Spectacular wine. Nose of black fruits, violets, mint, minerals and a meaty/olive note in the background. On the palate, sweet and fruity at the start. Transitions to a really minerally mid palate and finish. Super long finish with balanced acidity and dry tannins adding great structure.
In a beautiful drinking window (early secondary) and will hold for quite a while. Impeccably balanced. Can easily get to tertiary phase in a other 15+ years. I'm also very much enjoying it now with its deep, bright fruity core.
Everything you would want from a great trading port. Smooth, fruity, nutty…has lots of legs left to age as well. Used a Coravin to extract a couple glasses. Saving a couple glasses for later
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Absolutely phenomenal vintage port in peak drinking condition (out of a 375 ml). Tons of fig, marzipan, and other dried fruits. Some cedar and leather as well. Very pronounced nose and a lengthy finish. Showing great maturity but the fruit is still present.
Enjoyed with the classic pairing of Stilton and it was a beautiful marriage.
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Celebrating 2021, welcoming 2022 (Bellingham): Okay, I didn't have any ruby port to use for rye crumb crusted endive in a port reduction, so I used 1/2 cup of this .375 bottle to cook, then enjoyed the remainder after dinner with Rogue River Blue Cheese. Elegant, especially for an '03, with great dark fruit and dark chocolate. Not much evolution this point. I like Dow in '03.
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From a .375ml, decanted with heavy sediment, nicely balanced between fruit and sweetness, plenty of dark fruit, cocoa, caramel notes, plenty of tannins to integrate, should continue to improve for several more years. Very nice accompaniment to the end of another Christmas evening.
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20% alcohol. Good long cork with minimal wine penetration. Bottle opened and partly consumed two weeks beforehand, so plenty of breathing time. The colour is dark and opaque all the way to the rim. Pleasant nose with a mixture of cooked and fresh dark fruit and some powdery notes in the finish; nothing remarkable. The best thing about the mouth is its velvety feel, a sense of viscosity and a palate coating quality; good length too, but how much of that is just carried by the alcohol? As for the other flavours, they are again very pleasant with dark berries and a note of toffee emerging in the finish under the unintegrated alcohol. I am still waiting for an epiphany on vintage Port. Maybe I am drinking these wines way too young (the wines, not myself unfortunately). As it is, I did not get my money's worth from this bottle. Hence not a repeat purchase.
A demi bottle of vintage 2003 to end the night, a first lineup this season at open air by the riverbank.
Firm and dense, with solid blackberry and black currant jam. Like all port, heavy on the alco side, 20% abv, but untraceable in the bouquet - still, it leaves a minor burning sensation at the back of the throat.
Paired with shisha, and it worked together just fine.
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Double decanted prior to the Holidays for consumption thru the winter one or two small glases at a time as per tradition.
One month out it has gone to wow territory. Prominent soft, almost caressing tannin envelops the still young and beautiful cassis/dark currant fruit that carries for a minute.
Sorry for the dramatics but, obviously, I'm enjoying this small glass of heaven!
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Per the back label, Dow's has been in existence for over two centuries. It has made only 26 vintage Port "declarations" in the last 100 years. Sourced from the Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira. Cosechas from those two viñards make up Dow's vintage port wines, made partly from traditional foot-treading and partly from mechanical treading (robotic "legares"). Owned and operated by the 4th generation of the Symington family, port producers since 1882.
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Slightly translucent when pouring. Rich and flavourful. But not, as one drinker put it, young. The drinking window for this wine does not start in 2017; it started several years ago, especially if you like a younger flavour profile. This is more than drinkable now. I get blue fruit and chocolate, even mocha. Complex flavours. Richly delicious! Half bottle purchased in 2009 at Kroger for $25. Wish I'd bought several.
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Pitch black redness colour. Lovely and balanced nose of marzipan and fruit. Very full and extravagant. The palate is immense with tons of power and layers upon layers of crowberries, blueberries, lingonberries and dried grapes, prunes and mostly primary elements. Extremely good and delightful.
