3/12/2010 - erikwiechers wrote:

The cork fell into the bottle upon trying to pull it. No problem, a sieve wil do the trick nicely. The colour is light red and transparent although holding it against the light its red and cloudy. Looking into the glass from above its transparent again. Weird stuff eh ? A fair amount of sediment is coming out of the bottle when i rinse it ( i keep bottles i taste on a shelf on display). This bottle is glorious in its simplicity, i always wanted to try a bottle of this house.

The smell is sweet with hints of smoked wood. My grandfather used to smoke cigars and the inside of his boxes smelled a bit like this. Not a bad smell. The red fruit is still present here. Wild ripe berries and caramel. Did i mention the smoked wood ?

The taste is ofcourse sweetness, velvet, fat and lots of caramel but fades quickly, approx. 20 seconds. A little heat on the palate but still enough tannins in it to hold for another 3-5 years. The next day while watching the olympics and see Sven Kramer getting disqualified the taste has even improved.

For only € 36 a bottle this is a reasonable price for a 30 year old wine. I think i will buy some more.

Wanted to give this 90 points but the taste improvement on day 2 raises it with 1

12/29/2009 - erikwiechers wrote:

Opened at 19 PM on christmas eve, let it breathe for 2 hours.
Smell of caramel, figs and cherries. Pale pink colour.
Taste of red fruit, caramel, marzipan. Very gentle and soft. It still has enough tannins in it to last another 5 years.
Excellent tearing in the glass, looks like syrup. My friends were impressed by this wine.

4/29/2009 - erikwiechers wrote:

Did not like it very much. A bit acid,

4/8/2009 - erikwiechers wrote:

Decanted it and forgot all about it. 4 days later tasted my first glass. Nice silky approach. Some hints of cacao, berries and enough acids to last a couple of years. Makes a quite drinkable every-day wine. Will buy some more bottles at this price.

12/17/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

This particualr bottle i got for free when i purchased my 1994 Fonseca's and i wanted to try it badly. You dont see too many Osborne VP's.As always i opened the bottle at 4:30 PM and let it breathe for about 5 hours in the decanter.

The smell is filled with marzipan, red fruit and....surprisingly white grapes.
The colour is reddish/brown, a sign to me that it is approaching its maturity. Other older VP's i tried are still more red/black then red/brown. But maybe im wrong in this.

The taste is fresh, with still some tannines present. The longer i hold the wine in my mouth the creamier and thicker it gets. Very weird sensation, i never had this experience. It's maybe a little alcoholic at this stage but it doesnt bother me that much. Maybe that's gone after 2 more years or so.
I also taste apples, cider and cherries.

All with all a nice pleasant port-wine which is still widely available at my supplier. I will definately get me some more bottles for the 5-10 years to come.

90 points from me with the ability to maybe get 2 point more in 5 years.

12/13/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

I bought this bottle some time ago for € 30. I read some TN's on the net and wasnt too impressed.

Opened this bottle at 4 PM and decanted it for about 5 hours. The colour is pink/reddish. The cork was saturated and a piece of the bottom half remained in the bottle. Not a problem for me since i always use a seeve when puring. The smell was a little chemical with a vague scent of some leftover red fruit, also a hint of vanilla. My first impression is that it is way past its prime.

The taste is chemical, it burns also a little on my tongue. It stings en keeps on burning for about 30 seconds. The aftertaste is chemical, definately not nice. Im thinking about throwing it away.
No rating at this point.

2 days later, after dinner with a friend and after a bottle of wine we decided to give it a go again.
A major improvement, its soft and sweet. The stinging and the burning has completely vanished. It turned into a nice, silky and smooth wine. I never experienced this, does a wine really needs 2 days of decanting ? It appears so with this bottle. I have 1 left from the year 1982 aswell, will give that a try after the 1985 Osborne VP.
89 points for this one.

12/4/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

A wonderful Colheita. Sweet, soft and warm. Vanilla, lots of oak, cigarbox. Long warm aftertaste. Can be layed down for at least 5 more years. Will continue to improve further is my impression. Too bad i cant get more.

10/29/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

Very good, but lacks the smoothness of the 2003. Buy it and store it for another 2 years.

10/20/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

Wanted to try this bottle now and monitor its progress in the years to come.

