Each year in July, we hold an FTLOP Anniversary tasting to celebrate the original launch of For The Love Of Port. For our 11th Anniversary, we conducted a series of events during the weekend of July 24, 2016. The weekend began with the customary Friday dinner with just the For The Love Of Port staff, followed by the formal tasting on Saturday, July 25 with a theme of “Vintage Ports or Colheita Ports from 1979 or earlier.” This was followed by a tasting of 1966 Vintage Ports on Sunday, July 26.
Friday Night Staff Tasting
On Friday night, the staff of FTLOP gathered at Glenn Elliott’s house in Sammamish, Washington to celebrate our 11th year of For The Love Of Port.
Glenn offered to make dinner for us, and we spend the first part of the evening socializing and then diving into Glenn’s amazing bbq ribs! I only wrote tasting notes for the Ports but captured the non-Port wines we had.
2003 Quinta Vale Raposa Grande Escolha – N/R. 7/22/2016
2002 A. Rafanelli Zinfandel – N/R. 7/22/2016
Lanson Black Label Brute Champagne – N/R. 7/22/2016
1996 Quinta do Vale D. Maria Douro Red – N/R. 7/22/2016
2001 Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz – N/R. 7/22/2016
After dinner, we moved on to the two Ports for the evening.
1983 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port – Light ruby in color. Strawberry and a touch of spirit on the nose. Good acidity with red fruit on the mid-palate. Some spirit on the long finish. 90 points. 7/22/2016
1968 Quinta do Noval Colheita Port – Amber brown in color. Orange spice and some spirit on the nose. 21.5% alcohol. Tons of VA in this wine. Unctuous mouthfeel with orange peel. N/R
Saturday “Pre-1980″ Tasting
On Saturday afternoon, our group of FTLOP tasters assembled at the Holiday Inn in Issaquah, Washington – a venue we have used many times for its location and convenience. For this tasting, everyone was to bring a Vintage Port or Colheita Port from 1979 or earlier.
Along with a few of my veteran FTLOPers, I set out assembling the glasses for the flights and began pouring the wines. We have done this activity enough that we’ve developed a great system over the years. Two people pouring the wines, taking care to pour an equal amount into each glass. It’s definitely an art to get it right without resorting to some type of measuring device. As each wine is poured out into the glasses, others are standing by to ferry them to the tables and place them on the numbered placemats that identify each of the wines in front of the participants.
The pouring – as it normally does – went off without a hitch, so after some brief introductions and a few words from Roy Hersh, founder of FTLOP, we set out on our tasting experience.
1963 Cockburn Vintage Port – Light amber in color. Good clarity. Subtle orange and almond on the nose with a hint of bandaid. Rich, unctuous mouthfeel. Honey and a touch of spice on the palate. Long, full finish with honey notes. 90 points. 7/23/16
1967 Taylor Fladgate Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port – Bottled 1969 by Berry Brothers & Rudd, London. Amber brown in color. Mahogany and cocoa powder on the nose. Mocha notes on the full palate with a long, structured finish. 92 points. 7/23/16
1970 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port – Transparent brick in color. Some light sediment. Still some red fruit on the nose. Intense mouthfeel, with strawberry and some min on the palate. Full-bodied, elegant mouthfeel with a very long and balanced finish. 93 points. 7/23/16
1970 Graham Vintage Port – Dark ruby in color. Red currant on the nose. Balanced tannins on the extremely rich palate. Some dusty notes on the finish. 95 points. 7/23/16
1970 Sandeman Vintage Port – Amber brown in color. Some mint and red fruit on the nose. Full-bodied. Slighting disjointed with a little bitterness on the finish. 91 points. 7/23/16
1977 J.W. Morris California Port – Dark amber with hints of purple. Fig on the nose. Still some primary fruit notes. Tannins on the palate and long finish. 88 points. 7/23/16
1975 Cockburn’s Vintage Port – Amber in color with some hints of pink hues at the edges. Pronounced red fruit and spirit on the nose. Strawberry, some mint and a touch of spirit on the mid-palate. Long finish with good acidity. 87 points. 7/23/16
Royal Oporto 40 Year Old Tawny Port – Amber with noticeable orange on the edges. Orange spice on the nose. Bright acidity. A touch of cinnamon on the palate. Long, unctuous finish with hints of orange peel. 91 points. 7/23/16
Taylor Fladgate 40 Year Old Tawny Port – Amber brown in color. Cedar on the nose with woody notes. Unctuous, firm profile with rolling waves of burnt sugar, honey, and citrus peel. 93 points. 7/23/16