50+5+13+16+8 (92p)
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2015 Port Harvest Tour; 9/26/2015-10/3/2015 (Portugal): Opaque dark fruit at the center with clearing on the extreme edges. Very intense fruit and pronounced tannins on the approach. Black currant and blueberry compote on the palate. Long finish with firm tannins and a touch of spice.
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Black cherry and dark chocolate, with fennel and dark spice in the background. Still much too primary for me, and straightforward on the palate. Will be better as it develops more depth of flavor with time, which it inevitably will.
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Drank at the end of a big boy wine dinner featuring 89 Haut Brion and dry aged prime grade prime rib (yum). Port is a great way to end the meal (and drink with dessert). This had all the good flavors but didn't seem horribly complex. Could definitely use more time, but good stuff.
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Opened this half bottle on a lark. Very nice nose of dark, tarry compote, hint of creosote and spice; palate is dark and dense, tarry, anise, fine tannins, great acidity, with a long, complex finish. I have yet to open a 2003 that didn't impress. This not is from day 3, and the wine hasn't budged or deteriorated one bit.
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Dow Vintage Port Vertical (Harry's Steak House, NYC): Decanted for twenty four hours. Rich, succulent and forceful. A wine with great depth and structure. No hint of stewed fruit or over ripe elements. This was flat out gorgeous.
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World of Spain and Portugal (Farpointe Cellar): The nose had figs, chocolate, oak, cherry, and dried flowers. The palate had figs, prunes, chocolate, blackberry, cherry, spice, and a molasses finish.
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Glad it wasn't my bottle we opened as this was (as predicted) tanic as hell right now. Black as night in the glass with floral and some damp earthiness fragrances. After about a short 30 minutes in the glass it opened up much more, revealing the Dow I had heard much about - lots of dark sweet fruit, licorice and some brown sugar on the tongue. There was a strange pencil lead taste on the back end which was a little distracting. Overall, this one is going to be gorgeous in a few years. Great now - fabulous later. Hold onto this one for awhile!
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Wine Spectator Grand Tour 2009 (Borgata -- Atlantic City, NJ): Interesting comparison with the 03 Croft. This had a sweeter nose, but a dryer palate. Black pepper, plum, not jammy at all. med(+) finish. Great. I liked this a touch more than the Croft.
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First time trying a young vintage port. Very rich and dense, with lots of "big." Big fruit and chocolate, big tannins, big alcohol. Obviously, very different from mature vintage ports I've tried, but I can see where this is going. Enjoyable, but patience (decades) will be exercised with the remaining bottles
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Fabulous bonus from the folks at Wine Expressions when they discovered a bottle with a leak: well, it had to be opened. Intense, opaque deep purple red, luscious, sweet, smooth, mouth coating, liquorice elements. What can you say but gorgeous.
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wow. opaque color. classic port nose, smooth flavors of dates and chocolate, chalky texture, vanilla notes on the long finish. tannins are surely there and it was much better on the second day. if it's this good now, i'm getting another and holding onto it for 10 years at least. 20% alc.
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Rather dark purple, a light nose of blackberries, rather light and chalky on the palate and the fruit seems really subdued. Tannins are there but not very strong. Finish lasted about 40 seconds. Overall, this seems really light, too light, and seems like it would be better in the shorter term.
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Tasted at the Dow's Port Lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia - Black! Opaque! Extremely young floral nose. Huge entry. Extremely deep fruit Almost painful. The alcohol is fully buffered by extract. Awesome Dow. Very, very fine tannins. 95+ points.
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2/11/2024 - budosyu wrote: 97 Points
Spectacular wine. Nose of black fruits, violets, mint, minerals and a meaty/olive note in the background. On the palate, sweet and fruity at the start. Transitions to a really minerally mid palate and finish. Super long finish with balanced acidity and dry tannins adding great structure.
In a beautiful drinking window (early secondary) and will hold for quite a while. Impeccably balanced. Can easily get to tertiary phase in a other 15+ years. I'm also very much enjoying it now with its deep, bright fruity core.
