TN: A range of ports
Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 4:30 am
From a local (high-end) wine shop tasting:
First a disclaimer: after having had the opportunity over the years to try a small number of very old tawny Ports, I have a low tolerance for most youthful tawnies - they all just seem like simple, sweet syrup to me. So excuse my probably overly-critical notes for the two tawnies.
Penfolds "Grandfather" Tawny
Medium golden color, sweet, artificial syrup flavors (like cheap fake-maple pancake syrup), pretty good finish but zero complexity. 85/100
1966 Krohn Colheita
Similar medium golden color, this is a bit sweeter and more viscous than the Penfolds. The artificial-ness to the flavors is gone, but I still find no real complexity here. 88/100
2001 Taylor Quinta de Vargellas
Nice fruit on the nose, more than any of the other vintage Ports. Quite dark in color, nicely balanced with black fruit flavors, medium tannins, and a nice level of sweetness. Tasted pretty good until I sampled the next wine, which made the Taylor seem pretty simple. This is a nice Port to pick up at it's price point (around $35) to have for shorter term drinking in 4-8 years. 89/100.
2000 Quinta do Vesuvio
Light on the nose, but the wine is kicked up a couple of notches from the Taylor. Big, dense, very lush, with moderate tannins. Medium sweetness and not much complexity right now, in fact it comes across as almost grapey. Very good Port, but for my tastes I have to give the nod in this vintage to the Noval (because of its impressive complexity) and Grahams (because of its sheer laser-like power) ahead of this. 94/100.
1992 Taylor
Again light nose, but there are signs of some very nice flavor complexities: spice, anise, some aromatic herbs. Moderate sweetness and medium tannin levels, this is still very youthful, but drinking nicely if you must. 93/100
1970 Graham's
Something doesn't seem right here. This is nearly a match for the tawnies in color. Quite sweet, with a much more tawny than vintage flavor profile. When I checked out the cork, I found it blackened and soaked through to the top. This can't be a representative bottle. NR.
1899 Seppelt "Para" Port
I actually went over to the Peninsula specifically to try this wine. Figured I would never own a bottle at the price of $600, but was willing to pay $40 to taste it. When I walked in, I was told that no one knew what it was supposed to taste like, and they weren't sure it was a good bottle, so they were comping the pour. Fine with me! As it was poured into the glass, all I could think of was used motor oil. Motor oil that needed changing about 20,000 miles ago. The color was dark brown, and so viscous it just sheeted the glass a light brown as it slowly settled down the sides after swirling. You could smell it from 3 feet away. At first, a not very pleasant, almost rancid smell, but as it aired in the glass over the course of an hour it cleaned up nicely. I still can't describe the aroma, but rancio comes closest. In the mouth it is the essence of everything; walnut/hazelnut, dates, black fig, toffee, coffee, mollasses. There is sweetness, but what must have at one time been sugars have seemingly turned into this melange of dark/fruity/nutty flavors, flavors that cling to and coat your mouth for a long time after the wine is gone. In many ways it is like a Pedro Ximenez sherry. A very interesting tasting experience. Not a wine I would consider collecting, as the experience was not earth-shattering, but impressive nevertheless. 98/100, a couple points thrown in for the thrill of tasting a 100+ year-old wine.
Regards,
Alan
First a disclaimer: after having had the opportunity over the years to try a small number of very old tawny Ports, I have a low tolerance for most youthful tawnies - they all just seem like simple, sweet syrup to me. So excuse my probably overly-critical notes for the two tawnies.
Penfolds "Grandfather" Tawny
Medium golden color, sweet, artificial syrup flavors (like cheap fake-maple pancake syrup), pretty good finish but zero complexity. 85/100
1966 Krohn Colheita
Similar medium golden color, this is a bit sweeter and more viscous than the Penfolds. The artificial-ness to the flavors is gone, but I still find no real complexity here. 88/100
2001 Taylor Quinta de Vargellas
Nice fruit on the nose, more than any of the other vintage Ports. Quite dark in color, nicely balanced with black fruit flavors, medium tannins, and a nice level of sweetness. Tasted pretty good until I sampled the next wine, which made the Taylor seem pretty simple. This is a nice Port to pick up at it's price point (around $35) to have for shorter term drinking in 4-8 years. 89/100.
2000 Quinta do Vesuvio
Light on the nose, but the wine is kicked up a couple of notches from the Taylor. Big, dense, very lush, with moderate tannins. Medium sweetness and not much complexity right now, in fact it comes across as almost grapey. Very good Port, but for my tastes I have to give the nod in this vintage to the Noval (because of its impressive complexity) and Grahams (because of its sheer laser-like power) ahead of this. 94/100.
1992 Taylor
Again light nose, but there are signs of some very nice flavor complexities: spice, anise, some aromatic herbs. Moderate sweetness and medium tannin levels, this is still very youthful, but drinking nicely if you must. 93/100
1970 Graham's
Something doesn't seem right here. This is nearly a match for the tawnies in color. Quite sweet, with a much more tawny than vintage flavor profile. When I checked out the cork, I found it blackened and soaked through to the top. This can't be a representative bottle. NR.
1899 Seppelt "Para" Port
I actually went over to the Peninsula specifically to try this wine. Figured I would never own a bottle at the price of $600, but was willing to pay $40 to taste it. When I walked in, I was told that no one knew what it was supposed to taste like, and they weren't sure it was a good bottle, so they were comping the pour. Fine with me! As it was poured into the glass, all I could think of was used motor oil. Motor oil that needed changing about 20,000 miles ago. The color was dark brown, and so viscous it just sheeted the glass a light brown as it slowly settled down the sides after swirling. You could smell it from 3 feet away. At first, a not very pleasant, almost rancid smell, but as it aired in the glass over the course of an hour it cleaned up nicely. I still can't describe the aroma, but rancio comes closest. In the mouth it is the essence of everything; walnut/hazelnut, dates, black fig, toffee, coffee, mollasses. There is sweetness, but what must have at one time been sugars have seemingly turned into this melange of dark/fruity/nutty flavors, flavors that cling to and coat your mouth for a long time after the wine is gone. In many ways it is like a Pedro Ximenez sherry. A very interesting tasting experience. Not a wine I would consider collecting, as the experience was not earth-shattering, but impressive nevertheless. 98/100, a couple points thrown in for the thrill of tasting a 100+ year-old wine.
Regards,
Alan
While the Seppelt was a truly unique tasting experience (and a very special wine, considering its age and rarity), for my tastes I would prefer a very old Colheita Port from Portugal. If you've never tried one, it is a very different style. Much lighter in both color and body, and the complexities typically come in a different form - things like candied orange rind, almonds, butterscotch. And pricing is probably half to 1/3 of the Seppelts. If you ever have the chance to try a 1934 or 1937 (for example) Colheita from Niepoort, Noval, Warre's, etc., don't pass it up.