Am I the only one who's noticed Ronnie's bottle quality index name-thingy...Niepoort Paint 1994. Genius. Hopefully tomorrow this becomes Niepoort Saint 1994, and not Niepoort Taint 1994, if y'all know what I mean.
'The quickest way to end world hunger is to make fast food faster.' - William & Harry's Polka-Bot Explosion, Planet Earth's First Touring XBox 360 'Rock Star' Band
I thought, to help everyone keep track of the postings in the offline thread, that I would post my initial thoughts on the Martinez in this thread and then later I'll copy them across to the Tasting Notes forum.
So, here goes. 12 hours after decanting.
Deep red in colour, just beginning to be transparent in the centre, but only just. Vivid licorice All Sorts on the nose, lots of smells (including farmyard smells) but not many of fruit; strange and not necessarily attractive.
Lovely entry; sweet and with plenty of concentrated fruit, a very pleasing mixture of red and black fruits with that distinct licorice undertone but also some of the same earthy farmyard flavours picked up on the nose - I wonder if this is suffering from a very, very slight bottle stink? The farmyard smells might also be described as over-ripe wild blackberries, the kind that squidge all over your fingers when you try and pick them.
The aftertaste is strong and pronounced, dominated by tobacco infused strawberries and chocolate it last a very long time indeed. The aftertaste is up with the greats and is by far and away the best feature of this bottle of port.
What strikes me about this port is just how smooth and integrated it is. This is truly a lovely port, but I am not sure how much life it has ahead of it. Certainly it will last 10 years, probably 20. Will it be declining in 30 years time - perhaps, whereas some of the other '94s I've tried have the tannins and acidity to support the fruit through 30, 40 or even 50 years before they hit their maturity plateau.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
It all makes sense now, the glorious heat all year round in Oman...and it's not its proximity to the equator. It's quite apparent from the picture that Oman benefits from not one, but TWO suns: the one in the sky, and Ronnie's legs. Somebody get me my Blu Blockuhs !!!
'The quickest way to end world hunger is to make fast food faster.' - William & Harry's Polka-Bot Explosion, Planet Earth's First Touring XBox 360 'Rock Star' Band
I forgot to give a score to the Martinez. Despite its funky nose and off tones, this is a really concentrated port with a very full bodied mouthfeel. Although I find the funky tones odd, they don't seem to be putting me off this port in any way or making me feel reluctant to take another mouthful.
For the moment, I am going to place this as above average, and with the potential to be significantly well above average in another 10 years. I shall award this an Uncle Tom score of 7/8 for the moment, subject to revision later tonight or tomorrow. 91/100.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
At this point, and before I fall asleep on the kitchen floor, I would like to raise a glass and toast The Roots - I hope they have the time of their lives in their new homeland- cheers
Derek
"The first duty of Port is to be red" Ernest H. Cockburn
RonnieRoots wrote:Nice one. I must say I've never encountered the bottle stink in this port. I found one note that I wrote.
I would agree wholeheartedly with your note. Those funky farmyard aromas and tastes that I was commenting on could well be the leather that you were writing about. Interesting port, potentially a really good port and one which is further mature than many others (the RP, for example).
Alex
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
Derek T. wrote:At this point, and before I fall asleep on the kitchen floor, I would like to raise a glass and toast The Roots - I hope they have the time of their lives in their new homeland- cheers
Derek
Cheers! Have fun in your new home and make sure that you stay in touch through here. When I can persuade my employer to send me to the UAE I will be sure to let you know.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
The Martinez always reminds me somewhat of the Warre's 1994, in its delicateness, and indeed more mature than the real top notch ports from that vintage.
Derek T. wrote:How did my score on the RP94 compare with your score from Thursday?
I still don't know - I've left my notes upstairs and Elizabeth has gone to bed! I think I'm about to move from the PC in the study to the laptop upstairs and continue on the offline for another 30 minutes or so.
I must say, this Martinez is really growing on my. My, it is yummy!
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
I need some Middle East education. In this thread we have mentioned Oman, Dubai and UAE. How does all that fit together? Are they part of the same country? Are they adjoining countries?
Derek
"The first duty of Port is to be red" Ernest H. Cockburn
RonnieRoots wrote:The Martinez always reminds me somewhat of the Warre's 1994, in its delicateness, and indeed more mature than the real top notch ports from that vintage.
I've only had the Warre '94 once and I wasn't impressed. I found it unintegrated, but perhaps it was just too young.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
To the Roots! I raise a toast to you both and thank you so much for sharing your lives, your wine and both your homes with Mandy and me over the last four years. It's sad to think you will be so far away for the next four, but I suppose things won't be too entirely different than they are now, aside from the fact that I can't just hop in a car and drive to Oman. You've been so incredibly gracious and I can't think of a better representation of the open-armed hospitality and generosity we'd hoped to encounter when first we embarked on this wine adventure. You were class acts from start to finish; even through the wedding-day attire debacle, you made concessions on account of pure friendship alone, and we're forever grateful for that. Keep us in the loop as often as you can, let us know about everything except for what might make us unbearably jealous of you...wait, that might actually prevent you from writing anything at all. Well, just keep drinking. That's all I gotta say really--Simon says drink. Keeeeeep drinking. And keep posting. Give Maartje hugs and smooches for us.
As far as my wine selection for the evening goes...well, sadly there isn't one, and I hate to admit that. But somebody started feeding me some crazy drink last night made from fermented agave nectar, or something like that. It had the most peculiar name, something that sounded exactly like 'te kill ya'. Why would somebody name a drink in such a way? Well, the proof was in the pudding, no question 'bout that. And here I am drinking Yogi Detox Tea, Vintage 2008. Really deep licorice notes in this one here, with some juniper berry and jasmine that really light the palate up and leave the body feeling rejuvenated and detoxed. Ahh.
'The quickest way to end world hunger is to make fast food faster.' - William & Harry's Polka-Bot Explosion, Planet Earth's First Touring XBox 360 'Rock Star' Band
Derek T. wrote:I need some Middle East education. In this thread we have mentioned Oman, Dubai and UAE. How does all that fit together? Are they part of the same country? Are they adjoining countries?
Derek
The UAE (United Arab Emirates) is a federation of 7 neighbouring states on the Arabian Peninsula. The best known of the 7 are Abu Dhabi and Dubai. They have borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia.
I know my employer has business based in the UAE but not in Oman. The closest I am likely to get to Oman on business is Dubai.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