Opened it last saturday at 1 PM. Let it breathe for 7 hours in the decanter.
First thing i smelled when opening the bottle was the abundance of red fruit. Sweet smell. Its colour was not pitch-black anymore. Tearing was good. Some sediment already in the bottle.

Quite sweet. Bold and intense taste. Lots of red fruit as i expected. Multi-layered, a middle weight that seems to balance power and elegance. Lingering finish. Can be drunk with pleasure now but will be so good in 7+ years. Also hints of smoked wood and earth. I have a doubt this will be a wine for the long term. Will taste it again in 3 years i think and see how it developed then. I missed the tannins at this point, it was smooth and creamy. Unlike the other youngster i tasted (2004 Javali) which had loads of tannins.
But a excellent wine at this stage. 94 points.

10/17/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

Bottle broke whilst pulling the cork

9/18/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

Sooooooo good, creamy and sweet. A thick wine with fruit, nuts and figs. Very very enjoyable for a everyday wine. My housewine at the moment.

9/10/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

With the 'R' in the month again, my port season has begun and what better way then to start with a classic year, 1963. I purchased these 2 bottles of Croft some time ago and was very anxious to try them. They are half bottles and with Roy's tasting notes in the back of my head i opened one of them.
At 1 PM i opened the bottle by cutting away the plastic capsule and trying to pull the cork. I noticed immediately the cork was saturated although the bottle did not show any signs of leakage. Ofcourse i could not pull the cork without breaking it:
, i used a unbleeched coffeefilter to pour the port through in the decanter.
The smell immediately hit my nose, fresh strawberries !! Even at a few metres distance i could smell it, it was overwhelming, strawberries were the main smell, but also lots of other red fruit.

I let it breathe for about 4 hours before i tried the first glass. I had some emmenthaler cheese to go along with it.
My first thought when i tried it was: Creamy, thick and a warm sensation !
I could taste earth, smoked wood, cassis and also a hint of some spices i could not identify. I even thought that at one point i could taste figs. The tannines were still present although there are not much. But what can you expect from a 45 year old wine ?
The colour was surprisingly bright though. I had some older wines before, and they were amber coloured, some pink, other brown. This one was bright red.
So, this was quite some experience for me, i must say that Roy's score equals me, but for sentimental value i raise it with 2 points, so a well-deserved 92 points it is.
Lets hope the reast of the season will be equally or better. I have high hopes.

5/24/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

Bought 5 bottles recently and i wanted to try this eagerly. I decanted the bottle at 12:30 PM. The cork was saturated but no signs of leakage. The cork went out smotthly and almost intact. Just a small fragment fell back into the bottle. No worries, just poor it through a seeve and it will be fine.
I smell the bottle and sense tones of smoked wood and earth hit my nose
The colour is surprisingly red.A first glass is poured and a quick taste is made. Its a very gentle and soft wine at this stage, little tannine. Excellent tearing in the glass. It tastes like maple-syrup and caramel. The aftertaste is medium but with a velvet touch.

After 5 hours of decanting, the colour turned more brown-reddish. The smell is more fruity now, something that was lacking when i opened the bottle. I smell marzipan now. The wine is thick, like syrup, a little hot and spicy on the palate. When i chew on the wine the tannines are almost gone. The caramel taste is overwhelming, feels like im drinking liquid sugar mixed with oak and cedar and earth. The aftertaste goes on for about 45 seconds and then starts to slowly fade away. This is a good wine, no doubt about that. But i would drink it between now and 5 years. 90 points

5/10/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

Upon opening the sweet sweet smell of freshly squeezed fruit hit my nose. A scent of marzipan followed by cassis finished it. Its a heavy sweet smell, a good start.
I let it decant for approx. 10 hours before having my first sip.
The colour in the decanter went from pitchblack to cherry-red in this time. Excellent tearing in the glass when swirling around. Still a sweet fruity smell.

The taste is soft, the tannines are still present but they are not so prominent anymore as when i opened a 2004 Quinta do Javali a few months ago. This wine is not for the long term.
Well integrated alcohol, lots of red fruit with some smoked wood. I can taste apples and cider. The aftertaste is about 60 seconds.

After 24 hours the wine still tastes good but dropped a few points, although the smell is still sweet but also a bit medicine like.
This is a wine that needs to be drank within 24 hours or it will taste much less. I rate it 91 in the beginning and 85 after 24 hours. Drink now till 2015 is my recommendation

4/27/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

At 7:30 in the morning i decanted it so i could taste the first glass at 5 in the afternoon, this according to Roy's rule of at least 10 hours of decanting.

