Note: This article was written by Roy Hersh, my friend, long-time partner in For The Love Of Port, and the person who properly introduced me to Port wine. It originally appeared in the For The Love Of Port Newsletter and is posted on the For The Love Of Port website. With the author’s permission, I have added my own tasting notes from this event (in blue) after Roy’s, and unless otherwise noted, all of the photos appeared in the original article.
By Roy Hersh
At times we can be surprised by unique experiences and the strange manner in which wine may precipitate the development of new friendships, in ways we couldn’t possibly have foreseen. Two unexpected Port events took place a dozen days apart early in 2013, and from these singular experiences, new friendships have emerged and memories created that will last forever.
Shown above are 13 of the 18 Vintage Ports included in the second session of tastings profiled in the article below. The Ports range from the exalted 1851 Warre’s up through a 1948 Taylor. Later, a Quinta do Noval Nacional mini-vertical flight followed this one. The youngest Ports in this photo were from 1948 on the right side of the arc, while the oldest from the 1800’s were on the left. The photographer of this photo is Eric, who you will read about.
Wines lists for the two events included some amazing and legendary bottles of Port:
1st session:
- 1927 Taylor Vintage Port
- 1931 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port
- 1945 Croft Vintage Port
- 1945 Taylor Vintage Port
- 1948 Taylor Vintage Port
2nd Session:
- 1851 Warre Vintage Port
- 1896 Dow Vintage Port
- 1912 Warre Vintage Port
- 1927 Fonseca Vintage Port
- 1931 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port
- 1931 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port
- 1945 Warre Vintage Port
- 1945 Dow Vintage Port
- 1945 Croft Vintage Port
- 1945 Taylor Vintage Port
- 1945 Fonseca Vintage Port
- 1948 Taylor Vintage Port
- 1948 Fonseca Vintage Port
- 1963 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port
- 1966 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port
- 1967 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port
- 1994 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port
The adventure all began with an out-of-the-blue group of emails from a man named Eric. He mentioned that his best friend Cliff who lives most of the year in Thailand and runs a business there and from his home base in London too, is a serious Porto-phile. Eric told me that Cliff enjoys FTLOP and that he was going to be coming to Washington State to take Eric and his girlfriend to the Metropolitan Grill, (arguably Seattle’s best steakhouse) along with a bunch of Vintage Ports and asked if he could put me in touch with Cliff by email to discuss the Ports.
Cliff and I shot emails back and forth and after gaining mutual trust, I learned why he had decided to come all the way here. His buddy Eric, is the reason Cliff was coming all the way from Asia to share some very special Ports with his friend who was in his early thirties, and was extremely ill with a serious form of kidney cancer. The prognosis was dire and in fact, his friend was going to undergo a precarious, but possibly “lifesaving” kidney removal operation although odds for success with the cancer itself, was far from guaranteed. Fortunately it is very possible to live with just one kidney.
Eric, in trying to check off items from his bucket list prior to the operation, was partaking in lots of travel and decided to reach out to me, (not initially even knowing I lived only an hour away) to see if I would be willing to participate in the tasting, along with his girlfriend and her brother. Before I knew it, we had inked it on the calendar and just a short while later, it all came to fruition.
We met at a restaurant in Seattle, The Metropolitan Grill, for a fabulous steak dinner. There were several nice dinner wines consumed with the meal: n/v Krug Brut Grand Cuvée, a 2000 Leoville Las Cases and 1994 Opus One from the restaurant’s wine list. After a few hours in their company, (we were there for a total of seven hours) I felt like I had known these people for years. We had great laughs and instead of the mood being quite gloomy, it was the polar opposite: fun, funny and celebratory.
Then came the dessert wines pretty close to the time the restaurant was closing down. They had pre-arranged with the Somm to be able to bring these bottles into the restaurant, without giving specifics of what the wines were. When the Sommelier saw the lineup, I could tell he was rather flabbergasted. It is not every day that people bring:
- 1927 Taylor Vintage Port
- 1931 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port
- 1945 Croft Vintage Port
- 1945 Taylor Vintage Port
- 1948 Taylor Vintage Port
To be clear, to have any one of these legendary bottles at the end of a fine dinner would be enough to have me well sated for a week if not the rest of the month. But to have these all at one sitting with literally a bottle per person and only three or four hours in which to consume them, I was speechless. I go to lots of Port tastings, but only a few times in my life has there been this level of bottles, and always part of a much bigger event.
The Sommelier was busy preparing and decanting the sediment from these bottles while we finished dinner and the restaurant’s clientele was filtering out. The General Manager stopped by to see what all the fuss was about and we could tell he was envious. We made sure both of them had very nice pours from each of the bottles.
