1997 Martinez

Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
Posts: 14880
Joined: 13:41 Mon 25 Jun 2007
Location: Berkshire, UK

1997 Martinez

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

Deep red in colour but cloudy, full of very fine sediment and so opaque. From the colour this looked to be in the early stages of maturity. On the nose this showed stewed raisins and sultanas offset by a sour rhubarb acidity. The rhubarb comes through on the palate with the fruit sweet but also showing as baked. There are still plenty of soft milk chocolate tannins on the palate promising good things for bottles in good condition. Gentle sour cherry on the aftertaste and a soft elegant finish of decent length. Pleasant enough, but disappointing in such good company.

This was a bottle acquired for the princely sum of £8 as remaindered stock from a wine shop in New York in 2008 so was most likely compromised by storage conditions during its 8-9 year life in the shop. 86/100. Drunk 20-Sep-16. Decanted 3 hours.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
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