The colour is very dark red, almost black which turns purple to the edge of the decanter. Excellent tearing when i swirl it around. I leave it alone and let it breathe throughout the day.

First glass at 5:15 PM. Lots of tannines is my first thought when i take my first sip. Spicy smell, though sweet. No signs of VA in this bottle although the taste is also a bit spicy, like cigar-box wood.

I swirl the glass and the good smells starting to come up, i smell cassis, blackberries. The taste is much sweeter now, appearantly it needs time, lots of time. The aftertaste is long and lasts for at least 30 minutes.

When i smell the decanter its sweet with raspberries.

2nd glass, sundaymorning at 10:50 AM ( i know, i'm a freak).

Wow ! Lots of red fruit this time, definately raspberries, cassis, blackberries. Still a little spicy, but not overwhelming. Maybe a little acrimonious, like coffee and tobacco. The tannines are gone, its been in the decanter more than 24 hours now.
I taste it with some Farmhouse Cheddar which is a treat.

So, my conclusion: I'm glad this bottle has no signs of VA although i choose this particular bottle because it had signs of leakage. Overall it was a good bottle but still way too young for this monster. It needs another 10-15 years to reach its prime.

4/14/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

The smell is awesome, lots of red fruit like strawberries and raspberries. But also marzipan, its sweet and heavy.

According to Roy Hersh i have to decant it between 4-6 hours. But i wanted to taste the first glass without decanting at all so i poured myself 1 glass to taste the difference later.
Not much tannines left in this bottle. It tickles the palate and stings a little, does not look very promising at this point. Not a long aftertaste aswell. At this point i cant taste anything specific like my other TN's.

Second glass after 5 hours of decanting.
Wow, this has definately improved alot ! Its very sweet and soft, silky and velvet. I can very much taste the sugar almost like its liquid caramel. You have to love this or hate this. I love it. But....i cant be any more specific though. In my other tastings i always could taste something specific like fruit, oak or chocolate but now its the caramellish taste that does it.
All with all i rate this 89 points. Good but not excellent.

3/15/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

It was time to open up this bottle for i was very curious how it would taste, smell and see what colour it would be. The oldest port i drank so far. I am still searching for the history of this bottle. Recently i send a email to Ramos-Pinto hoping they could provide me with some insights. The name Nicolau de Almeida is somehow related to that company.
1944, in september, around harvest times of the grapes, operation Market Garden took place, an attempt of the allies to conquer some major bridges across the river Rhine in Holland. It failed, which led to probably 6 more months of fighting. When i drink port, i like to read about major events that took place in that year. After all, you drink some piece of history.

Back to the bottle:
The cork came out very well, i did not have to put much effort in pulling it. The cork itself was saturated but looked clean and smelled clean also. The cork was very short though, the shortest i ever seen in abottle of wine. Maybe 1 inch.
The colour of the wine is a very pale brown-reddish one. You can see that the wine is very old. When i swirl it around in the glass it has excellent tearing, syrup-style like. The smell is smokey, with hints of chocolate, caramel and butterskotch.
The first glass i poured directly into the glass, the rest in the decanter.
Taste: No tannines at all, a bit burning on the palate. Very little chocolate, smokey, sharp taste, a bit chemical. It is drinkable, but not a wine i would serve right away to guests or friends.
2nd glass, after 3 hours of decanting.
Roughly the same as above, but smoother, like the alcohol vanished from the glass. Also i can taste and smell nuts, especially walnut. Very funny.
So overall a decent wine, but not a blockbuster and, to my opinion, past its prime.
Now i start to wonder if it was really a port-wine or just a portugese wine.
The empty bottle is green, which i always thought was for normal wines. Anyone seen a green bottle before that was used for port wine ? I give it 88 points.

2/23/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

Dark colour fading to red towards the edges of the glass. Hints of smoked wood and dark fruit. Good tearing on the glass. Refreshing on the tip of the tongue. A little hot on the palate, a little acidity. Raisins, caramel and a little vanilla. Long strong aftertaste with plenty of tannins. Makes a nice every day port. 89 points

2/3/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

A little information about this quinta:

Quinta do Tedo has a Single Quinta classification, the Portuguese equivalent to an Estate, Domaine or Azienda. One hundred percent of the grapes come from our own 34 acres (14 hectares) of class "A" vineyards, the highest rating from the Portuguese Instituto do Vinho do Porto, equivalent to Grand Cru.
The quinta is bordered by the Tedo River to the west, the Douro River to the north, and to the east and southeast by large, carved feitoria stones which mark the landscape like sentries.