1968 Krohn Colheita Port – Brown/amber in color. Cloudy with some sediment. Chocolate notes on the nose. Mouth-coating unctuousness. Molasses on the palate and a long finish. 94 points. 7/23/16
1966 Kopke Colheita Port – Amber orange with great clarity. Caramel and orange on the palate. Great acidity. Some woody notes and a touch of bitterness on the finish. 93 points. 7/23/16
1966 Taylor’s Very Old Single Harvest Port – Brown orange in color. Sweet tobacco and caramel on the nose. Brown sugar and espresso notes on the palate. Long, unctuous and intense finish. 90 points. 7/23/16
1965 Taylor Fladgate Very Old Single Harvest Port – Amber brown in color. Dusty almond and leather on the nose. Toffee notes on the palate. 90 points. 7/23/16
1964 Krohn White Colheita Port – Bottled in 2008. Light banana and lychee on the nose. Vanilla on the palate with a coating mouthfeel. Long finish. 90 points. 7/23/16
1940 Kopke Colheita Port – Bottled 2001. Amber in color. Mostly clear, with some light sediment. Orange spice and wood notes on the nose. Black tea on the mid-palate with tannins present. Balanced acidity. 94 points. 7/23/16
Kopke 375th Anniversary Colheita Port – Bottled 2013. Labeled 1940 Colheita on the front label. Amber-orange in color. Mocha and chocolate notes on the nose. Orange marmalade on the palate. Unctuous, coating mouthfeel. Great complexity and balance. 96 points. 7/23/16
Barros 100th Anniversary Special Edition Very Old Tawny Port – Amber-orange in color. Caramel and orange spice on the nose. Great complexity, with layers of chocolate and subtle butterscotch. 95 points. 7/23/16
Sunday 1966 Vintage Port Tasting
1966 João Allen Porto Alberto Rabello Valente Vintage Port – Medium ruby brown in color. Semi-transparent. Some spirit on the nose with some mocha notes and a touch of red fruit underneath. Medium body, with spirit and cherry cough drops on the approach. Some red fruit and tannins on the mid-palate with a long finish. 89 points. 7/24/2016
1966 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port – Dark chocolate brown in color with orange hints on the edges. Almost opaque, with good clarity. A hint of spirit on the nose with some dried cherry, Intense mouthfeel with sour cherry and some cinnamon on the palate. Long, unctuous finish with nice acidity and balance. 93 points. 7/24/2016
1966 Sandeman Vintage Port – Medium-dark ruby in color with slight bricking on the edges. Extremely fine sediment. Semi-opaque. Slightly subdued nose with some dusty red fruit. The mid-palate has some hints of cloying cherry. Nice finish. 92 points. 7/24/2016
1966 Offley Boa Vista Vintage Port – Medium ruby-brown in color. Slight cloudiness. Elegant, well-balanced entry with some strawberry and red fruit on the palate. Something is a touch off on the palate with this wine, though and I think it might be corked. N/R 7/24/2016
1966 Warre Vintage Port – Amber-brown in color. Red fruit and some spirit on the nose. Intense raspberry and complex red fruit on the palate. Subtle cocoa and some red hots on the finish. A very well-balanced wine. 93 points. 7/24/2016
1966 Gould Campbell Vintage Port – Light amber brown in color. Mocha notes on the nose, but also some stewed vegetable notes. This bottle seems a little off. The finish in one-dimensional. 89 points. 7/24/2016
1966 Grahams Vintage Port – Dark amber-brown in color. Subdued nose. Strawberry and hints of mint on the palate. Black tea and licorice on the long, balanced finish. 95 points. 7/24/2016
1966 Dow Vintage Port – Dark amber in color. Wow! Very elegant and well-integrated wine. Red fruit and rose petals on the nose. Extremely well-integrated strawberry, raspberry and some spice on the palate. 96 points. 7/24/2016
1966 Croft Vintage Port – Amber-brown in color. Light sediment, semi-opaque. Subdued nose with some light mint coming through. Mocha and dark, dusty fruit on the palate. Structured tannins on the finish. 92 points. 7/24/2016
1966 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port – Very dark ruby in color. Semi-transparent with good clarity. Some vegetative and dusty notes on the nose. Intense flavor profile with waves of mocha, molasses, and dates. 96 points. 7/24/2016
1966 Fonseca Vintage Port – Very dark red-brown in color. Almost opaque with some slight pink color on the edges. Subtle nose. Unctuous mouthfeel, with a touch of espresso and some burnt sugar. Red fruit on the great, balanced finish. 96 points. 7/24/2016
1966 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port – Dark amber in color. Opaque with a touch of cloudiness. Some slight stemmy vegetative notes on the nose. Bring cherry on the palate. Some raspberry on the mid-palate and a very long, luscious finish. 95 points. 7/24/2016