RH: 1927 Taylor Vintage Port – A fully saturated cork and a capsule that showed minor signs of past seepage, nonetheless this was a remarkable showing for one of the more legendary Ports ever produced, in a lineup that was filled with them. With only ½ in decanter after dinner at the Met Grill, this was the first Port consumed by the five of us. Insanely youthful appearance, medium ruby core without any hint of bricking whatsoever, a bit surprising given the cork and capsule. I could see smiles on the other four faces as they nosed this Port and there is no wondering why after taking the first whiff. A spicy and herbal note was screaming out of the glass, along with cocoa powder and toffee notes initially and more red fruited aromas after this continued to bloom over the next few hours. Medium full bodied and sumptuous right from the get go with fresh sweet bing cherry and plum flavors and my initial impression was that this could easily pass for a 1963 or possibly 1966. The acidity was near perfection and the tannins fully resolved, but still showing up to the party. I’ve had several bottles of this Port that were on a par with this one, but a couple that had disappointed too. This was a beautiful and harmonious Port which was about as good as a VP could ever deliver at the age of 86. As crazy as this sounds, I believe that had we not pulled the cork, this would have been able to drink at this level for another decade or possibly even two. The finish delivered a sweet milk chocolate and red berry infused finish of extraordinary length that literally stayed with me for minutes. On its own this would have been one of my Ports of the year. But it was in very rare and hand-picked company on this particular evening. The five of us just looked at one another in near disbelief and sat very quietly, with huge smiles plastered on our faces, as it dawned on us that there were four more Ports to be had, all with the potential to equal or best this one. A very special evening continued from here. Bottling by the David Sandeman and Sons, Ltd. of Glasgow, Scotland. 98+ points. 4/25/13
RH: 1931 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port – I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have this Port about ten times over the years and it has been consistently the greatest showing of any Port that I’ve experienced more than once, (1896 Dow’s a perfect bottle notwithstanding). This bottle was decanted four hours prior to our first sip and while a tremendous Port in its own right, I must say that I’ve been fortunate to experience bottles that were even better. But I’m quibbling over a point or two, which is not meant to take away from the breathtaking nature of this bottle regardless of memories of previous experiences. Extraordinarily dark garnet color that was a shade or two darker than the 1927 Taylor, and the broad rim showed the exact same brilliant youth. An intense, explosive nose of red licorice, fennel bulb and ethereal eucalyptus was impressive, yet I could not find a berry descriptor within the essence. Extremely mouth filling to the point that richness as a descriptor did not do it justice. I had to swallow three times after taking a sip. Seriously. Dry up front with an herbal edginess, the symmetry was immediately apparent and remained as the significant strength of this venerable Vintage Noval. Massively fruited and structured, with refined tannins and neatly balancing acidity, after a few hours this elicited even more of a spicy nature and didn’t fade one bit, a bit more floral now, maybe even more distinctive. The finish was crazy long and just slightly bested by the 1927 Taylor by a hair, yet this too showed remarkably fresh and blind, I’d have been guessing a 1970 or 1977 Fonseca, which is saying a lot. Possibly the greatest vintage of regular Noval ever vinified. 97+ points. 4/25/13
RH: 1945 Taylor Vintage Port – Try to pick a winner between the 1927, 1945 and 1948 Taylor Vintage Ports is a task for a greater mind. I’ve had them side-by-side only three times in my life and due to bottle variation, I can never come to a solid conclusion. Suffice it to say, having the chance to enjoy any of these three (no less all three at once) is something you will never forget, if you’re serious about Port wine. Thank you Cliff for putting all three of these incredible Taylor’s before me, on Eric’s behalf. This 1945 was decanted just 1.5 hours prior to our tasting, after dinner at the Met, in Seattle. Vibrant blood red with a broad pink edge and no signs of age or bricking, really impressive just to look at, its appearance alone could certainly Port lovers guessing 1985 just as easily. Then one gets to the awesome aromatics and game over, as it is stuffed with a serious mélange of black cherry and red- currants, panoply of baking spices especially nutmeg and cinnamon, and when making our 2nd pass through all five again, there was a distinct note of singed caramel. The nose alone won me over yet it possesses an absolutely crazy texture, so viscous and almost too smooth and just thick like when caramel gets heated up, but seemingly fluid and not heavy. I noted a touch of warming spirit, but it did not get in the way of pleasure in this case. While I loved the nose, and flavors of cherry, raspberry and hints of mocha (and that wild texture); I’d have to say that what made this an even more decadent experience was the mid-palate depth, interspersed with layer upon layer of lip smacking delicious secondary nuanced fruit and spice and chocolate. How is it possible for a Vintage Port at sixty eight years of age to still have tannins with such grip? The finish was impeccable in its length and stylish mix of cocoa and toffee. Regardless of the rating, this was the most profound Port of the first three of the five we drank and all were incredible in their own right. To prove it deserved a “+” this bottle showed it would have been just as good in 2033 as it was now. 98+ points. 4/25/13
