Second Sunday Group: 1994 Ports
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Tasted June 20, 2020 by AllRed with 218 views
Introduction
One of the Sunday Group regulars decided it had been too long since the group last tasted and organized a tasting via Zoom. He also invited the Monday group members so we had about 18-20 participants at varying times as some hopped on late and others had to drop off. The Monday group donated small medicine bottles which our host filled and then delivered throughout the area Friday evening and Saturday morning. We were instructed to put a slight chill on the wines and begin tasting at 4:30 and log on to Zoom at 5p. Many thanks to our host, MaY, who opened two bottles of each of the nine wines from his own cellar to share with the group and then drove all over the greater Chicagoland area to distribute.
Flight 1 (9 notes)
At first pass the bouquets on these showed very ripe prune and raisin notes, smelling very much like Amarone. When one began tasting the wines though, they were very clearly ports. The only unfortunate bit is that one of the bottles of Fonseca ended up being mildly corked, so some of us ended up with a good bottle and others the flawed. Domino and I received one of each. This may have skewed the group rankings as not everyone had a partner/spouse to increase odds of being able to taste/rank from the good bottle.
I felt pretty good about this tasting overall and did suggest '94s. I should have known H was not the ringer when I found two bottles of Graham in C and E. The Fairbanks received two 2nds and two 3rds, so I don't feel too bad about having that so high- it more than held its own. I will say that it became obvious as a "lesser" wine in this group later on that evening as Domino and I continued to sip and swirl. While the true ports continued to improve and gain complexity and nuance, the Fairbanks remained forward and a bit sweet by comparison. Still, for a cheap sipper, there's nothing wrong with it.
On to my notes and the results...
Red - Fortified
1994 Croft Porto Vintage
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Double blind. Initial aromas of prune and plum with hints of flowers and chocolate underneath. Quite ripe. Could we have an Amarone? The palate is full-bodied and quite sweet, definitely not Amarone. Chocolate, plum and spice flavors. As the tasting progresses this remains very much the same, showing loads of ripe raisiny fruit.
My #9, Domino's #9
Group #8, 95 pts
Red - Fortified
1994 Dow Porto Vintage
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Double blind. Florals, plum and black fruit notes; a bit ripe and raisiny to start. Ripe plummy fruit on the palate. Opens in the glass adding spice and red fruit qualities. Lingering finish. Somewhat rustic; not as expressive as others in the flight, and shows more ripeness and alcohol.
My #8, Domino's #8
Group #7, 83 pts
Red - Fortified
N.V. Fairbanks Fairbanks Port
USA, California
Double blind. Aromas of black fruit and lavender, shows just a little hot at first. Full-bodied with plum and blue fruit flavors. The sweetest of the first three wines. Expands nicely in the glass- black and red fruits, brown sugar, florals and candied cherry notes. A sweeter style, perhaps Graham?
My #1, Domino's #2
Group #4, 74 pts
Red - Fortified
1994 Fonseca Porto Vintage
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Double blind. Luckily my vile was not tainted and so Domino got to taste the wine after all. Plummy dark fruit, a touch hot and pruny. More of the smae on the palate- a bit more rustic than the others. Develops floral and cinnamon notes and the fruit becomes less pruny and ripe. Finishes with good fruit and length. 92-93(++) pts.
My #4, Domino's #7 (from my vile)
Group #5, 74 pts
Red - Fortified
1994 Graham Porto Vintage
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Double blind. Plum and black fruit notes follow on the palate. A bit ripe at first. Chocolate, floral and pine notes emerge with air. Lush, a bit sweet- someone suggested mini-verticals within the flight- perhaps "E" is another Graham's- chocolate and black fruit flavors. Long finish.
My #2, Domino's #3
Group #3, 68 pts
Red - Fortified
1994 Smith Woodhouse Porto Vintage
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Double blind. A touch pruny, with black and blue fruit elements mixed in. The palate follows the nose, is quite full and substantial, and shows an element of sweetness. Adds notes of cinnamon, fig, Christmas spices and brown sugar. Lovely black fruit on the palate. Finishes well, with good length, fruit and balance.
My #3, Domino's #1
Group #1, 43 pts
Red - Fortified
1994 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Double blind. Red and black fruit notes mix in with ripe prune elements. Prune and dark fruit on the palate along with chocolate and spice. An hour later and this has added sandalwood and spice notes and become more red-fruited. Still quite tannic and perhaps a bit monolithic.
My #5, Domino's #6
Group #2, 67 pts
Red - Fortified
1994 Tuke Holdsworth Porto Vintage
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Double blind. Lighter in color than the rest of the flight and also the most different from the others. We were told there was a ringer and I believe all of us thought this must have been it. Opens with red and black fruit, shows a bit of alc as well. Dark fruit on the palate, a touch of raisin; good sweetness. Has a nice vein of acidity. Lighter than the others in terms of body too. Develops a subtle toffee note that I quite like. Nice fruit, soft and sweet.
My #7, Domino's #5
Group #6, 82 pts
Red - Fortified
1994 Warre Porto Vintage
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Double blind. Prune and plum notes with a very dark color by comparison to the rest of the flight. Warm dark fruit tones on the palate. Becomes lighter and more finessed as it opens. Floral and red fruit elements. Holiday spice, dark fruit, chocolate and red berry compote flavors. Finishes with nice length. 92-93 pts.
My #6, Domino's #4
Group #8, 91 pts
Closing
These are still very much on the youthful side. Those who prefer the more powerful side of port will find them enjoyable now. Others will find them youthfully tannic and powerful, longing for more complexity and age. Keep in mind that by the time of the tasting, these had been decanted off their sediment and rebottled (with very little space for air in the medicine bottles) for more than 24 hours.
I don't have a lot of port in the cellar, and only a handful of '94s, but based on this, they will continue to rest for a while yet.
Many thanks to MaY for all of the work and generosity that went into hosting this tasting.
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