vintage port

Three wines, three countries, two styles

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2007 schmitges auslese

2007 Schmitges Erdener treppchen Riesling auslese* 7.5
Mosel, AP #15, 110 g/l residual sugar (500ml bottle)

Adequate cork. (The * indicates “more” than the minimum ripeness requirements).  Gold colour with a whisp of copper; apricot and tangerine, rum ‘n raisin, candle-wax, baking spices, grapefruit.

Really in the zone – absolutely true to style, energetic viscous honey on palate, plus the mix of dried and fresh citrus peel, and persistent spices. Will live on but why wait?

Drink to 2030, 92 points

1977 Quarles Harris Vintage Port
Portugal, and not a house I am familiar with, but owned by the Symington family, made in a “firm and dry” style.

Served blind, circumstances rendered note-taking difficult. Pale ruby colour, faded roses, putty. The palate showed (light) cherry and some (light) cocoa. The spirit was well integrated, and the wine was fully mature, mellow and enjoyable. My instant conclusion was “Portuguese VP, and greater than twenty years old”. The next part was trying to determine how much older, and I settled with the eighties (probably 1985).  A nice surprise when revealed it was 1977. But the wine may have been better say ten years ago, even though we’re in the realm of cork and cellaring varaiblilty.

Drink now, and 90 points

1994 gehrig vp

1994 Gehrig Vintage Port 17.5%
Rutherglen, Victoria

Served blind, this was clearly a vintage fortified. Pale in colour with rose petal, and a dash of musk/incense, its sweetness suggested an Australian origin. Supple, mellow and ready. On a good drinking plateau. The wine’s donor prompted that I had previously written about this wine (April 2021) and my notes are very different. This wine seemed more mature, with less overt fruit and tannin – and yet it provided greater “deliciousness”. (Photo is from 2021).

Drink soon, and 92 points.

One VP and a loss

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1963 Warre’s vintage Port
Served masked. Pale faded rose colour; and determinedly Portuguese; blue and red plum fruit with some Turkish delight, mocha, cocoa, valrhona choc. Completely mellow with just a touch of nuttiness. The spirit is essentially holding this wine together, and my guess for age was around 1970. Great fun as I am rarely fortunate enough to try sixty-year-old VPs, and this wine isn’t yet decrepit. Its donor advised that there was monster sediment that was filtered off.

Drink now (until 2033 and 93 points

Bill Chambers died recently – terrific links are here, and here but I will add a few reminiscences, as I visited Chambers’ winery many times over the years.

Curiously, my (late) father Frank worked at the vineyard for a brief period labouring in the 1940s.  He also took the family to Rutherglen on many occasions, where we usually stayed at Wahgunyah’s Riverside motel, with Buller’s bird park an essential stop. These visits continued with my partner and children.

On one occasion, Bill met us on the tasting verandah letting us know “wines are all in the fridge- help yourselves”. We usually made a point of wandering off to admire the ornate “exhibition” barrel. I also remember finding Bill rebottling some 1958 muscat, which was very reluctant to pour, just slowly trickling. Known for the age and complexity of the muscats and topaques, we could usually also find a well-priced red wine or two to buy. I have many more memories of Bill’s friendliness and generosity.

Finally, one remarkable talent of Bill’s was not well known to the public although wine show judges and winemakers would be aware of his prodigious wine spitting technique.

Bill could effortlessly direct a stream of wine with exceptional pace and accuracy into a bucket several metres away, while we watched in awe and envy – my own efforts shorter, less precise, and with occasional random dribbles. Vale Bill!

Three masked Euro wines from a dinner

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2015 Ch Suduiraut 14%
Sauternes – 94% semillon, 6% sav blanc. Picked in 5 batches, matured for eighteen months in 50% new and 50% one-year old oak, 138g/l residual sugar.