RH: 1945 Croft Vintage Port – This was bottle 4 of 5 at the Met Grill in honor of Eric and has always been in my top two or three Vintage Ports of all-time, another one that I’ve had at least a handful of times, but each has been a great privilege and humbling experience. I still have one remaining bottle resting in my cellar for a special occasion someday. This bottle was decanted two hours before we started to consume it and we finished it off two hours later having given it even more time to blossom. Medium scarlet red color with a wide rim that was a shade of light pink. Restrained if not austere when we began exploring this Croft, later it exuded aromas of spicy strawberry, pine resin, tar and pretty wild red berry as it continued to emerge in glass. The palate was simply overwhelming and coming on the heels of two magical VP’s none of us thought it was going to be possible to top either of those experiences. Wrong. This bottle exhibited a vibrancy and youthfulness beyond what can be described in a mere tasting note. I had to think long and hard if this deserved a perfect score. The palate presence was not only massive and young, but absolutely hedonistic and delivering on all cylinders. Seductively soft, primary fruit that belied the age of this Port, I’d have embarrassed myself had I been judging this blind, as it literally gave off no clue as to its real age. An ageless yet graceful wine with lively, chalky tannins that were not yet resolved and a gorgeous core of acidity that seemed to pander to the sweet and intense attack of the bright and brash fruit flavors. Insanely rich with a hint of Chambord and a seamless velvety texture that led to a never ending finish that caused me to close my eyes to fully take in the experience of such a ponderous, Port. I have no doubt that this near-perfect bottle would have been wonderful two or three decades hence and might have been better for the further aging. 99+ points. 4/25/13
RH – 1948 Taylor Vintage Port – Opened for two hours by the time we started drinking it. Light pink in color and a very pale pink-amber edge, which is way different than all four VP’s that came before it. Immediately I noted a slight mustiness and was pretty sure this was corked and later it revealed to be exactly that, although a fairly low level. But I could tell from the color and aromatics that this bottle just was not right. Through faint taint, I detected black cherry, strawberry and lovely caramel. The palate was rich and captivating, with a light herbal flavor, gentle heat and loads of rich raspberry, but over the next several hours, the TCA got worse and worse. I had an initial score of 94 points, which was taking into account the corkiness, but realize this is not fair to a Port that had the potential to be as great as any of the others we had on this extraordinary evening. A darn shame, but it happens. This vintage of the Taylor’s in addition to Fonseca and Graham’s, are about as great as Vintage Port gets. It is always fun to try these side-by-side up against the 1945’s. Not rated. 4/25/13
A great night was had by all and that was followed by an event planned right before Eric was to go into the hospital for his surgery. It just so happened to land on my 13th anniversary evening. My wife was very understanding and we arranged to celebrate another evening. Our guests were beyond generous and sent my wife a beautiful bouquet of flowers. We began with lunch when our guests arrived, some having just landed after flights from Austria. We actually sat down to commence our Port tasting at 3 p.m., as Sean and I had been decanting some of the bottles before they arrived and took lots of photos prior to removing any of the capsules and corks. True Port geeks! Here are the bottles that we were going to attempt to consume that day into night:
- 1851 Warre Vintage Port
- 1896 Dow Vintage Port
- 1912 Warre Vintage Port
- 1927 Fonseca Vintage Port
- 1931 Noval Vintage Port
- 1931 Nacional Vintage Port
- 1945 Taylor Vintage Port
- 1945 Dow Vintage Port
- 1945 Fonseca Vintage Port
- 1945 Croft Vintage Port
- 1945 Warre Vintage Port
- 1948 Taylor Vintage Port
- 1948 Fonseca Vintage Port
- 1963 Nacional Vintage Port
- 1966 Nacional Vintage Port
- 1967 Nacional Vintage Port
- 1994 Nacional Vintage Port
RH: 1851 Warre Vintage Port – Decanted only for sediment; medium ruby optic fading from the core to pink, with a clear tawny meniscus. Purchased at auction forty years ago and resold for $3k by a renowned American wine collector. There’s no question as to the provenance of this particular bottle. We all discussed the appearance of the wine and said it looked like a 1955-1963 VP. Funky for the first fifteen minutes, it quickly blew off to exude floral and framboise fragrances up front with a backdrop of toffee and subtle scents of teak wood and cocoa. Light-medium weight with fairly bright raspberry and caramel flavors up front along with supporting tastes of leather and spice. All told it is a graceful, sleek and velvety wine, which provided the best showing of any mid-19th century Vintage Port I’ve ever tasted. Showing secondary characteristics, yet none tertiary at this point, this bottle could have easily continued on a plateau for another 10-20 years, maybe more. Although no tannins remained, the lively acidity insured nimble balance. This likely would have been a perfect Port had the delicious toffee laden finish not fallen off a cliff, rather quickly. Nonetheless, this 162 year old vintage diamond in the rough delivered an extraordinary, singular experience. Other Port fanatics in the room scolded me for not giving this a higher score. 98 points. 5/6/13
Note: the left photo above shows the uniquely shaped 1851 Port bottle, likely created in the late 1700’s or so. Great story on the label applied to the other side – see right photo above. And immediate to the right is a photo of the embossed capsule for the 1851 Warre’s.