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6/24/2023 - natoli228 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Everything you would want from a great trading port. Smooth, fruity, nutty…has lots of legs left to age as well. Used a Coravin to extract a couple glasses. Saving a couple glasses for later
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3/30/2023 - PAX ROMANA Likes this wine: 97 Points
Absolutely phenomenal vintage port in peak drinking condition (out of a 375 ml). Tons of fig, marzipan, and other dried fruits. Some cedar and leather as well. Very pronounced nose and a lengthy finish. Showing great maturity but the fruit is still present.
Enjoyed with the classic pairing of Stilton and it was a beautiful marriage.
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2/20/2022 - kcdutt wrote: 93 Points
Very nice, well balanced
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2/19/2022 - d'Artagnan wrote:
Moins ouvert et charmeur que le Smith Woodhouse du même millésime. Besoin d'air et de de temps.
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1/1/2022 - WST Likes this wine:
Celebrating 2021, welcoming 2022 (Bellingham): Okay, I didn't have any ruby port to use for rye crumb crusted endive in a port reduction, so I used 1/2 cup of this .375 bottle to cook, then enjoyed the remainder after dinner with Rogue River Blue Cheese. Elegant, especially for an '03, with great dark fruit and dark chocolate. Not much evolution this point. I like Dow in '03.
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12/26/2021 - wineshaman wrote: 91 Points
From a .375ml, decanted with heavy sediment, nicely balanced between fruit and sweetness, plenty of dark fruit, cocoa, caramel notes, plenty of tannins to integrate, should continue to improve for several more years. Very nice accompaniment to the end of another Christmas evening.
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6/25/2021 - WST Likes this wine:
Charity wine dinner; Rosé, Champagne, old/new Barolo, Sauternes, Port (Samish Hill, Bellingham, WA): Attractive dense young port. My last bottle was 13 years ago, and it hasn't changed whatsoever. This might mature by the time my grandchildren retire, but they haven't been born and the kids are still single.
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6/22/2021 - jocelyng Likes this wine: 95 Points
Perfect now
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3/11/2021 - Eudemis Likes this wine:
20% alcohol. Good long cork with minimal wine penetration. Bottle opened and partly consumed two weeks beforehand, so plenty of breathing time. The colour is dark and opaque all the way to the rim.
Pleasant nose with a mixture of cooked and fresh dark fruit and some powdery notes in the finish; nothing remarkable. The best thing about the mouth is its velvety feel, a sense of viscosity and a palate coating quality; good length too, but how much of that is just carried by the alcohol? As for the other flavours, they are again very pleasant with dark berries and a note of toffee emerging in the finish under the unintegrated alcohol.
I am still waiting for an epiphany on vintage Port. Maybe I am drinking these wines way too young (the wines, not myself unfortunately). As it is, I did not get my money's worth from this bottle. Hence not a repeat purchase.
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10/18/2019 - berlinhotel Likes this wine: 94 Points
from half bottle
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7/30/2019 - spineguy Likes this wine: 93 Points
After 6 hours in a decanter, still a baby.
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4/13/2019 - rbfleming wrote: 94 Points
Red clarity. Bright fruits. Lovely, lovely.
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8/18/2018 - berlinhotel Likes this wine: 93 Points
from half bottle, decanted for 10 hours, with chocolate cake, very nice
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4/14/2018 - ve23 Likes this wine: 93 Points
93/100
A demi bottle of vintage 2003 to end the night, a first lineup this season at open air by the riverbank.
Firm and dense, with solid blackberry and black currant jam. Like all port, heavy on the alco side, 20% abv, but untraceable in the bouquet - still, it leaves a minor burning sensation at the back of the throat.
Paired with shisha, and it worked together just fine.
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3/24/2017 - acp197 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Really liked it. Very smooth Port. Good flavor.
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1/20/2017 - Empirate Likes this wine: 96 Points
Double decanted prior to the Holidays for consumption thru the winter one or two small glases at a time as per tradition.
One month out it has gone to wow territory. Prominent soft, almost caressing tannin envelops the still young and beautiful cassis/dark currant fruit that carries for a minute.
Sorry for the dramatics but, obviously, I'm enjoying this small glass of heaven!