Bright yellow colour, vivid tropical fruits – pineapple, mango, cumquat. Slinky texture with oak sunk into the background, and spices. Fresh, and welcoming, but more pleasure awaits

Drink to 2035, 94 points

2015 Ch Rayne Vigneau 13.5%
Sauternes – 74% semillon, 24% sav blanc, 2% muscadelle

Deep yellow/gold colour; dark honey and citrus, and botrytis dustiness; viscous, intense palate – ripe, rich and ready with a touch of orange/tangelo. I can’t recall trying a wine from this producer before.

Drink to 2030, 91 points

2001 Fonseca quinta do Panascal Vintage Port 20%
Portugal.

Not a generally declared vintage, but this is a very good site – and single quinta wines can often offer exceptional QPR. Deep red colour, showing blueberry, blackberry, “putty”, mocha and nuttiness. Vibrant and rich mouthfeel. Clearly Portuguese, and around 15-20 years old, I wavered between VP and LBVP. My notes thankfully very similar to my previous tasting on June 2021.

Drink to 2033, and 92 points

One dinner – four from Europe

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First up, Australian winemaker John Vickery died recently. He was a gentleman, an expert winemaker and had huge influence on winemakers here. Riesling was his forte, with many memorable wines made at Leo Buring,  Richmond Grove and the eponymous Vickery label. He kickstarted my interest in wine, and my early tribute is here.

A recent dinner I attended had a plethora of interesting wines (all served blind), and I will try to describe a few.

1993 christoffel EP

1993 Christoffel-Berres Erdener Pralat Riesling Auslese*** 8.5%
Mosel. Light gold colour- petrol, tropical fruits, blackcurrant. Creamy palate, fresh with terrific balance. Lovely wine from a great site in Mosel. Wines are no longer produced, but there is (or was) a fair stock of wines from 1987-97. This was apparently an auction wine, and the *** indicates greater richness in the style.

Drink to 2033, and 93 points

2011 2013 sauternes

2011 Ch Haut-bergeron 13.5%
Sauternes. Really Interesting to see this after the 2001 tasted recently.

Gold colour, bursting with vanilla, apricot, pineapple rind, Palate is slinky with vanilla bean, marzipan nuttiness and cumquat. Ripe, fresh, dense and dramatic. At least a decade in front of it. Oak plays an important structural role here, but the fruit is winning.

Drink to 2035, and 93 points

2013 Ch Raymond-lafon 13.5%
From half bottles – Slightly duller colour, with nettle and herbal elements. More savoury than the previous wine, palate showing guava, pineapple and passionfruit. Several winemakers present suggested some ignoble rot (aspergillus/penicillium) but in the amount involved won’t affect really enjoyment except for the truly ultra-fastidious.

Drink to 2030, 91 points

2000 Fonseca Vintage Port
Portugal

Sketchy notes made under time pressure “deep ruby colour, almond, spirit a bit hot; red and dark fruits, mellow – Portuguese – early 2000s”. A second bottle was not as good, and the third bottle had vanished before I could assess.

A bit disappointing for Fonseca on the night– drink to 2033, and 90 points

Two continents, two styles

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2007 haart gt spatlese

2007 Reinhold Haart Goldtropfchen Riesling Spatlese AP#15 8%
Piesport, Mosel 85 g/l rs.

Bright gold colour, this wine struts out with red apple, nectarine, a melange of mixed tropical fruits and the distinctive regional tell-tale petroleum, smoke and mineral signs.

The rich and viscous palate reflects the fruits above; everything is poised to demand more sampling; it’s a beauty – the apparent sweetness hints that it’s drying out, but in reality it’s just seamlessly and gracefully melded into the acidity. Delicious and so easy to indulge. I have not tried a Haart wine since early 2017, so this is immensely encouraging about quality and cellaring longevity!

Drink to 2030, 93 points

1990 morris vp

1990 Morris Vintage Port 19.2%
Rutherglen, Victoria

73% Shiraz, 37% Bastardo (Google suggests Trousseau, but more likely Touriga).
A recent auction purchase, the cork has done its job- just – so there will be better bottles held by enthusiasts. Deep dense ruby with some bricking but no browning; Lots of mocha, crema, marzipan, dark fruits; the palate is sweet, still with significant tannic grip, amiable high quality spirit, with cleansing acidity, this is very good drinking. But it just doesn’t provide enough real thrills or highlights to take it to the next level. Mind, its 33 years old, and in really good shape for an Oz fortified of that age.