RH: 1851 Warre’s Vintage Port – Nine and a half hours later, after some sleep and with a fresh palate, I re-tasted the remaining Port from the previous night’s bottle. The color had darkened by a shade or two and some mint and eucalyptus had emerged aromatically. On the palate, there was significantly greater richness and heavier body weight along with a medium length finish, but the fruit was beginning to recede which was no surprise given the age of this Port. Overall, it was worthy of an extra point, and admittedly, I was not expecting there to be any fruit left at all. 99 points. 5/7/13
ST: 1851 Warre Vintage Port – This was one of the great three vintages in the 1800s. This bottle was bought at auction forty years ago. Medium red core with bricking on the edges. There was initially some light spearmint and a touch of clove on the nose, but with some air I picked up some floral notes. Bright fruit and strawberries on the medium-bodied palate. This is an expressive, beautiful wine, and while I would not go so far to call it elegant in style, it exudes an amazing sophistication for such an old wine. Excellent acidity and a medium-long finish. 99 points. 5/16/2013
RH: 1896 Dow Vintage Port – Decanted for sediment. Medium-ruby hue with a pink-tawny rim. Floral rose petal, herbs and with an obvious TCA presence. Distinctive Rainier cherry flavor and a gentle mouthfeel. We even tried the “Saran Wrap trick” (to remove or diminish the cork-taint) and it helped but this wine was beyond salvation. There was really beautiful underlying fruit and spiciness, and this would probably have been in a similar place that the last 1896 Dow reached, but it was impossible for this bottle to present those off-the-charts qualities. Our first disappointment of the tasting. Not rated. 5/6/13
ST: 1896 Dow Vintage Port – Light ruby in color with clearing at the edges. Some vegetative and herbal notes on the nose. Sadly, this bottle is corked. You can smell it on the palate, but surprisingly, the tight palate had some red fruit and cherry hiding behind the TCA funkiness. We tried an old trick of adding Saran Wrap to the wine to try and reduce the TCA. We figured we had nothing to lose. It did not seem to make much of a difference. N/R. 5/6/2013
RH: 1912 Warre’s Vintage Port – Decanted for sediment only; appears with a light ruby core, pure transparency and orange-pink edge. Initially there was a chemical smell similar to inositol, spirity, minty and toffee aromatics. The palate exhibited spirituous warmth just short of being hot, as the aguardente protruded here, but there were soft waves of spicy strawberry and pine-herbal notes as well. Although this lacked the breeding of other Ports that preceded it and many that followed, nonetheless, it was a pleasant 101 year old fully mature Port that still showed some graceful fruit character and soft, stylish textural pleasure. The finish was of medium length. Drink up if you own any. This was the 2nd oldest bottle of Warre’s I have tasted. 86 points. 5/6/13
RH: 1912 Warre’s Vintage Port – Revisited the following day along with all others, but this is the single Port with the most surprising turnaround. The spirity character and chemical scents were all gone. In its place a gentle prune and fig profile with some nuttiness. Still beautiful to look at in the glass, but the finish was now a mix of spice, herbs and prune complexity and had gained some legs and added far more length to the finish. Really impressive that it’s more lively! 90 points. 5/7/13
ST: 1912 Warre Vintage Port – Light ruby in color. Nice clarity and depth of color. Some spirit and eucalyptus on the nose. No sign of sediment, despite a lot of sediment coming out of the bottle. There is some spirit on the palate as well, but just underneath are some nice strawberry and red fruit notes, along with some orange peel and madeira-like qualities. Medium-long finish. 88 points. 5/6/13
RH: 1927 Fonseca Vintage Port – A Whitwham’s bottling that was decanted for sediment and purchased directly from the Graycliff Restaurant in Nassau, Bahamas less than a week before our event and hand carried back here to Washington. Cloudy amber appearance. This was the 2nd time I’ve had this ultra-rare Port and neither bottle has clued me in to why Suckling gave this a 100-point rating. Someday, I do hope to capture a great bottle of this legendary wine. Notes of orange blossom, nutmeg, cinnamon, mulled apple cider and marzipan combine to provide a unique bouquet that I’ve never come close to encountering before in any Vintage Port. Delicate and velvety smooth, clearly oxidized, this wine presented somewhat like an even older version of Colheita. There was ample acidity, but this 1927 Fonseca was lacking any real fruit character, yet finished strong with a very long overtly sweet baked cinnamon apple infused finish. In fairness, this was a most interesting science experiment. 80 points 5/6/13
ST: 1927 Fonseca Vintage Port – This was bottle by Whitwhams. Slightly dusty amber in color with some cloudiness. This bottle is corked. The nose if very off-putting. There are some spicy notes, but it all seems oxidized and disjointed. The palate has some metallic notes, and there really wasn’t much fruit remaining. Overall, this one was rather disappointing. 80 points. 5/6/2013
RH: 1931 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port – Port tonged, decanted and enjoyed over the next few hours. This was the 2nd bottle consumed in less than a two week period of time, and it’s definitely the regular bottling and not a Nacional. Crazy ultra-dark garnet color with a brilliant ruby meniscus, not showing any hints of age. Everyone in the room made comments as to its youthful appearance and the oldest anyone mentioned was 1977, while many were in the 1994 range. Aromatically even more expressive than the bottle two weeks earlier with a remarkably complex mix of figs, tobacco, brambly blackcurrant, tar and toffee. There’s a duality of elegance and intricately woven primary flavors that is hard to describe. Red wild berries, just short of being jammy, yet domineering in its youthful approach and loaded with toffee and espresso on the back end. Young in every way imaginable, (color, nose, flavors) with vibrant fruit that would have fooled me to consider a guess of mid-1980’s or even 1990’s bottling. This will be a stellar Port and possibly a bit more mature if opened at its centenary, but at 82 years of age, I dare say this mere teenager would fool any Port expert and similar bottles likely would be excellent for another half century hence. One of the longest finishes for a Vintage Port in recent memory and the aftertaste just kept carrying on and on. Superlatives don’t do justice for Port like this. The next a.m. this was even better: sweeter still, more voluptuous and volume and intensity. Wowow! 99+ points. 5/6/13
