1983 Smith Woodhouse

[winesecretary]

Decanting sample from a bottle opened for the weekend.

90% opaque red juice. Eucalyptus and dusty red cherry on the nose. Little fruit on the mid-palate, dominated by tannins. Tobacco and - is that lemon? - late.

In truth this is pretty obdurate, and not a pleasure to drink right now. I'm going to leave the rest of this bottle for tomorrow, and I suspect the rest of the batch for a good few years.

Tasted 06/03/20.

[winesecretary]

Slightly more purple in the red. Still 90% opaque.

The eucalyptus has faded and there are more forest fruits on the nose. A hint of mint. Still pretty muted.

Front and mid palate has filled out a bit, black-fruit dominant, but the big chocolate tannins still dominate the finish. I do wonder whether the tannins are simply too much for the fruit in this one.

But, still, this is very youthful for 37 years old, presents more like a 1997, so best for me simply to leave other bottles of the same to slumber.

Re-tasted 07/03/20.

[Screagle]

Same here, based upon last night's experience - was yours a "Selected and shipped by the Wine Society, Stevenage" perchance?

Cheers

[winesecretary]

@Screagle - no, not a Wine Society retailed bottle. But I am guessing that if one is dumb then absent usual bottle variation they are all dumb. For drinking now, try the Offley or the Warre - both delicious.

[Screagle]

Thanks for clarification, @winsecretary. The reason for my asking was the degree in similarity between your thorough TN and my impression over two days. This seems quite remarkable given as you say bottle variation which is to be expected at 35+ years in bottle. I'll be leaving my OWC and loose bottles in the cellar for another five years at the very least.

I think I may have a loose bottle or two of Warre's 83, not sure about Offley 1983 though. Time for another rummage...

Cheers