I bought this bottle some months ago at a famous winestore here in the Netherlands, Ockhuyzen in Haarlem.
Today i decided to crack this one open and give it a try. The label is one of the nicest i ever seen, very colourful. The backlabel provides some useful information of the Quinta itself.



At 8:00 AM i decanted the bottle. The cork required some pulling and was pristine except for the bottom 3 mm which was saturated from the wine.
The smell is very fruity, it smells like i open a bottle of liquid jelly made of black fruit. I smell blackberries, cassis. The colour is not the pitchblack like the Dow 1994 i opened a few months before this one but dark red with a sign of tawny red on the edges.

The first glass:

After 13 hours of decanting in a, for the most time, closed decanter i decided to give it a try. The smell is still very heavy and the smell of fruit is still the same.
The first sip is a delight ! Very sweet, lots of tannines and a long aftertaste. After 2 minutes i still taste the abundance of fruit in this wine.
The second sip is a more serious tasting. I let it roll through my entire mouth and feel a pleasant tickle on the palate. The tannines start to expose themselves as a grind my teeth and chew on the wine. I love it.
The aftertaste keeps improving itself, after 3 minutes i can still feel the tannines and still can taste the wine on the palate.
This is why i started to like port ! After years of drinking the cheap supermarket ports i now understand fully what i missed all those years.

Great great wine with years ahead. This was my only bottle so i have to get some more of this before its too late. Mr Vincent Bouchard and Jorge Alves really delivered a outstanding wine.

I rate it my highest score so far: 95 points

1/13/2008 - erikwiechers wrote:

Sweet smell, with lots of fruits. Taste is different, earth and a strange muddy aftertaste. Did not really like it.

9/29/2007 - erikwiechers wrote:

The ’40 Niepoort was the color of iced tea or light cola with a golden raisin edge, mostly light brown and medium in thickness, very cloudy!
The nose was of toffee and cedar with hints of mint chocolate. It was light on the alcohol but had an underlying scent of what can only be described as the smell of a freshly opened Band-aid, this (thankfully) dissipated after a little over an hour. The tastes were of caramel and brown sugar mixed with guava and apples with a bit of spice similar to nutmeg or cardamon. It had a short 12 second finish but still was a great Port, yet not as wonderful as I remembered my first bottle being.

(note: not my TN but Sean C. I put it here for future reference when i open mine)

9/15/2007 - erikwiechers wrote:

1994 Dow

At 10 Am i decanted the bottle. Nice red colour upon pouring. Very little sediment again in the bottle. Maybe its too young ?
The smell is heavy with lots of fruit,.mostly black fruit like blue-berries, grapes and plums. I also smell something spicey, maybe its the alcohol at this point. Its not disturbing at all because the fruit is overwhelming. Cant wait to try the first sip.
Yesterday i bought a nice blue-veined Stilton cheese for this occasion and i am very curious how the cheese will match with the wine.

3 hours after decanting, first glass:

The colour is very dark with some red showing on the side of the glass.
The tearing is excellent when i swirl the glass. The smell is a little less dense but i still smell lots of fruit. Again i smell something spicey, but i cant determine what it is. Maybe when i taste it it will reveal itself.
The taste is a bit dry, lots of tannins, lots of alcohol and a little acid. The aftertaste is long and spicey but also sweet. I taste lots of red and black fruit. The funny thing is, i started to taste the fruit after i had some of the Stilton. Before that it was not spectacular. Maybe its way too young at this point or maybe its closing again ? Or maybe, and i hope for that, it hasnt decanted enough. Will try again in 3 hours or so.

6 hours after decanting, second glass:

Smell is still excellent, at this point i smell fruit, flowers, raisins and some faint leather. But the main smell is freshly squeezed grape-juice.
The taste has improved, maybe its the temperature, this morning the bottle came out of my storage room under the stairs. The temperature there is about 5 degrees lower then my room temperature.
It still is very complex, sweet but also lots of tannins and a little acid. I detect some old wood and cigars.
The aftertaste goes on forever, after 2 minutes i still taste sweetness. It also burns a little in the back of my throat.

