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Ex-cellars. Mid red centre, mature orange on the rim. A lively citrus and clove nose with a hint of dustiness. Very inviting. Sweet, lively and spicey in the mouth; wonderful layering of flavours with a fabulous spiciness and a raisin sweetness. A big burst of heat on swallowing, and then a long cho...

Deeper in colour than the 1966 shown alongside, colour holding into the rim. Very closed on the nose, less developed than the 1966, but continued swirling coaxes out an attractive Christmas mincemeat. Smooth in texture, sweet in impact and with some tannins still in the palate. Slightly simple after...

Deep centre, but easily transparent, pinking on the rim; lighter than the 1967 alongside it. Dusty brambles on the nose, fairly open, deep redcurrants and gooseberries. Sweet and fruity on entry; delicious sweet strawberry syrup with good complexity. Pleasant flavour profile, which develops well. A ...

Prodded gently into adding a tasting note, this is what I wrote on the night: Lighter in colour than the 1967 shown alongside, showing a distinct barley-sugar rim. More open on the nose than the 1967, revealing golden sultanas soaked in lemon juice, steeped with an amazing all spice—absolutely delic...

Sold by the glass at the theatre bar. Deep red in colour. Little on the nose, but smelling somewhat stewed and jammy. Very simple and straightforward on the palate, plenty of fruit but soft and jammy and with very little structure. Virtually no aftertaste - astonishingly short. Not offensive but the...

DRT wrote:

AHB wrote:So what's the official answer?

Nothing.

So what have you put in it?

True. But look at your footnote - the first duty of port is to be red. Whn was the last time you saw a Hutcheson that was red AND more than ten years old?

Yes Ma'am. Will do.

(such a relief to have common sense prevail!)

My favourite combination is still a seared steak and a young VP or LBV

So what's the official answer?

It is quite simple. Neither 2008 nor 2009 will be declared because the weather conditions since the harvest last year guarantee that 2010 will be an excellent vintage that will be declared instead. 2008 and 2009 will be relegated to a minor footnote in the annals of port production similar to the in...

Glenn

In my humble opinion, I think this particular bottle of Vargellas is probably absolutely at its peak. It has a wonderful mIx of fruit and maturity. It will still be very good in 15 years time, but I would be very tempted to open this bottle first in 2014.

Decanted from a bottle with a very hard, but seemingly sound cork. At D+1 this was a deep, rich red with a slight hint of bricking on the rim. A lively nose, full of Christmas Pine and violets. Surprisingly sweet entry, with a huge range of secondary flavours. Very big and flavoursome; still noticea...

I would suggest that twenty years on, the novelty is wearing off.. There are only so many uses for those boxes around the house, and I really havn't a clue what to do with all those pottery bin tags.. - how many consumers use bins with tags now..? - hardly any.. The little booklet is fun to read th...

In accordance with Rule 56b I am under no obligation to explain my decision and AHB has no right of appeal. See what I mean? Rule 56b was deleted months ago because of its frequent and blatant abuse by egotistical referees. What happens? The ref ignores the fact that it's been deleted since he want...

Jacob

Your fingers were faster than the keyboard when typing Quinta in the title...

Note to self - minimum of a six hour decant required.

Ex-cellars. This was the first Malvedos vintage made in the new robotic lagares. Deep red, red rim, opaque centre. Young and aggressive nose; youthful and aggressive on the palate with gripping tannins and jammy fruit. The fruit on the palaye is very impressive and keeps growing. The immediate after...

I would be a little disappointed with this result. In my mind, a crusted port should be better than an unfiltered LBV and certainly much better than a ruby. You are drinking a blend (and therefore the extra complexity brought by a blend) of years and lotes which just failed to make the vintage blend...

From ½ bottle. Pale colour, burnt sienna in tone and with a pale orange rim. Burnt raisins on the nose, stewed and a little unattractive. Sweet stewed and spoiled - probably heat damaged. Pleasant aftertaste, sweet and bitter at the same time. The other half bottle (which was the one tasted by Jacob...

Ex-cellars. Slightly lighter in colour than the 1982 shown alongside. Centre just transparent. A promising nose of dusty raspberries. Sweet and smooth entry; delicious sweet cherry and and raspberry fruit all over the palate. Soft and gentle tannins support a ripe acidity. Wonderful development in t...

Solid red colour, centre just opaque. Slightly woody on the nose, some harshness and holloness. Pleasant texture; smooth and with gentle tannins on the edge of the tongue and teeth. Plenty of fruit on the palate - which just keeps growing in volume. The aftertaste takes a long time to come through b...

Ex-cellars. Deep red, solid centre which is just opaque. A spicy nose, very young and immature. Initially hollow, with some tannins in the wine but these are soft and almost hidden. Rich, dark cherry juice and black chocolate. Full and rich aftertaste, dominated by the dark chocolate and black cherr...

From ½ bottle. Generous red colour, lighter than the 1990 shown alongside and with a clear centre. Some harshness on the nose, but also some floral overtones; not particularly attractive. Nice texture, slightly stewed fruit, subdued tannins and an attractive pepperiness. Dry aftertaste, cheek fillin...