TN Warre's Vintage Port 1970

C

cwdjrxyz 16 years ago

The Warre's Vintage Port 1970 Has been properly stored in the same place since shortly after release. There were no cork or other issus, and to my surprise I was able to pull the cork in one piece.

This is a top quality port at the peak of maturity and likely will last well for several more years. The color is still deep, but now showing some age around the rim. It is a rather sweet wine that is very well balanced, is quite rich, and has plenty of complex fruit and mixed spice character. There are no doubt better ports, but I can find nothing to complain about with this one.

Vote

M

Mikep 16 years ago

Hey, it's good to see you posting again! -- Hope that you're feeling better --

Mike p

Vote

D

DaleW 16 years ago

Glad to see you tasting again!

Pops recently had a bunch of Warres at great prices. I almost bought the '70 ($60) and the '83 ($36), but passed (I did buy the '63). Maybe I should reconsider on the 70!

Vote

C

cwdjrxyz 16 years ago

Warres has not had as high a reputation as some other ports, but about

10 years ago some critics rated the 1970 as one of the better wines of the vintage. As I mentioned, the bottle I tasted had been properly stored in one place since release. As the wine was fully mature and beginning to show some age around the rim, a bottle not so well stored could be a bit long-in-tooth by now. I remember the case of a person who bought a bottle of 1961 Ch. Latour a decade or so ago that turned out t be far past the peak. I am very unlikely to buy a wine this old from a store unless they can provide evidence of proper storage since release.

Vote

D

DaleW 16 years ago

These are from the importer (Hass/Vineyard Brands), recent bottles from the winery (new labels on the '63). In same sale I got things like the 06 Gouges blanc 1er, 06 Weinbachs, etc. One of my wine groups was recently in discussion about port - does it make sense to cellar? As the port houses tend to release fair amounts of library stock 10-40 years after release (and people drink port young less than any other type of wine), prices are never especially high, even for the top wines of the greatest vintages (ok, maybe Nacional).

Too bad about the 61 Latour. IMHO, things like 59/61/82 1st growth Bdx, top Burgs from great vintages, etc are among riskiest buys if you don't know provenance, as they often have been traded a lot. Wines from bonded warehouses in London often demand a premium, both from clear records and because the vast majority of wines shipped to US wouldn't have been in reefers (though spring and fall shipping make things safer). Of course, with the most expensive wines, you also get into the issue of fakes (Koch just sued Rudy K, after suing Acker and ChicagoWine previously)

Vote

T

Theron 16 years ago

Warres has not had as high a reputation as some other ports, but about

10 years ago some critics rated the 1970 as one of the better wines of the vintage. As I mentioned, the bottle I tasted had been properly stored in one place since release. As the wine was fully mature and beginning to show some age around the rim, a bottle not so well stored could be a bit long-in-tooth by now. I remember the case of a person who bought a bottle of 1961 Ch. Latour a decade or so ago that turned out t be far past the peak. I am very unlikely to buy a wine this old from a store unless they can provide evidence of proper storage since release.

We've recently had 1970 Warre and it was excellent. The pistachios were on sale this week for $2.99/lb. The Stilton has become quite expensive. That comes to mind everytime the subject of port does in our home.

Ed

Vote

TN Warre's Vintage Port 1970

Join the Discussion

Didn't find your answer?