This event was the last luncheon of the season for the Chicago branch of the IWFS. The weather was fabulous and perfect for a lunch on the shore of Lake Michigan. In this event I’ll list the tasting notes of the five bottlings of 1980 vintage port that I brought for service with dessert. With the exception of Quinta co Noval Nacional, the wines did not disappoint.
1980 Dow Porto Vintage- Portugal, Douro, Porto
Opened three hours before service. WOW! This is a big wine that still has yet to reach maturity. Lots of plum flavors. Still some alcohol heat that would have mellowed out if it had been opened earlier. Dark purple color without any color loss. At 32 years old, this wine is at least another 5 years from maturity and will hold together for at least a decade after that. Clearly the wine of the vintage. (95 pts.)
1980 Gould Campbell Porto Vintage- Portugal, Douro, Porto
Opened three hours before serving. Still very red with a slightly brownish edge. A touch of menthol on the nose at first that blew off. Mature but excellent, with easily a decade of solid life left. Great fruit with medium sweetness and very balanced tannins. Excellent. (92 pts.)
1980 Graham Porto Vintage- Portugal, Douro, Porto
Opened three hours before service. Mostly red but with a brown rim, the color not quite as bright as the Gould Campbell. Nice fruit with raisins dominating over plums. The alcohol and tannins were integrated, so no real heat from the alcohol. Mature at this stage with another 5-7 years of enjoyable life left. (90 pts.)
1980 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage- Portugal, Douro, Porto
Opened three hours before service. Bright brownish red in color, closer to a tawny in color. Medium sweet with little tannins left. Definitely on the downhill slide, but will hold together at least another few years. (86 pts.)
1980 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional- Portugal, Douro, Porto
Opened three hours before service. Very light brown, sort of like weak iced tea. Very simple flavors with moderate sweetness and a dry finish. Very much on the downhill slide and not a good showing for this legendary vineyard. This wine will be dead soon. If you own one, drink it. If you don’t own one, don’t waste your money. (80 pts.)
This was a fun horizontal tasting that all the attendees enjoyed. The Dow clearly is the wine of the vintage, while the Gould Campbell and Graham are doing well. The Taylor is not showing as well as hoped for this producer, while the Nacional is a flat-out failure for Quinta do Noval considering the reputation of this vineyard and the quality of the other producers. Still, the 1980 vintage shows to be something that port lovers should be paying attention to. Posted from CellarTracker
Interesting that you felt the Gould Campbell was mature. I bought another case a year or two ago because this seems to be aging so beautifully, much like the Dow. It is also tied for my 2nd favorite of the vintage along with Graham, both of which I find to be more youthful than in the impressions above. The Dow is unquestionably the leader of the pack.
As for the Nacional, I have not had the 1980 in eight years and here was my note at the time:
I’m a big fan of this vintage and am rarely disappointed by Ports that I have had with this date on the bottle. Dow and Graham’s are two of my favorite 1980 VPs. The Nacional shows a lighter cranberry color and clear rim. This is a wine on its upswing. I enjoyed the minerality and a gentle hint of mint as well, with attractive, ripe blackberry fruit highlights. Someone mentioned “kumquat” but I can neither confirm nor deny the claim, as I have never had one. There was a smoky and woodsy note on the palate that I only noticed in one previous wine above. The 1980 offers a medium-light body but a smooth and enduring finish which does not put this in the top tier of Nacionals. Overall, a good and balanced wine that is enjoyable today even though I believe the solid structure will allow this to improve over the next dozen years. (DRINK/HOLD) 92 Points (2004-02-15)
I noted the GC as being mature because I don’t think it’s going to get any better with age. But I did note that it has a long life left. This was from an original case that has been consistently excellent.
The Graham was definitely excellent, but not at the same quality level as the GC. I may have been overly harsh with the “5-7 years” comment as it probably has a few years more than that. But here again, I don’t think it’s going to get any better with age.
The Nacional was not really a surprise, based on some other notes I’ve seen of this wine. As with the other bottles in this tasting, the condition of the bottle and cork was excellent, giving no indication of having had storage issues. The previous notes I had seen (none of which were yours) indicated a failing wine that’s definitely an underperformer for the vintage. Considering you can get the Dow at a cheaper price generally, it’s a no-brainer on which to buy.
Thanks for postingthese notes, John and Roy. I happen to have recently acquired a bottle each of the 1980 Gould Campbell and Graham’s Vintage Ports and am very happy to read that they are both excellent. Can’t wait to crack them open.
Thanks for the notes, I watch the '80 VP’s closely, as it is my wife’s birth year, and we have bought and drank quite a lot of them now.
I have also enjoyed the Dows, and a have a few nice condition bottles of the Taylors which have all been lovely, if just a few points behind the Dows.
I have had the Nacional a couple of times, the most recently was late last year, and whilst it isn’t brilliant, it is still a more than decent VP, I think I’ve rated it around the 92pt mark, and certainly enjoyed it both times. IIRC it is a lighter styled more delicate sort of VP, but not falling apart yet…
We definitely agree on the Nacional. I have had 26 distinct vintages of Nacional, some of them MANY times and a bottle of 1970 as recently as last Wed. The 1980 may not be the 1970 or even the 1985, but it was a nicely fruited soft and elegant wine that was on a long plateau and I’d bet that well-stored bottles would still be humming a nice tune today.
As for the Taylor, I think John’s note was spot on. For whatever reason, I’ve never been impressed with any Taylor Vintage Port between 1980 and 1990, unless you count the Single Quinta beauty which is Vargellas 1987. That is one fine Port. Otherwise, they are all middling efforts, imho.