxidation aging. The oxygen exchange occurs through the porosity of the wood. However these wines, and also those not aged in wood, can go through some swinging stages during the first months after the bottling, caused by the recovery from this shock.
From Ana Rosas, Port Wine Blender, Ramo-Pinto:
After being bottled, the wine will need some time till it gets to its best and one can truly appreciate it. Usually, in the beginning the wine has its primary aromas of fruits, to become then “flat” developing only afterwards very slowly the finer aromas - the bouquet. In terms of mouth, tactile sensation, tactile-olfactory and retro-nasal, the wine will be at its best in this last phase. The tannins will be polymerized and there will be a higher balance of alcohol-acidity-tannin in red wines and especially in Vintage Ports whose evolution/ageing in bottle will allow it to become elegant and soft; a balanced wine, complex and distinctive.
After spending some years in bottle, the wine gains some aromas of torrefaction, such as chocolate, coffee, cacao, etc., as well as some other spicy aromas as cinnamon and pepper and, occasionally, some fruity aromas. This is a self-evident truth. However, what really happens, how and when, nobody really knows. What we do know is that a Vintage Port, just like any other wine, after bottling, goes through a stress that may last from 2 to 3 months, depending of the wine. Afterwards, the wine becomes exuberant, full of the so-called primary aromas and even some secondary ones. After awhile, between the 2nd and 4th years until the 9th – 10th years, it closes and enters in this dumb-stage.
The wine loses its primary aromas and reveals only very few of its aromas. However, if you serve it very well decanted, it loses some of its shyness and unveils a bit of what it will become. Very few oxygen in the bottle, full-bodied wines with a high degree of alcohol originate very soft, though very slow, reactions to the tannins’ polymerization.
Another thing that has a great influence on how the wine will evolve and age is how one keeps the wine, such as the climatic conditions, etc, but mostly the micro environment in which the wine stays.
Natural cork allows a free exchange of oxygen which enables a balanced evolution of the wine for a long time. However, the main problem of the cork (if you take into account the development of technologies that are able to truly reduce the problem of the trichloroacetic acid [TCA] and cork taste) is the variability that happens inside the same lot of corks – some may be totally hermetic while others are too permeable to oxygen – which is why we’ll have bottles with different behaviors.
For this reason, we’ll have to bear in mind how important the process of bottling is. The quantity of oxygen already solved in the wine that is going to be bottled, the addition of sulphuric anhydride, the volume of the headspace and its gas composition, the permeability of the sealer that is being used, the temperature of both the filler and the storing, are only some of the many factors that may influence vintage’s behaviour: how’s going to evolve and when.
So, if on one hand you have “the year of the harvest” which explains why vintages of different producers may have the same behaviour (“closing” more or less at a similar time), on the other hand there’s also the wine itself with its specific characteristics (wine, grape varieties, oenologist, blend) which may explain why vintages of the same producer/year, but from different vineyards/blends, may behave differently.
1-What is the cause of this "dumb stage" in a Port wine?
– The dumb stage in a Vintage happens mainly because the wine is evolving in an oxido-reductive environment. Both high alcohol and polyphenol content lead to an extremely slow polymerization.
2- Is this more prevalent in Vintage Ports than all the other types and does it affect wood-aged Ports any differently than it would a bottle-aged Port?
– It affects considerably more the Vintages than other types of wine. Regarding the Ports aged in wood, in a highly oxidative environment, it’s different. They also suffer from bottling stress, but when they get over this stage they keep stable. After some years, they may present some aromas of bottle evolution and they may loose some freshness but they keep being reasonably stable.
3- At what age do you typically see the onset of a dumb phase with your companies own Ports?
- Generally, the Vintages Ramos Pinto tend to enter this phase about 2 to 3 years after bottling and the Single Quinta de Ervamoira a little bit latter.
4- How long does this phase last and what brings an end to it?
– It depends of each wine. Usually this phase is shorter on the Single Quinta de Ervamoira that gets out of “adolescence” sooner (10 / 11 years) than the Vintage Ports of Ramos Pinto.
5- Would an entire cross section of a Vintage ... say 1994 or 2000 enter the "phase" at the same time; or is it more likely to affect different shippers' Port and different vintages at different times?
- The year/ harvest has a great influence in the wine, which allows you to find aromatic profiles very similar in different producers of the same year, however each wine is unique as well as their evolution.
From Cristiano van Zeller, Proprietor of Quinta do Vale Dona Maria:
* What is the cause of this "dumb stage" in a Port wine?