ST: 1931 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port – Some mocha, toffee, light, spirity notes on the nose. The color is a very dark ruby, which is surprising for a wine this old. Intense mouthfeel with some red fruit still present. Expansive mouthfeel with red fruit and bing cherry, and a complexity that is quite delightful. The wonderful flavors continued to roll through the exceptionally long finish. Wow! 98 points. 5/6/2013
RH: 1931 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port – Although you’d have to see it to believe it, this Nacional was even darker than the previous “regular” Noval, as it was fully opaque and a dark inky blackish-red. But therein lies an incredible story. Cliff had read about this legendary VP and asked my help to source a bottle. None had been sold anywhere in the world, at auction, since June 15th 2006 at Christie’s in London. That bottle sold for £4,840 which equated to $8,930.00 at the time and was then, the most expensive Port bottle ever sold. The individual, who opened the first ’31 Nacional for me in 2004, had quite a few bottles in his collection back in the day … 10 that I was aware of. I decided to approach him and was told he had “saved the highest fill level and bottle with the best condition of all the ’31 Nacional’s” he’d owned, for last. And this was his very last bottle. He was quite reluctant to part with it, but I explained that the person this was ultimately going to be served to had an advanced cancer and days later he would undergo an operation to save his life by removing his diseased kidney. We negotiated a price of ten thousand dollars, as that was the upper limit the buyer, Cliff was willing to pay for it. No Port of any kind had ever sold for $10k before, making this the single most expensive (750 ml) bottle of Port wine ever sold. I put the buyer in touch with the seller; the exchange was made and here was the bottle before us. I was very proud to be able to arrange this transaction on quite short notice and everything seemed to work out perfectly. Except, it was quite badly corked. I was devastated and now can admit that I felt riddled with guilt. Not that I could possibly have known, but still, it wasn’t my money and now this! ? Cliff was very gracious to not get angry, in fact he was quite calm about it and kindly said, “Please don’t worry about it.” Little did I know exactly why. In the entire lineup this was the single darkest Vintage Port of all, but sadly, that’s the only positive thing I can say about it. The bottle was stored in one cellar from 1934-1984, then the “seller’s cellar” until now. Imagine our disappointment at that moment in time. Not rated. 5/6/13
ST: 1931 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port – Tragically, this bottle was corked.
RH: 1945 Warre’s Vintage Port – After the 1851 and 1912 Warre’s earlier, a tale of two distinct showings and having just had the epic fail of all-time with the 1931 Nacional being corked, we were ready for anything. This Warre had remained in decanter for four hours by the time we got to drink it. Still a bit flummoxed from the 1931 Nacional debacle, I forgot to note the color of this Port. An inviting cross between Luden’s cherry cough drops and a vibrant macerated cherry fragrance, with a dollop of mocha and caramel. We were all relieved, to say the least. Of all Ports tasted before it, this had the finest texture of all; like sipping a piece of melting caramel candy, unctuous and mink-like seductive smoothness. Spicy sweet flavors of redcurrants, red licorice, milk chocolate and clove, an odd combo that melded into a sinful elixir. Round, decadent, complex in the middle and ending, balanced from stem to stern and what made it so fantastic was how simply ease this was to sip. The finish and aftertaste were sublime in both flavor and duration. It’s a hedonistic Warre’s bottling and while belying its age, it showed some mature characteristics as well, much to its benefit. 97 points. 5/6/13
ST: 1945 Warre Vintage Port – Bright, clear ruby in color. Cherry hard candy and a touch of spirit on the nose. The palate had amazing texture, and sported notes of Christmas spice, clove and Twizzlers. Good acidity and some lingering red fruit on the palate. Sweet, long finish. 97 points. 5/6/2013
RH: 1945 Dow’s Vintage Port – Four hours in decanter, kids don’t try this at home! Dark core of magenta fades to a broad rim of tawny-pink. A somewhat odd mélange of perfumed grenadine and an earthy autumnal undertone of white truffle. Serious heavy weight, dense and just short of seeming jammy, filled with rhubarb and redcurrant fruit flavor, a touch of spirit and incredibly structured given its nearly sixty years of age. Masculine and powerful with tannins still rather lively and showing some grip towards the finish, accompanied by crisp acidity. On a very sound and long plateau, I’m prognosticating two to three decades of excellent drinking ahead, when bottles are at this level of exemplary provenance. My only quibble was that the finish was only medium in length and lacked some of the profundity that others in this mini-horizontal of 1945’s exhibited. 95 points. 5/6/13
ST: 1945 Dow Vintage Port – Very dark ruby in color. Great intensity and fruit on the approach. Some slight herbal notes on the nose, but the full-bodied palate with notes of red currant, pomegranate, and just a touch of spirit made up for any deficiencies on the nose. The tannins were pronounced on the mid-palate, and resolved to a nice balance of acidity and tannins on the medium-long finish. 95 points. 5/6/13