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4/8/2016 - Ombibulous Likes this wine:
Per the back label, Dow's has been in existence for over two centuries. It has made only 26 vintage Port "declarations" in the last 100 years. Sourced from the Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira. Cosechas from those two viñards make up Dow's vintage port wines, made partly from traditional foot-treading and partly from mechanical treading (robotic "legares"). Owned and operated by the 4th generation of the Symington family, port producers since 1882.
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3/23/2016 - Ombibulous Likes this wine:
Slightly translucent when pouring. Rich and flavourful. But not, as one drinker put it, young. The drinking window for this wine does not start in 2017; it started several years ago, especially if you like a younger flavour profile. This is more than drinkable now. I get blue fruit and chocolate, even mocha. Complex flavours. Richly delicious! Half bottle purchased in 2009 at Kroger for $25. Wish I'd bought several.
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3/19/2016 - RR47 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still quite young. Great dark fruits, but good tannins left to integrate.
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1/6/2016 - MauritzM Likes this wine: 92 Points
Moden, mørk søt frukt. Lakris. Fiken, rosiner. Veldig fyldig og konsentrert. Lang ettersmak. Fortsatt veldig ung og fruktpreget
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12/27/2015 - Jowh wrote: 90 Points
Primary day 1. Day 2-4 a splendid explosion of dark cherry and plum. Very fruit driven. Harmonious. Day 5 loosing fruit and alcohol becomes apparent.
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12/24/2015 - Shiaxonna wrote: 92 Points
Pitch black redness colour. Lovely and balanced nose of marzipan and fruit. Very full and extravagant. The palate is immense with tons of power and layers upon layers of crowberries, blueberries, lingonberries and dried grapes, prunes and mostly primary elements. Extremely good and delightful.
50+5+13+16+8 (92p)
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10/1/2015 - theportguy wrote: 93 Points
2015 Port Harvest Tour; 9/26/2015-10/3/2015 (Portugal): Opaque dark fruit at the center with clearing on the extreme edges. Very intense fruit and pronounced tannins on the approach. Black currant and blueberry compote on the palate. Long finish with firm tannins and a touch of spice.
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8/10/2015 - yofog wrote:
Ripe, fine, and pure, with an elegant force about it, and wonderful floral notes under all the blue fruit.
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6/20/2015 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 90 Points
Black cherry and dark chocolate, with fennel and dark spice in the background. Still much too primary for me, and straightforward on the palate. Will be better as it develops more depth of flavor with time, which it inevitably will.
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6/13/2015 - levinml wrote: 92 Points
Drank at the end of a big boy wine dinner featuring 89 Haut Brion and dry aged prime grade prime rib (yum). Port is a great way to end the meal (and drink with dessert). This had all the good flavors but didn't seem horribly complex. Could definitely use more time, but good stuff.
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4/24/2014 - LeechDogg wrote: 92 Points
Chocolate, mocha, herbal, stewed fruit, syrup, savory, butterscotch, large drying tannins
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3/1/2014 - RobbieC wrote: 95 Points
Fantastic.
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2/8/2014 - alanr wrote: 93 Points
Opened this half bottle on a lark. Very nice nose of dark, tarry compote, hint of creosote and spice; palate is dark and dense, tarry, anise, fine tannins, great acidity, with a long, complex finish. I have yet to open a 2003 that didn't impress. This not is from day 3, and the wine hasn't budged or deteriorated one bit.
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12/20/2013 - gs75 wrote: 90 Points
Cellar 375
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11/10/2012 - East of Napa wrote: 91 Points
Very nice after great steak dinner
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8/20/2011 - East of Napa wrote: 91 Points
Great way to top off an evening of great food, great wine and great friends. very nice port with lots of flavors and not too sweet.
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3/19/2011 - mdefreitas wrote: 95 Points
Dow Vintage Port Vertical (Harry's Steak House, NYC): Decanted for twenty four hours. Rich, succulent and forceful. A wine with great depth and structure. No hint of stewed fruit or over ripe elements. This was flat out gorgeous.
