1977 is a fabled year for Port lovers, maybe not as great as 1963, but definitely up there along with 1970. Compared with many of the 1980s' vintages, 1977 still stands out (rumours that the 1985 will take more time or may not be what experts thought abound, whilst 1983 has a generally better press with some lovely wines that are already drinking now).
Many of the 1977s are still somewhat young, although, of the below four Ports, Graham's is clearly the most approachable. Port experts (like Richard Mayson) should be consulted for more detailed notes and information on past vintages as well as the various Port shippers (British and Portuguese). We would love to taste, for example, '77 Taylor's and '77 Fonseca, if we ever get the chance.
But we offer some recent notes on four classic wines, all from the Symington Family:
1977 Graham’s
Appearance: medium red-purple, orange rim.
Nose: developed nose of candied red fruits with appealing nutty aromas.
Palate: mellow fruits, integrated high acidity and softened highish residual sugar. Lovely length and tannins now fully integrated.
Conclusion: one of the more forward wines of the vintage, the Graham’s 1977 is drinking really well, although there is no need to hurry (depending on how you like your Port).
Rating: 18.5/20
1977 Dow
Appearance: dark purple-red, slight orange rim.
Nose: rich nose of dark black fruits with definite spicy and savoury notes: clove, cinnamon, white pepper.
Palate: more richness of fruit, slightly chewy but mellowing medium-high tannins, integrated high residual sugar and lovely acidity. Superbly balanced, great length.
Conclusion: this is a fantastic Vintage Port that still has quite a life ahead of it. More sophisticated than the Graham’s, although the Graham’s is very good too. Perhaps it would be better to say that they are stylistically different: the Dow being more heavy-weight (although Dow ’77 still seems leaner than 1977 Warre – see below).
Rating: 19/20
1977 Gould Campbell
Appearance: dark purple-red, slight orange rim.
Nose: attractive black fruits but with some red plum or red cherry thrown into the mix. Some spicy notes. Fruit is more open than on previous bottles of this ’77.
Palate: more appealing black and red fruits, chewy mellowing medium-high tannins, good acidity and generally well-integrated. Decent length.
Conclusion: clearly high quality and of a similar weight to the Dow, although the mouth-feel is slightly different. The Gould Campbell has ‘chunkier’ fruit and is not quite as smooth as the Dow. The fruit is only just starting to open on this Port and it has quite a life ahead of it yet.
Rating: 18.5/20
1977 Warre
Appearance: dark purple-red, only slight orange rim.
Nose: mainly dense black fruits with dark spices (clove, black pepper) and attractive oak (oak seems to be more prominent on this bottle than on some of the other Ports tasted).
Palate: rich black fruits, but not jammy; lovely balance of high acidity to marked residual sugar. Tannins are well-knit and coating rather than being overtly chewy. Great length.
Conclusion: along with the Dow, this is probably our favourite of the bunch, although the quality of the 1977 vintage means it’s pretty hard to go wrong with Vintage Port in this year. Only just beginning to drink really.
Rating: 19/20
Many of the 1977s are still somewhat young, although, of the below four Ports, Graham's is clearly the most approachable. Port experts (like Richard Mayson) should be consulted for more detailed notes and information on past vintages as well as the various Port shippers (British and Portuguese). We would love to taste, for example, '77 Taylor's and '77 Fonseca, if we ever get the chance.
But we offer some recent notes on four classic wines, all from the Symington Family:
1977 Graham’s
Appearance: medium red-purple, orange rim.
Nose: developed nose of candied red fruits with appealing nutty aromas.
Palate: mellow fruits, integrated high acidity and softened highish residual sugar. Lovely length and tannins now fully integrated.
Conclusion: one of the more forward wines of the vintage, the Graham’s 1977 is drinking really well, although there is no need to hurry (depending on how you like your Port).
Rating: 18.5/20
1977 Dow
Appearance: dark purple-red, slight orange rim.
Nose: rich nose of dark black fruits with definite spicy and savoury notes: clove, cinnamon, white pepper.
Palate: more richness of fruit, slightly chewy but mellowing medium-high tannins, integrated high residual sugar and lovely acidity. Superbly balanced, great length.
Conclusion: this is a fantastic Vintage Port that still has quite a life ahead of it. More sophisticated than the Graham’s, although the Graham’s is very good too. Perhaps it would be better to say that they are stylistically different: the Dow being more heavy-weight (although Dow ’77 still seems leaner than 1977 Warre – see below).
Rating: 19/20
1977 Gould Campbell
Appearance: dark purple-red, slight orange rim.
Nose: attractive black fruits but with some red plum or red cherry thrown into the mix. Some spicy notes. Fruit is more open than on previous bottles of this ’77.
Palate: more appealing black and red fruits, chewy mellowing medium-high tannins, good acidity and generally well-integrated. Decent length.
Conclusion: clearly high quality and of a similar weight to the Dow, although the mouth-feel is slightly different. The Gould Campbell has ‘chunkier’ fruit and is not quite as smooth as the Dow. The fruit is only just starting to open on this Port and it has quite a life ahead of it yet.
Rating: 18.5/20
1977 Warre
Appearance: dark purple-red, only slight orange rim.
Nose: mainly dense black fruits with dark spices (clove, black pepper) and attractive oak (oak seems to be more prominent on this bottle than on some of the other Ports tasted).
Palate: rich black fruits, but not jammy; lovely balance of high acidity to marked residual sugar. Tannins are well-knit and coating rather than being overtly chewy. Great length.
Conclusion: along with the Dow, this is probably our favourite of the bunch, although the quality of the 1977 vintage means it’s pretty hard to go wrong with Vintage Port in this year. Only just beginning to drink really.
Rating: 19/20
Labels: 1977, Dow, fortified wine, Gould Campbell, Graham's, red, Touriga Nacional, Vintage Port, Warre
posted by Wine Dragon
at
15:40