RH: 1945 Croft Vintage Port – Expectations were ratcheted up to a level that can only be deemed “unfair” as the last bottle we had together two weeks earlier was one for “the all-time-greats” list. But as I’ve been taught over and over … one can only pass judgment based on the bottle before them. And so it was. A Whitwham’s bottling decanted for four hours, the color was light ruby and very light compared to its ’45 peers, with a full on tawny edge. But to be fair, this showed signs of previous seepage and that became more apparent as the exploration continued. Slightly hot, black licorice, butterscotch and light whiffs of cranberry evolved in the glass. In comparison to the earlier bottle we had together, this was not in the same league, yet it was no slouch either. Rich and chewy, balanced but angular, flavors included spicy herbs, anise, and strawberry fruit that were elegant, smooth and quite unctuous. Showing more maturity than expected, certainly due in part to some slow oxidation, this was still a dry and muscular Croft, but so very different than the youthful monster encountered recently. However, this bottle of 1945 proved once again, that Vintage Port is a hearty lot and can even withstand some storage or cork failures on occasion. The finish lingered while the complexity throughout the mid-palate and aftertaste was wonderful and this was still a smashing mature Croft! 94 points. 5/6/13
ST: 1945 Croft Vintage Port – This was bottled by Whitwhams. Medium-ruby in color, with lightening on the edges. Some spirit was present on the nose, along with fennel, pomegranate and a touch of toffee. Really nice complexity of red fruit with some elegance and spice on the palate. The long, complex finish was really enjoyable, and rounded out this outstanding wine beautifully. 96 points. 5/6/2013
RH: 1945 Taylor’s Vintage Port – Like all the 1945’s in this flight, it was decanted for four hours by the time we got around to drinking it. Bright youthful ruby color that was translucent and perfect for its age with a pink edge and absolutely no bricking. Eliciting sweet and secondary nasal nuances, almond paste, pomegranate, cocoa powder and toffee. Clean, spicy, fresh and full-bodied, a stunning profile, but in comparison to the bottle we had together recently, this was not at the same level of greatness. I am a huge fan of 1945 Taylor; one of the greats of its venerable lineage and it rarely has disappointed. Neither did this … comparisons aside. Great intensity of both fruit and the overall palate presence, this is a powerful Port and blessed with lively structural components at nearly 70 years of age. Concentrated and smooth, slightly more mature than our 4/25 bottling, yet I thought it was still a terrific Port; the finish lingered for minutes and was sublime. Most others rated it one or two points higher. 96 points. 5/6/13
ST: 1945 Taylor’s Vintage Port – Ruby in color with clearing on the edges. some dusty red fruit on the nose with dusty raspberry, cherry, red currant and a hint of cinnamon. The entry on the palate was luscious with red fruit and Christmas spice, backed up by tremendously balanced tannins. The long, complex finish provided waves of red fruit and spices. 95 points. 5/6/2013
RH: 1945 Fonseca Vintage Port – Decanted for four hours as were all the 1945’s tonight. Medium-dark ruby with a bright scarlet rim. A truly profound aromatic mélange of both raspberry and cranberry fruit, adorned with marzipan, and a roasted coffee overtone. Focused, smooth and intense, this Fonseca was in top form, still young for its age and decadently balanced throughout. The depth and intricacy of the mid-section packed a significant wow factor that had me returning to this glass all night long. So vibrant in its fruit and acidity synchronization, with just a hint of dusty tannins in the background that was noticeable after swallowing. The bright berry blast on the ridiculously long finish was one of the standouts of the tasting. Bottled in Oporto. Suave, sophisticated and a truly great 1945 bottling with many years of drinking pleasure ahead. 97+ points. 5/6/13
ST: 1945 Fonseca Vintage Port – Dark ruby in color. Some absolutely beautiful aromas on the nose of raspberry, red currant and cranberry, with some light espresso notes underneath. Incredible intensity and balance, with waves of flavor and a smooth, silky mouthfeel that just keeps bringing me back and back. The complexity of red fruit, intricately balanced with tannins and acidity on the crazy long finish was sublime, and just put the cherry on top of this phenomenal wine. 98 points. 5/6/2013
RH: 1948 Fonseca Vintage Port – This has always been a favorite of mine and I’ve never forgotten my first time back in Florida with Dr. Bob Maliner and Michael Broadbent in 1998. A handful have followed since then and I can remember every one. Decanted for 4 hours like all of the 1945’s and ‘48s, this was bottled by Corney & Barrow. Medium dark garnet optic with a broad pink rim. So how do you follow up a phenomenal 1945 Fonseca Vintage Port? Steppin’ up, just like this! Evocative and ethereal aromatics crammed with almonds, red berries, anise and sandalwood, I enjoyed this more as it continued to evolve over the course of the evening. The palate was even better; a feminine Port ultimately elegant and soft, with vivacious fruit of blueberry and boysenberry pie, off-dry, harmonious and seamless with zippy acidity and refined tannins. Loads of drinking pleasure left for a minimum of two or more decades … with ease. Seductively smooth texturally and it presents an extremely long and complex finish, which shows exactly what a perfect Port can deliver. 100 points. 5/6/13
ST: 1948 Fonseca Vintage Port – Bottled by Corney & Barrow. Very dark purple in color. Intense aromas of red fruit mingled with toasted almonds. The palate is smooth and elegant, with some lush blueberry and dark fruit still lingering around. The tannins and acidity are well-balanced on the very long, luscious finish. 97 points. 5/6/2103
RH: 1948 Taylor Vintage Port – Decanted for four hours, the label mistakenly exhibits, “Taylor’s 1948 Vintage Port, Bottled in Oporto 1957.” Rich ruby core with slight bricking on a narrow meniscus. A very solid bottle, but I’ve had more muscular and youthful versions of this particular Port, most recently in 2010. Scented fig and fennel notes along with dried herbs and praline. The palate was even more impressive with ripe, sinfully sweet red fruits, dark roasted espresso and liquid caramel flavors. This VP presented a multi-layered middle that was soft and creamy textured and overall, for a 1948 Taylor, it was quite developed and seemed mostly mature. The distinctive secondary character was in significant contrast to the extremely youthful showing of the ’48 Fonseca. Although evolved, this particular bottle offered iconic balance and earned extra style points for the finesse it delivered, especially on the tantalizingly smooth lingering finish. Loved it, but this specific bottle would have needed to be consumed within the decade, before moving to its tertiary stage. 97 points. 5/6/13
