Saturday 24 April 1993, Sussex, 1963 and 1970

[jdaw1]

Saturday 24 April 1993, chez mon père, Sussex. JDAW, RJM, NFJI, QEZ, NJB, DME, APPW, and later GMW and (fleetingly) RAW sampled some 1963s and 1970s.

• Taylor 1963, £59 from Oddbins Fine Wine;
• Graham 1963, £59 from Oddbins Fine Wine, Corney & Barrow bottling;
• 2 × Taylor 1970, £39 each from Justerini & Brooks;
• 2 × Graham 1970, £34 each from Justerini & Brooks;
• 2 × Quinta do Noval 1970, £32 each from Justerini & Brooks;
• 2 × Gould Campbell 1970, £22 each from Davy’s.

The ’63s clearly outperformed the ’70s. Both Taylor and Graham 1963 were soft, full and long. Taylor 1963 warm and fruit and velvet, the Graham 1963 slightly bigger and fuller, and sweeter, but not quite so soft. Both fantastic.

Of the 1970s the Graham was favourite, being the most mature. Full and robust but lacking the sophisticated softness of 1963. The Taylor 1970 had disappointingly little bouquet, but was long and reasonably full. I noted somebody’s comment “Big but not clever”. The second bottle of T70 was almost identical to the first, but the second Graham was drier, shorter and a hint smoother than the first.

The Quinta do Noval 1970 had enormous bottle variation. The first bottle was over the hill, being tawny brown and too acidic. The second was strong but incompletely developed. Perversely, AJRH preferred the first.

The Gould Campbell 1970 was well described by several as regular good port. In this company a little dry, and bitter (RJM and QEZ). The second bottle sharper still.

In conclusion, the 1970s under-performed relative to hopes, whilst the 1963s showed their greatness.

(And apologies for the delay in transcribing this note.)

[Alex Bridgeman]

Interestingly Davy's are still offering GC70 (although not at the same price). I wonder if the current stock for sale is from the same consignment as was used for this tasting.

[Alex Bridgeman]

Interestingly Davy's are still offering GC70 (although not at the same price). I wonder if the current stock for sale is from the same consignment as was used for this tasting.

It seems that Davy's are no longer selling the GC70. That's probably a deliberate decision they've taken just to make me look an idiot for relying on memory and not checking before I post.