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3/26/2010 - jtt300 wrote: 93 Points
Nice, but needs more time to mellow.
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12/24/2009 - drvet11 wrote: 94 Points
1/2 bottle. Decanted 4-6 hours...Delicious
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11/7/2009 - mmurry wrote: 95 Points
World of Spain and Portugal (Farpointe Cellar): The nose had figs, chocolate, oak, cherry, and dried flowers. The palate had figs, prunes, chocolate, blackberry, cherry, spice, and a molasses finish.
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7/19/2009 - jamscreator wrote: 91 Points
Glad it wasn't my bottle we opened as this was (as predicted) tanic as hell right now. Black as night in the glass with floral and some damp earthiness fragrances. After about a short 30 minutes in the glass it opened up much more, revealing the Dow I had heard much about - lots of dark sweet fruit, licorice and some brown sugar on the tongue. There was a strange pencil lead taste on the back end which was a little distracting. Overall, this one is going to be gorgeous in a few years. Great now - fabulous later. Hold onto this one for awhile!
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5/22/2009 - TannicBeast wrote: 92 Points
POW!
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5/14/2009 - Phin wrote: 96 Points
WS Grand Tour Chicago - From magnum. Awesome. Deep, wet stone, rich black. Super smooth even with youth.
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5/9/2009 - ews3 wrote: 94 Points
Wine Spectator Grand Tour 2009 (Borgata -- Atlantic City, NJ): Interesting comparison with the 03 Croft. This had a sweeter nose, but a dryer palate. Black pepper, plum, not jammy at all. med(+) finish. Great. I liked this a touch more than the Croft.
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2/14/2009 - mmurry wrote: 95 Points
Sweetheart Tasting (Champagne and Dessert Wines) (Farpointe Cellar): The nose had chocolate, cherry, oak, spice, floral notes, and blackberry. The palate had blackberry, oak, spice, cherry, and a floral finish.
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10/26/2008 - LeechDogg wrote:
Little hot, but otherwise delicious!
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7/7/2008 - archer752000 wrote: 93 Points
Very well balanced and super-dense. Chocolates, black fruits, refined tannins.
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5/20/2008 - mreinitz wrote: 92 Points
Too early to drink this. Super big and dense, with chocolate, big fruit, and big tannins. Good now, but it will eventually be something special.
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5/11/2008 - WST wrote:
First time trying a young vintage port. Very rich and dense, with lots of "big." Big fruit and chocolate, big tannins, big alcohol. Obviously, very different from mature vintage ports I've tried, but I can see where this is going. Enjoyable, but patience (decades) will be exercised with the remaining bottles
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4/21/2008 - Dulcie and Aylwin wrote:
Fabulous bonus from the folks at Wine Expressions when they discovered a bottle with a leak: well, it had to be opened. Intense, opaque deep purple red, luscious, sweet, smooth, mouth coating, liquorice elements. What can you say but gorgeous.
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3/17/2008 - pinotwinelover wrote: 93 Points
This is a well balanced port, with a bit more richness or time, I would have rated higher.
I need to wait 10 years on this one.
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2/17/2007 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 93 Points
wow. opaque color. classic port nose, smooth flavors of dates and chocolate, chalky texture, vanilla notes on the long finish. tannins are surely there and it was much better on the second day. if it's this good now, i'm getting another and holding onto it for 10 years at least. 20% alc.
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12/10/2006 - vy#10 wrote:
Clipped & chalky. Very alcoholic on the finish. Finish that makes you wince.
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1/21/2006 - cofidis2 wrote:
Rather dark purple, a light nose of blackberries, rather light and chalky on the palate and the fruit seems really subdued. Tannins are there but not very strong. Finish lasted about 40 seconds. Overall, this seems really light, too light, and seems like it would be better in the shorter term.
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10/26/2005 - PortFanatic wrote: 95 Points
Tasted at the Dow's Port Lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia - Black! Opaque! Extremely young floral nose. Huge entry. Extremely deep fruit Almost painful. The alcohol is fully buffered by extract. Awesome Dow. Very, very fine tannins. 95+ points.
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