Since my guests stayed later than expected, I made the initial mistake of not decanting. Popped and poured, basically, and the port was not showing so well with my five-year-old twins' birthday cake. Not having much experience with LBVs, I thought maybe it was past its prime? Not undrinkable by any means, but with a dominant burning rubber sort of note. The next night two full glasses fortunately remained, and it was a completely different story. Long and spicy, and delicious. Waves of chocolate covered cherries just danced on the tongue. Consumed with the same birthday cake -- for purposes of scientific consistency, of course. :) Amazing to consider this wasn't good enough to make their "normale" VP. Nota bene: Vintage port requires a good decant. Score averages first (89) and second (95) nights.
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Popped and poured. A bit more sediment than the last bottle. This was truly excellent. Very sweet but not cloying. Didn't notice the typical Dow dry finish on this bottle. Flavors are somewhat primary, with plums dominating. Incredible that an LBV can hold together this well after 23 years. Still no rush to drink.
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Popped and poured. A decent amount of sediment upon decanting. Brownish red in color. Palate of plums, pomegranate, and cassis, with only a little alcohol heat that quickly dissipated. Unmistakable Dow dryness with at best medium sweetness. Very interesting for what it is, a 23 year old LBV that is usually consumed with a couple of years of bottling (in this case, 1997). It's a very pleasant drink. It would be fun to do a side-by-side with the 1991 Dow vintage port, which I'll do someday soon.
Day 2 showed noticeable improvement, with the nose coming on and the palate showing more fruit The sweetness is coming on a little more. The color has also taken on a bit more red. Overall, quite unexpected.
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4/8/2018 - straight outta iowa Likes this wine: 92 Points
Since my guests stayed later than expected, I made the initial mistake of not decanting. Popped and poured, basically, and the port was not showing so well with my five-year-old twins' birthday cake. Not having much experience with LBVs, I thought maybe it was past its prime? Not undrinkable by any means, but with a dominant burning rubber sort of note. The next night two full glasses fortunately remained, and it was a completely different story. Long and spicy, and delicious. Waves of chocolate covered cherries just danced on the tongue. Consumed with the same birthday cake -- for purposes of scientific consistency, of course. :) Amazing to consider this wasn't good enough to make their "normale" VP. Nota bene: Vintage port requires a good decant. Score averages first (89) and second (95) nights.
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1/20/2016 - Border Boss Likes this wine: 90 Points
Excellent, as the other bottles have been. What to do with the last one in the cellar?
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4/4/2014 - Border Boss Likes this wine: 90 Points
Popped and poured. A bit more sediment than the last bottle. This was truly excellent. Very sweet but not cloying. Didn't notice the typical Dow dry finish on this bottle. Flavors are somewhat primary, with plums dominating. Incredible that an LBV can hold together this well after 23 years. Still no rush to drink.
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2/16/2014 - Border Boss Likes this wine: 88 Points
Popped and poured. A decent amount of sediment upon decanting. Brownish red in color. Palate of plums, pomegranate, and cassis, with only a little alcohol heat that quickly dissipated. Unmistakable Dow dryness with at best medium sweetness. Very interesting for what it is, a 23 year old LBV that is usually consumed with a couple of years of bottling (in this case, 1997). It's a very pleasant drink. It would be fun to do a side-by-side with the 1991 Dow vintage port, which I'll do someday soon.
Day 2 showed noticeable improvement, with the nose coming on and the palate showing more fruit The sweetness is coming on a little more. The color has also taken on a bit more red. Overall, quite unexpected.
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11/17/1997 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 88 Points
Plums, spices, liquorice, good depth; flavoursome, good weight, juicy acidity, has real concentration, young and lively, tannic; good length.
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