February 27, 2024 - Stood up for a few days. Cork soaked but in great shape, no leaks great fill. Slow ox for 4 hrs, double decant (lots of sediment) and took to dinner. Tight meniscus with only about 1.5 MM of clear edge. Strawberry xmas cake, caramel dried cherry and deeper notes of toffee and some nut. Ticks off all the boxes nicely. A bit sweet on the entry but excellent balance due to the right amount of acidity. Smooth mouth feel fairly full. No heat or VA. Finished broad and fairly long (45-60 seconds). Very impressive and a worthy comp to this year's version of Graham in overall quality. Even better with air and a few oz left over even smoother and more precise the following day. Should be good for another decade or more but at a very nice place. Yes please.
August 11, 2023 - Guys' Port Weekend - Seattle; 8/11/2023-8/13/2023 (Seattle, Washington): Ruby in color. Tobacco leaf and some spirit on the nose. The entry features strawberry and red currents, leading to an intense mouthfeel with bright red fruit, cherry, and strawberry notes. Balanced acidity and sweetness extend into a long finish.
June 12, 2023 - Lots of fruit left. Can be saved much longer.
Excellent maturity. Quite light, not as dark as some other ports can be.
Easy drinking (almost too easy!).
An excellent wine. Looking forward to bottle two!
February 25, 2023 - A lovely port. Delicate strawberry fruit with just a hint of backbone. It hit the right spots.
January 29, 2023 - Needed a long decanting time. At 7 hours it has opened up nicely. Not the most robust, but quite nice. I’m not very good at descriptors, but I’d say almost strawberry on the nose and more red fruit on the palette.
UPDATE 30 HOURS LATER:
The next day… and it’s frankly better. I don’t want to change the original rating, but it’s at least a full point better and maybe two points better tonight. All gone now haha.
January 22, 2023 - Charity Wine Tasting benefitting Brigid Collins Family Support Center: My last of six bottles, bought for a song years ago. Decanted for sediment, but not long enough to give it adequate air. Served with Stilton cheese and 92% dark chocolate.
Low to medium density for a VP. Raspberries, dark chocolate and prunes. Good acidity kept it lively. I liked this a lot, partly due to it's delicacy compared to some Vintage Ports. Some might find it too delicate for its ilk.
January 21, 2023 - Guys Port Weekend - Las Vegas; 1/20/2023-1/21/2023 (Las Vegas, Nevada): Light Ruby in color. Aromas of cranberry, spices, grenadine, and a touch of spirit. It has a very smooth, slightly sweet flavor profile with red fruit and some herbal notes. It is medium-bodied with balanced tannins and a nice long finish.
January 30, 2022 - Consistent with previous bottle opened in 2015. This is a lighter port, with ample red fruits of strawberry, raspberry and a little prune. It does not have the intensity of the Dow's and Warre's that I've had, but it meets all the requirements for 90 points.
February 25, 2021 - 1977-1990 Vintage Ports (Blind Tasting) (Zoom): Nose: 91.5 Palate: 89.5
My #4, Group's #8 (204 pts). Tasted blind.
July 19, 2020 - Christmas in July (Ben and Estella's place, Parramatta): Very much as per my tasting in June from the Coravin. This was opened and allowed to air (rather than decanted) for about six hours before being consumed with Christmas cake.