For The Love Of Port

To celebrate our constitution day. Champagne had perhaps been more appropriate for the occasion, but with 8 degrees Celsius and pouring rain all day long something stronger was called for. BBR bottling. Still some red, fairly dark; Dark berries, black tea and a hint of raisins on the nose; Same in the moth, a whiff of flowers, on the dry side, but not drying, long finish, masculine VP. 94 points

A favorite wine of my also for about 40 years-was great from the start.(like Fonseca).

John, I certainly agree that this is a very good port, but I have had som sub-par bottles. This one was fine, but not top-notch.

Unlike you I found it very hard to taste the first decades. This is the first tasting note I found, dated March 12, 1981: Very dry and very structured, closed. Will outlive us all? Rating just tentative. 94p

Lars:

It's funny in the early 70's I drank 63's(very hard but I loved them) but now I had a 94 Graham

and was so hard I had trouble drinking it ?

John

John, perhaps as the years go by and we ourselves acquire some tertiary characteristics we no longer value brute force as much, but appreciate the subtleties of life?

No question that when VP's get to 40+ years of age, that bottle variations will happen often, especially considering these were bottled by several different companies (specifically talking about the 1970 Taylor). Some have off bottles and declare that the 1970 Taylor has past its prime. Like the 1970 Fonseca and Graham's and Dow, these can be epic Ports when in great condition. Finding a bottle that shows perfectly may be a challenge, depending on where one purchased their bottles, prior provenance (obviously a big factor) and how they've been stored, too. At their best, the 1970 Taylor is still a beauty. I've had a couple of dodgy bottles and have read about lots of 'em. Fortunately, I've had great sucess when opening bottles from my own cellar, which I've owned for many years now.

Roy Hersh wrote:No question that when VP's get to 40+ years of age, that bottle variations will happen often, especially considering these were bottled by several different companies (specifically talking about the 1970 Taylor). Some have off bottles and declare that the 1970 Taylor has past its prime. Like the 1970 Fonseca and Graham's and Dow, these can be epic Ports when in great condition. Finding a bottle that shows perfectly may be a challenge, depending on where one purchased their bottles, prior provenance (obviously a big factor) and how they've been stored, too. At their best, the 1970 Taylor is still a beauty. I've had a couple of dodgy bottles and have read about lots of 'em. Fortunately, I've had great sucess when opening bottles from my own cellar, which I've owned for many years now.

Roy and I more recently have disagreed about this Port (it would be boring if we all agreed on everything ). IMO this VP has reached its peak. That's not to say it is past its prime or going down hill. I have no doubt it will stay on its current perch for some time to come. But unlike the Fonseca or even a Graham's, both of which are still young fruity and have many more years of development before they eventually peak. This becomes quite noticeable and readily apparent when tasting this Port side by side with others, such as the Fonseca. Sure there is some bottle variation to be expected (mostly a result of poor storage in a top flight VP of this age), but I've even had an ex-cellars mag of this recently that was good but also showed signs it had peaked.

TN: 70 T-Bottled by Russell & Mciver-London(never hear of them)

Nose: great nose

Body: very full

Taste: great

Aftertaste: very very long

19/20

A great port.

IMO-at peak-a great wine.

A recent purchase-40+ years experence on how to buy wine.

Andy Velebil wrote:Sure there is some bottle variation to be expected (mostly a result of poor storage in a top flight VP of this age),

I was under the impression that - aside from storage concerns - there is also significant variation between different bottlings of this port - with some known to be good but others known to be less reliable. But that might just be hearsay...

After initial skepticism due to several mediocre experiences with this wine, i must say the last three or four times i tried this have turned me into a convert. And the extra maturity means that a good bottle can still show favourably alongside the still young Graham and even more youthful Fonseca, even if those two 70s are arguably better wines (and, in my experience, more reliable).