ST: 1948 Taylor Vintage Port – Light ruby in color with some bricking on the edges. Some herbal and spice notes on the nose. Great red fruits and some underlying toffee and molasses on the well-balanced palate. Light, elegant wine with strawberry on the palate. The long, smooth finish delivered waves of flavor and incredible balance. 97 points. 5/6/2013
RH: 1931 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port – REDUX: The saga continues. After the bottle of 1931 NN was badly corked, we made our way through five 1945’s followed by an incredible pairing of 1948’s. Here is where the story gets even wilder. Unbeknownst to me, the very next day after I had arranged the sale/purchase of the corked bottle, Cliff and Eric hopped on a plane because they had found a second bottle of 1931 Quinta do Noval Nacional, that was also “guaranteed” to be the real thing. Their flight took them from Seattle to Nassau, Bahamas — where they dined at the world renowned Graycliff Restaurant, which possesses one of the most impeccable and prestigious wine cellars of any restaurant in the world. Once there, they “negotiated” the purchase after lengthy discussions first with the staff and then the management of the place. An even higher authority was called in to make the final decision, as it was not the policy of this restaurant to allow bottles to be removed from the premises unless empty. An exception was made, also at the $10,000.00 price point. Cliff had doubled down and purchased a 2nd bottle of 1931 Quinta do Noval Nacional inside of 48 hours. But I digress. Now, back to our tasting. We took a short break in the action to use a Port tongs on this bottle, yes, the 2nd 1931 Nacional of the night and 3rd 1931 from Noval overall, and the 4th in less than two weeks, if keeping count. I doubt this will ever happen again in my lifetime, but I will never forget the experience! The Port tong was used on this bottle, as we had done with the other two 1931’s too. I noted, that even though I had been privileged to consume the regular 1931 Noval seven times since 1998, until this evening, I had only had the ’31 Nacional once, (and that time the regular bottling showed better, by a point).
When the neck was very gently cracked so we could see the cork, everyone was very quiet. The 1931 Nacional from earlier in the evening was labeled as such but the cork had no sign of branding. Remarkably, the branding on this one was quite easy to see, as depicted in the photo above. I will always save this cork as a memento of this magnificent bottle and evening overall. The wine itself was decanted for sediment and poured shortly thereafter, as we returned to the table. As dark as the first Nacional showed earlier, this one was considerably lighter in appearance, but still what I’d consider medium-dark burgundy-red and it had a broad pink-ruby edge. Immediately apparent was the intensity of the aromatics, with rose petals, grenadine, torched sugar and plums so fresh and lively. Some serious horsepower here with bright, crisp black cherry and darker flavors of prune and molasses, ultra-smooth, viscous and beautifully textured. There are tannins still present here too, not yet refined, they’re actually still exhibiting a decent amount of grip and the acidity is perfectly aligned with the fruit. This Nacional admirably demonstrates the fluidity and excitement of a Maserati Quattroporte handling hairpin turns in the Italian Alps. It just happens to taste a lot better and takes a lot longer to finish. A truly perfect and singular Vintage Port, and finally … I really do understand what the fuss is all about. Thank you for your extraordinary generosity, Cliff! 100 points. 5/6/13
ST: 1931 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port – My oh my. This is a legendary bottle that I never thought I would get to try in my lifetime. We have a regular segment in our For The Love Of Port newsletter where interview personalities from the Port trade. One the standard questions we usually ask in our interviews is “What is the one Vintage Port you wish you could try, but never have.” I would (unscientifically) venture to say that 80% say “The 1931 Noval Nacional.” My friend Roy Hersh helped to secure this bottle for an epic “bucket list” tasting, and the buyer paid $10,000 for the bottle. Despite seemingly good provenance, when we used Port tongs to open it, the kitchen immediately started to smell like wet cardboard. It was a corked bottle, and undrinkable. We were obviously extremely disappointed, but the buyer didn’t seem to be too worked up about it. Unbeknownst to use, he had discovered another bottle of the 1931 Noval Nacional and had flown to the Bahamas to pick it up from the famous Graycliff Restaurant. The bottle was pulled from a bag, places on the counter, and our roller-coaster of emotions went from sadness to jubilation! The wine was light amber in color as it was decanted, and we breathed a sigh of relief when we smelled some wonderful aromatics wafting up from the decanter. After carefully pouring everyone a glass, we sat down to taste and write our notes. There was a little spirit on the nose, with a touch of red fruits and even some light floral notes. On taking the first sip, there was an intense flavor of bight cherry and red fruit, with some crazy complexity of swirling espresso bean, dark fruit, brown sugar and some black cherry. The immense, evolving mid-palate was smooth and balanced. The finish was incredibly long, with the flavors, acidity and residual tannins dancing playfully seemingly minutes after I’d swallowed. This was likely a one-in-a-lifetime bottle for me, and while it might be tempting to rate this wine higher because of the experience, the wine in the glass before me earned this perfect score all on its own. 100 points. 5/6/2013
RH: 1963 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port – There’s past signs of seepage as can be seen on the Selo, before the cork was removed and the bottle decanted for five hours. Dark magenta ink with full opacity and a ruby rim. Riveting essence of vibrant ripe mulberry fruit and purity of grapes with overtones of toffee and black tea. Simple and amazing at the same time, what I loved about this bottle of Nacional was how remarkably approach-able it was from the very first sip to my last swallow. It’s soft and smooth, yet fleshy, with creamy opulence across the tongue. Revealing chewy fresh fig flavors intermixed with sweet, plump red plum and a momentary touch of heat. Some of the significant strengths of this 1963 Nacional are the impeccable integration provided by the generous acid attack and subtle but ripe tannins; layered elegance and well-delineated mid-palate, and the marathon winning finish. Although ready-to-drink today, given its youth compared to anything else we’ve tasted so far, this 1963 will reward patience as it is holding back much of its potential and will continue to be a remarkable Port midway through the 21st century. ~ 98+ points ~ 5/6/13