I do not have a technical explanation for the “dumb stage” in a Port Wine. It all depends on the style of Port you are talking about. In Vintage Port this phase may happen between its 3rd, 4th year after bottling and somewhere between the 12th to the 15th. This is a more general rule. It might have to do with the natural evolution of the wine in the bottle: when very young it is “sparkling” with young very mature pure fruit and very intense aromas; when properly matured, the more subtle aromas of tobacco, some dry fruits, mixed with good matured fruit jam come out in the open. Maybe we cal the “dumb stage” to that middle period when the wine is not as vibrant as when very young and not yet so “purely” matured to have the subtlety we so much appreciate in great aged Vintage Port.
* Is this more prevalent in Vintage Ports than all the other types and does it affect wood-aged Ports any differently than it would a bottle-aged Port?
I frankly think it does not affect any other Port other than those made to age in bottle: Vintage Port, Traditional LBV Ports (in a much lesser degree) and Crusted Ports. All other Ports are bottled for immediate consumption. Their “dumb period” only lastas about 2 to 3 months after bottling, no more, and that we attribute to the shock of the bottling. This happens in all wines anyway.
* How long does this phase last and what brings an end to it?
No idea what brings an end to the “dumb phase”. Its duration depends on the Vintage: the top Vintage Port years might start their “dumb phase” earlier and end later than other non-classic Vintage Port years. I would dare say that this phase might last between some 8 and 20 years, depending on the Vintage: the better the vintage, the longer the phase (also the longer the wine will live).
* Would an entire cross section of a Vintage ... say 1994 or 2000 enter the "phase" at the same time; or is it more likely to affect different shippers' Port and different vintages at different times?
All varies with the vintage and the shipper.
From Elsa Couto, Export Manager, C. da Silva:
We can´t identify a specific reason that explains this dumb stage in Port Wine. In fact from our experience it is prevalent in Vintage Ports and not in wood-aged Ports.
We have an image for this stage that we think can be very interesting: This dumb stage is like being in your teens / youth. You have childhood which is fantastic. Then you have your youth- problematic, closed in yourself, difficult to face the world and the others . And finally you become adult and you are again in harmony with life. The same with the Vintage Ports – in our opinion.
From Paul Symington, Joint Managing Director, Symington Family Estates:
It is well understood that all great wines that mature in bottle go through a profound change at some stage during the years that they are cellared.
I believe that the reason is really quite straight forward; in the first few years after bottling, the wine retains its vibrant youth character and its fruit driven aromas and colour. Being isolated from the air, the aging process is slowed considerably when compared with the more rapid maturation arising from barrel aging. So opening a bottle of good Vintage Port when it is up to 10 years old (so 8 years in bottle) will reveal a rich complex and dark wine with black chocolate intensity, strong tannins and the vibrant fruit character that I describe above.
At some stage after this first ten year period, and this obviously depends on each Vintage Port, the wine begins to lose the vibrant character, the tannins soften and the wine begins to develop the special aromas and velvet elegance and flavours that only great Vintage Port can give. But there is definitely a period of transition between one and the other. A taster who has become familiar with the power of a particular youthful wine will at some stage realise that the wine is changing. In my experience this usually happens sometime after the wines 10th birthday. But of course, for some wines this happens a lot later. I remember when I came back to Portugal in 1979 to work with my father in our family Port house that the Dow’s 1963 was sometimes served at the Factory House. The Dow’s ‘63 was then 16 years old and all were amazed at its depth and complexity and its profound colour. This wine had certainly not yet gone through any ‘dumb’ phase.
But the change does come to all great Vintage Ports at some stage and it can last for just two or three years, or even up to five years. The wine can still be very enjoyable during this time if it is a good Port, but then it becomes even more glorious as the delicate cinnamon and coffee flavours with soft tannins replace the vibrant young fruit flavours. The profound elegance and harmony of a great Port that has been bottle-aged for some 20 years is a marvelous experience.
So yes, I do agree that there is a ‘dumb’ phase. But every Vintage Port is different and each house’s Ports behave differently. I think that the 1994’s are now beginning to close up slightly. This is a very good sign as it is quite late and supports the view that this is one of the very best Vintage Ports of the second half of the 20th century.
that VP's after 6-7years from bottling, goes into a 'closed' phase, and should be left alone for a couple of years - and maybe it's not just after 6-7 years? maybe it comes again later on? can anyone comment or have any experience with this? 
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as would Paul, I see 
...and I'll let the questions flow freely as I get around to them, trust me 
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And thanks Claus for raising it int the first place 