1984 Smith Woodhouse LBV Port -- [b. 1988]

[Jay Powers]

Smith Woodhouse 1984 LBV

Bottled in 1988 and unfiltered.

Light red/pink upon decanting off of tons of sediment (the amount of sediment is similar to a 1960s-1970s VP). A light bouquet of flowers, with violets predominating. The first sip is a little rough with some heat and a slight medicinal taste (eucalyptus?). Not much fruit yet.

After two hours in the decanter some of the heat is gone/starting to integrate, and some more fruit is coming through, although it’s still a little reminiscent of a tawny port.

24 hours on: The aroma of violets is even more predominant. Smoothed out a bit, but still not much fruit on the palate.

26 hours on: The heat is now gone, smooth, with a good nose. Lot's of tawny character.

The end result: This was best at the last time point, after the alcohol was fully integrated. Not a fantastic wine, but an interesting experience to taste another "ancient" LBV. In the end I would rate this in the bottom quartile or maybe a little better compared to all the Ports I'm likely to have this year, so a 2 or 3 on the Tom scale. It seems unlikely to get better over time, so my final rating would be:

3-2

Jay