ST: 1963 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port – Dark purple in color. Fully opaque. There are some caramel notes on the nose, and some vibrate cherry and strawberry notes as well. On the palate, there is ample Bing cherry and red fruit on the palate, with great structure, acidity and balance. There is an intense concentration of fruit and well-structured tannins stretching from the mid-palate into the very long finish. Wow! 98 points. 5/6/2013
RH: 1966 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port – This bottle came from Aabalat in the USA and cost $995. It was decanted for five hours and was so severely flawed that I took no notes at all. Not rated. 5/6/13
ST: 1966 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port – Medium dark purple in color. Hints of root beer and a touch of cinnamon on the nose. There is something off with this bottle. The group agreed that this was severely flawed. N/R. 5/6/2013
RH: 1967 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port – This has always been one of my personal favorite Nacional vintages. If I could; this would be my house Port! Not corked, but it is so odd that I can’t sniff it too closely and had a hard time tasting this to see how funky it was. Hugely disappointing, but that is part of the ups and downs and bottle variability that Vintage Port can exhibit. I’ve been a part of two major Nacional verticals tastings, (one included twenty two vintages) but we had much better luck on those occasions. Say it ‘ain’t so … now … two in a row! Not rated. 5/6/13
ST: 1967 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port – This wine is very dark purple in color. There is a touch of spirit on the nose, but something seems a little off on the aromatics. On the first sip, it had an intense mouthfeel, with still a hint of primary fruit. However, there was still something funky going on even on the palate. It wasn’t corked, but maybe just an off bottle. N/R. 5/6/2013
RH: 1994 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port – Decanted 16 hours in advance, a Vintage Port I’ve had a dozen times since it was born and one of the all-time greats. Blackstrap inky opacity. The approachability factor has a lot to do with the extended decanting as this can appear to be a monster of a VP. Stunning vibrant perfume of pepper, milk chocolate and pure grape intensity. A deadly combination punch, possessing power, panache and purple fruit concentrates, bolstered by structured stealth tannins that are refined, yet with reserves in the tank for decades of future drinking pleasure. On the other hand, as mentioned this is so easy now, hedonistic if you like, and with the right amount of decanting, it is one delicious drink with an unforgettably profound finish. This exuberant 1994 Vintage Port rules at the top of its class, at least for my palate; and is unquestionably one of the most concentrated and potentially longest-lived Ports of the vintage. I truly believe, and have said before, that this unique Vintage Port will be looked at more in the vein of the 1931 Nacional than the 1963. That is no sleight on the 1963 Nacional at all; in fact for one of the greatest vintages of the 20th century, the Nacional is certainly the leader of the pack there too! 100 points. 5/6/13
ST: 1994 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port – Deep purple in color with almost complete opacity. There is cocoa powder and still some primary fruit on this beast. Extremely intense, primary black fruit on the palate. Amazing intensity. Unbelievable longevity for this wine. Balance is so perfect on this wine, and the finish just keeps on going with wave after wave of fruit and tannins. This wine is drinking like a young VP right now, but the incredible structure underneath means this wine is going to be an even bigger rock star down the road than it is tonight. This was a stunning wine. 100 points. 5/6/2013
Epilogue
At the end of a very long day into night, our tasting that began more than 12 hours earlier had finally come to its conclusion. We all discussed the fact that it was “all downhill from here” as it is highly unlikely that any of us will ever experience a greater assortment of Vintage Ports in a single day, even with the flawed and corked bottles included. I was thumbing through my notebook and checking my tasting notes and then noticed my scores. I realized that I was facing a very significant dilemma.
In the previous 19 years in which I have recorded my Port tasting notes in notebooks and various computers, there have only been three unique Vintage Ports out of many thousands tasted, that I have rated a perfect 100 points. I sat forlorn instead of being thrilled to report, that in one evening in May, I wound up with three more, (although the 1994 Nacional has earned this distinction on several occasions in the past). I brought this up to the group and asked them how in the heck I was going to do this? They convinced me that my ratings should be shared along with the tasting notes in an article and that serendipity comes in all flavors, including TCA and 100 point Vintage Ports.
And now for the most important news, great news actually! Four days after our tasting Eric went into the hospital to do his best to shed his cancer and regain his health. He had his kidney removed. No thanks to the wonders of our insurance system, he was sent home within 48 hours of the operation which was deemed a success. Some complications arose, but let’s fast forward seven months and today Eric is in good health, remains cancer free and has recovered nicely from the surgery. I will be visiting him after the holidays and may even get to see Cliff at some point in 2014 as well.
Nobody that attended either or both of these events will ever forget the friendships forged and the outstanding generosity by Cliff for his friend Eric and rest of the invitees. My sincere thanks to them both and also to my buddy Sean who provided the majority of photos included in this article!