All with all i liked it, but im not too enthousiastic at this stage. Maybe it was a off-bottle, maybe the wine is still way too young or is closing again but at this point i rate it 91-92
With 9 bottles left in my cabinet i try this wine again in 5 years but it could easily be stored for another 15-25 years.

8/18/2007 - erikwiechers wrote:

Quinta do Javali.

At 8 AM i decanted the bottle. A very dark purple, although not quite to the level of “Squid Ink” .
I noticed there is absolutely no sediment at all. Talking about value for money !!
A strong nose of cherries, raspberries and lots of other red and black fruit hits me when i pour the wine into the decanter. I let it breathe for about 3 hours before my first taste.

11:00 AM. As promised my first taste. Wow, my fist impression is: Fresh ! Sweet ! Then the tannines hit me, i never had so much tannine in 1 glass. I must say i enjoy it very much. The finish is medium in length and goes down quite smoothly. The alcohol on the nose is very well integrated and balanced with the fruit on the palate. Also, i noticed a faint earth taste which is fine with me. At this point i cant quite taste the fruit that much. In 3 hours or so i will try again. Definately a promising wine although not a blockbuster yet.

16:00 AM tried my second glass of the day together with some São Jorge cheese. The cheese is from the Azores where it has been considered the best cheese of the Azores. A full flavoured unpasteurised cow`s milk cheese with salty and sweet taste, earthy, deep, pungent, almost smoky-peaty. So this will go well with the wine was my guess.

Indeed, what a treat. The cheese really lifts the wine to a higher level, making it almost a creamy delight. I can taste fresh fruit like cherries, plums and grapes aswell. I even detect almonds and smoked wood. The smell is even better, heavy on the nose but never too overwhelming. Man oh man, the best port i ever tasted till now.

This is simply gorgeously balanced for a wine this young. That said, there is structure and tannin that should keep this going a while. I don’t know if this will be a 30 year port, but I would bet on 20. I am very curious how this wine will develop over time.

I rate this 93-95 now with 5 bottles left

7/7/2007 - erikwiechers wrote:

Cherry/brown colour. Smell is spicy, with some fruit, Taste is fresh, a little acid but also soft. Very sweet also with hints from smoked wood. Pretty long aftertaste with caramel. Overall a pretty good wine for a 40 year old. Have to get me some more of this.
Cork was pulverized upon pulling. So had to decant it through a sieve.

6/2/2007 - erikwiechers wrote:

Sweet smell filled with cassis and cherries. Dark purple color, almost black. Sweet taste, very soft and a good aftertaste. Drank it with mascarpone and gorgonzola cheese, excellent combo to go with this nice and tasty wine. Maybe not at its peak yet but quite drinkable.

5/10/2007 - erikwiechers wrote:

Not very good. Bit of a sour aftertaste, its way after its peak. Dry also. The smell is still good. Colour is red with a touch of amber. Not my favourite everyday port.

4/26/2007 - erikwiechers wrote:

When opening this bottle the smell of cassis immediately hit my nose. A mouthwatering start. The colour is almost black, even in full sunlight. In the decanter only the edges are a bit red. Beautiful colour. I let it in the decanter for approx. 9 hours before serving. When pouring the smell is still heavy, with lots of young fruit like cherries, raspberries and blackberries. Excellent tearing in the glass, looks like syrup. First taste is almost heaven, sweet but very gentle and soft. The only mistake i made was that just before i tasted some very dark chocolate ( 99% cocoa) what made my mouth bitter. Bad mistake. Back to the tasting, like i said the taste was sweet and soft. Long aftertaste with still lots of tannins. Its not in its peak, it has some years ahead but definately a great wine with lots of potential. I give it 94 points now, but perhaps it will go to 96 in 5 years. 3 bottles left, so i have to get some more soon.
Update: even after 3 days the taste is still great, even better. The aftertaste is long, at least 45 minutes.

4/11/2007 - erikwiechers wrote:

Dark colour what turns red on the edge. Good tearing of the wine when you shake the glass. The smell is full with scents of black fruit. Sweet taste which tickles the sides of the tongue. Very long aftertaste, a bit dry though. Overall a outstanding wine. 90 points given

3/21/2007 - erikwiechers wrote:

Dark red. Strong sweet taste. Long and a bit of a sour after-taste. Still a good port wine