Drink to 2028, 88 points

Two countries, two styles

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1986 chambers VP

1986 Chambers Vintage Port 18.5%
Rutherglen, Victoria.

This wine had substantial sediment, so decant very, very carefully. The colour is aged and bricky, but solid. Red liquorice, cherry, mocha, malt and beautiful spirit. The palate is very sweet, but such is life. The rest of the package is the spirit integration, the freshness and tannin elegance. Made by the legendary Bill Chambers, likely Shiraz – but who knows? – a terrific tribute to a winery renowned for its ancient muscats and topaques, but akos with a monster range of reliably underpriced table wines.

Drink to 2033, and 93 points

2008 fonseca crusted

2008 Fonseca Crusted Port 20%
Portugal.

Similar in style to a late-bottled vintage Port, this fortified wine spent four years in large oak, and was bottled unfiltered, thus having a (heavy) crust and demanding decanting.

Deep in colour – and served masked- I instantly leapt to Portugal as its origin, the florals including roses, blueberry and violets. The palate was savoury, laden with cherry, plum plus fruitcake spices and super-supple, an elegant, youthful fresh and lively style with delicious spirit integration. My only question was whether the wine was a VP (did it have enough “stuffing”) or an LBVP, or a single quinta? I wrongly settled on a young VP, perhaps 2007. Regardless, a lovely drink with many years ahead.

Drink to 2033, 94 points

Two styles, two hemispheres

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1990 Marc Bredif Grande Annee 12%
Vouvray, Chenin Blanc

The Grand Annee is the selection destined for aging. With their high natural acidity, Loire Chenin Blanc can age a long time. Domaine Huet, and Marc Bredif are particularly well known for their range of Vouvray wines. Australia has been less successful with Chenin Blanc – although I had a soft spot for some of the age-worthy Houghton “white burgundies” of the 1980s, and a thrilling botrytised 1981 St Leonards! I have tasted some startling South African Chenins across several styles too.

Presented blind, this wine was pale gold, but had some distracting cheesy/waxy notes. Fortunately,  this dissipated and the wine motored along improving with each taste showing honey, plenty of acidity and some residual sugar (50 g/l?) melded with spices made this wine a terrific, showstopping adventure. Just a marvel. When revealed, the freshness for its age was dramatic.

Drink to 2035, and 95 points

1994 Stanton and Killeen Vintage Port 19%
Rutherglen, est 95% Shiraz, 5% Touriga

“Will mature in the bottle for up to 20 years” claims the back label, but truly there is no need to rush, despite this being rated an “average” vintage with only a few silver medals listed.

Syrupy, almost jammy, dark-fruited, huge sweetness, dark cherry, plum, liquorice, chewy and still bright-tasting. A powerful flavour-bomb that doesn’t quite scale the heights of some other vintages. It’s in an enjoyable holding pattern. But that’s the vagaries and mysteries of the season, and this wine was heartily appreciated.

Drink to 2030, and 91 points.

Old and unusual

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1996 Boll and Cie Champagne de Ratafia 18%
From Reims, Champagne. Pinot Noir, fortified.

Served masked, and I was baffled. Amber colour. Scents of camphor, nettle, marmalade, furniture polish and oranges. Very likely French, but not sauternes, not Loire, not vin de paille. Not Banyuls/Maury/Rivesaltes. I correctly estimated the residual sugar at around 120 g/l. It seemed to have relatively high alcohol (but not guessed as high as the label), and obvious age. Eventually I stabbed at a botrytised Alsace (historically in, and out of France), excluding Riesling or Gewurztraminer because of the lack of florals, so a Pinot Gris VT or SGN. Wrong!

