1970 Dow

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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Will W.
Taylor’s LBV
Posts: 183
Joined: 14:33 Thu 11 Aug 2016

1970 Dow

Post by Will W. »

Born as I was in ’63, I have vague memories of 1970: teenaged girls in hotpants, not that I had any interest in either; the babysitter being rather keen on the Beatles, regarding whom I likewise did not see the point; my second-grade teacher explaining to us in hushed tones that the army had been deployed to the streets of Montreal, wherever that was; and Black Tower Liebfraumilch. Black Tower was then the height of Canadian-oenological sophistication; and, in fairness, it was less rubbish than the slop then being produced in the Niagara Region of Ontario.

In 1970, Portugal was decades into the socio-political morass which was Salazar’s Estado Novo. However, Portugal could produce – if nothing else – sublime fortified wines. And the superb 1970 vintage lives on, in merciful contrast to the chart-topping hit from the time of that harvest: Love is Life, by the appalling Hot Chocolate. Listening to the latter, the immediate urge is to throw oneself under the wheels of Donna Summer’s tour bus. Come to think of it, 1970 was a crap year, save for the port wine. And Jimi Hendrix, who, 1970 being a crap year, died from over-indulgence during the harvest. Barbiturates, not port wine. Nobody has ever died from over-consumption of vintage port. Or tawny, for that matter.

But what of the 1970 Dow’s vintage port? Frankly, it proved to be disappointing after the exceptional, 95-point showing of the last bottle drawn one year ago from the same case.

All was in order in the glass after a five and one-half hour decant on 17 June 2022: the wine was largely opaque, with limited signs of bricking. A classic Dow, even at the half-century mark. Alas, the nose was strangely subdued; with some effort, notes of cherry and vanilla were drawn to the olfactory nerve, along with hints of prune and dried apricot. An earthy minerality was also in evidence, and I did not think this right. In the event, one soldiered on. Black cherry and mulberry were discerned at the palate on entry, the fruit giving way with undue haste to a raw cinnamon of such strength that it became difficult to appreciate much else, including what appeared to be whiffs of vanilla and, at the back, mint. The lengthy finish was warming without any bite, though largely undistinguished. Strangely, at one juncture the finish proffered a ripple of sweetness. I note as much only insofar as this was otherwise a typically dry and well-balanced Dow’s vintage port. Standard characteristics aside, the table was confronted by an insufficient exemplar of what the 1970 Dow ought to be. Granted, the experience was no Love is Life - though it was hardly, say, Jimi Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile, which topped the charts only weeks after the 1970 harvest and the virtuoso’s demise.

-88 points
akzy
Warre’s Otima 10 year old Tawny
Posts: 537
Joined: 21:42 Tue 13 Nov 2018
Location: Three Bridges

Re: 1970 Dow

Post by akzy »

I feel like every year we should have an award ceremony as part of the TPF. One award should be for the best tasting note. This is clearly the best. Thanks as always for these entertaining notes!
winesecretary
Fonseca 1980
Posts: 1900
Joined: 15:35 Mon 13 May 2019

Re: 1970 Dow

Post by winesecretary »

Am very happy to attend the awards dinner
Glenn E.
Graham’s 1977
Posts: 4174
Joined: 22:27 Wed 09 Jul 2008
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: 1970 Dow

Post by Glenn E. »

winesecretary wrote: 12:32 Thu 28 Jul 2022 Am very happy to attend the awards dinner
+1

I must admit, though, that Will's note sounds much better than 88 points. The only warning sign that I read is the cinnamon. Otherwise, black cherry and mulberry with whiffs of vanilla and some late mint sounds like a wonderful Port!
Glenn Elliott
Christopher
Niepoort LBV
Posts: 286
Joined: 14:24 Thu 17 Jan 2008
Location: London

Re: 1970 Dow

Post by Christopher »

Nice review
My last bottle of Dow 70 was absolutely outstanding and would give the Fonseca serious competition. Sadly it was a month ago and no note. Still a long future ahead ✅✅✅
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