For The Love Of Port

1980 VINTAGE PORTS - IWFS CHICAGO MAY LUNCHEON - Columbia Yacht Club (5/2/2012)

This event was the last luncheon of the season for the Chicago branch of the IWFS. The weather was fabulous and perfect for a lunch on the shore of Lake Michigan. In this event I'll list the tasting notes of the five bottlings of 1980 vintage port that I brought for service with dessert. With the exception of Quinta co Noval Nacional, the wines did not disappoint.

• 1980 Dow Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
  Opened three hours before service. WOW! This is a big wine that still has yet to reach maturity. Lots of plum flavors. Still some alcohol heat that would have mellowed out if it had been opened earlier. Dark purple color without any color loss. At 32 years old, this wine is at least another 5 years from maturity and will hold together for at least a decade after that. Clearly the wine of the vintage. (95 pts.)
• 1980 Gould Campbell Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
  Opened three hours before serving. Still very red with a slightly brownish edge. A touch of menthol on the nose at first that blew off. Mature but excellent, with easily a decade of solid life left. Great fruit with medium sweetness and very balanced tannins. Excellent. (92 pts.)
• 1980 Graham Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
  Opened three hours before service. Mostly red but with a brown rim, the color not quite as bright as the Gould Campbell. Nice fruit with raisins dominating over plums. The alcohol and tannins were integrated, so no real heat from the alcohol. Mature at this stage with another 5-7 years of enjoyable life left. (90 pts.)
• 1980 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
  Opened three hours before service. Bright brownish red in color, closer to a tawny in color. Medium sweet with little tannins left. Definitely on the downhill slide, but will hold together at least another few years. (86 pts.)
• 1980 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional - Portugal, Douro, Porto
  Opened three hours before service. Very light brown, sort of like weak iced tea. Very simple flavors with moderate sweetness and a dry finish. Very much on the downhill slide and not a good showing for this legendary vineyard. This wine will be dead soon. If you own one, drink it. If you don't own one, don't waste your money. (80 pts.)

This was a fun horizontal tasting that all the attendees enjoyed. The Dow clearly is the wine of the vintage, while the Gould Campbell and Graham are doing well. The Taylor is not showing as well as hoped for this producer, while the Nacional is a flat-out failure for Quinta do Noval considering the reputation of this vineyard and the quality of the other producers. Still, the 1980 vintage shows to be something that port lovers should be paying attention to.

Well, Taylor isn't known for its strength in the 80s, and Noval was weak from the late 60s (subject to debate as to exactly when), up to but not including 1994, so your results are not all that surprising. Thanks for the notes. I'm weak in 1980, and definitely should get some Dow some day, and maybe some ...

Eric Menchen wrote:Well, Taylor isn't known for its strength in the 80s, and Noval was weak from the late 60s (subject to debate as to exactly when), up to but not including 1994, so your results are not all that surprising. Thanks for the notes. I'm weak in 1980, and definitely should get some Dow some day, and maybe some ...

Noval was started losing its luster with the 1970 VP (regular, not Nacional). And agree on the Taylor's VP's in the 80's.

John,
Sounds like it was a great way to end the evening. What other wines did you all enjoy?

Andy Velebil wrote:

Eric Menchen wrote:John,
Sounds like it was a great way to end the evening. What other wines did you all enjoy?

Andy, this was actually a lunch, if you can believe it! We do these about six months out of the year, in addition to the monthly dinners. Some members contribute wine for each course. It can be a lot of fun, but the rest of your day is shot. Here's the rundown:

Aperitif: N.V. Montaudon champagne.

1st course: Tuna loin ceviche with crispy wontons. Wine was the 2003 Sine Qua Non Sublime Isolation. It was a neat blend of several white grapes. We identified Chardonnay, Semillon, and Roussanne in the mix.

2nd course: Braised crispy mini pork shanks over sweet potato puree with a red wine chocolate BBQ sauce. The wine was the 2009 Cakebread Rubaiyat. The wine paired perfectly with the sauce. It's the best BBQ wine I think I've ever had.

3rd course: Grilled hangar steak with herb and garlic grits, mushroom and asparagus ragout and red wine syrup. The wine was the 2006 Cain Concept. This is a pretty huge wine that's still very young. We probably should have decanted it a couple of hours ahead.

Dessert: "Coffee and Doughnuts", which is mini cinnamon and sugar tossed doughnut holes served with a dark chocolate and coffee ganache. The wine was the 1980 ports. The dessert was perfect for the ports, because the ganache is not really sweet but is more bittersweet. The wines were sweeter than the dessert, which is the best thing.

I forgot to take photos!

Now that's a lunch!