I thought I had never tasted a Ratafia, but turns out I had tried one before. It was no consolation when someone pointed out the wine was stylistically like a pineau de Cognac (never tasted that wine either). This wine style is made by adding brandy or high strength spirit to unfermented, or barely fermented grapes, ending up with a wine both strong and sweet.

Drink now, but this is a curio rather than a wine of real merit, so 87 points just out of interest.

1973 Kaiser Stuhl Vintage Port
Barossa, Shiraz

Mocha, almond/marzipan, headsy spirit. Less tannic than expected and more sweetness than expected. Australian, and with time ahead. Very pleasant, albeit straightforward, After the unmasking, it’s always special to have a 50-year old wine that is drinking well. The company was swallowed and eventually shuttered by corporate manoeuvres but that wine certainly triggered memories.

Drink to 2030, 87 points

Three countries, two curios

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2007 vinoptima gwt noble

2007 Vinoptima Noble 11%
Gewurztraminer, Gisborne, New Zealand

From a half-bottle served blind. Orange/copper colour, very floral grapey muscat characters and sweet spices; extremely sweet palate with botrytis plus apricot marmalade, herbs and mixed spice. Not Sauternes, and not fortified. Not Riesling, but the botrytis confuses the variety. Not oaked. Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Gris – or something less common from Austria or Hungary? Alsace? Ten years old? But the reveal was New Zealand and Gewurztraminer– abetted by around 180 g/l residual sugar. A surprise!

Drink now, 90 points and one to baffle punters obsessed with options.

1987 buller vp

1987 Buller Limited Release Vintage Port 18.3%
Rutherglen, Victoria 70% Durif, 30% touriga

Deep colour with some bricking; mocha, swiss chocolate, sweet for style with spices, soft balanced spirit and almond. One astute taster commented “Australian, with a significant Touriga impact, possibly a third variety”. In any case, a terrific wine with superfine tannins drinking remarkably well for its age (and most had never seen this label).

Drink to 2030, and 93 points

2000 warre's vp

2000 Warre’s vintage port 20%
Portugal.
From two half-bottles (a third half- bottle was corked, alas)

Short corks but in good condition, and a lot of sediment. My main takeaway was that despite the smaller packages, this wine has a long time ahead! Good colour for age; complex mix of blue, red and dark fruits – figs, and a touch of almond. Succulent, fresh, sweet and mouthfilling – but deserves much more time to uncoil. Super integration of fruit and spirit, but it’s just a baby. Warre’s seems to like this wine.

Leave this alone or give it a long decant. Drink to 2040, 95 points.

Two South Australian vintage fortifieds

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2002 d'arenberg vp

2002 d’arenberg Vintage fortified Shiraz 18.5%
McLaren Vale.

Last year I tried to visit D’arenberg to see the notorious cube, plus try some of their gigantic range of eclectically-named wines.  Their baffling website defeated my booking attempts, and the door-keeper was reluctant, and then in fact unable to assist. Who needs usability when the website looks attractive?? My conclusion was “never again”. But here is one of their wines…

This bottle was purchased a few months ago at auction for a meagre $23, so another bargain (and bonus points for being a cool vintage).

Battered cork, but the wine has survived 21 years. Loads of sediment.
Deep black colour, bricking but Ok; Dark fruits, red liquorice, fine brandy, plentiful spices. The palate has ripe, sweet dark fruits, fruit-peel characters and very refined “milk chocolate” tannins – altogether a memorable little package. Time ahead too, cork permitting.

Drink to 2030, 92 points, and 92 points.

1972 seppelt vp

1972 Seppelt Barossa Vintage Port GR72 20%
Shiraz, Barossa Valley

Served blind. Ruby with some bricking and evidently significant age.
Ripe, sweet, old-fashioned, cuddly, delicious. Australian, brandy spirit (although one winemaker thought neutral SVR). Very, very fine and lingering. Creamy and just some complexing hints of oloroso sherry.

A different bottle showed as slightly more youthful. I guessed mid-1970s, and from North-east Victoria, but when unveiled -a terrific treat as a 50 y/o with great wine show results.

Drink to 2035, and 94 points