TN: 2007 and other Ports with Dominic Symington

WINE TALK
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2007 AND OTHER PORTS WITH DOMINIC SYMINGTON - Beltramo’s in Menlo Park, California (10/24/2009)

This was a nice opportunity to sample the '07 Vintage, with comparisons to older wines from the same house. Mr. Symington, who was very open talking about the challenges of Port production and distribution, is a member of the 7th generation of Symingtons to lead one of the major Port producers, which owns or controls all five of the houses whose bottlings we tasted. My favorite of the tasting was the '07 Graham’s, followed by the '80 Grahams and the '07 Dow’s. A couple of my buddies on hand were also high on the Quinta do Vesuvio, which I liked, but not as much as they did. I look forward to tasting more '07s when I visit the Douro next year.
Dow

  • 2007 Dow Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
    Opaque very dark red violet color with cherry meniscus; big berry, baked cherry, berry pie, herbal nose; rich berry, herbal, menthol, deep cherry palate; long finish (50% Touriga Nacional; most of the grapes are from old vines at Quinta do Bomfim and Senhora da Ribieira) (94 pts.)
  • 1994 Dow Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
    Dark raspberry red color with pale meniscus; baked berry, baked plum, charcoal, herbal nose; rounded berry, berry pie, cherry palate, solid yet; long finish (93 pts.)

Graham

  • 2007 Graham Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
    Opaque black red violet color with cherry red meniscus; deep berry, lavender, blackberry, graphite nose; poised, lush, tart blackberry, berry, black fruit palate, very rich; long finish (grapes are primarily from Graham’s own Quinta dos malvedos, Quinta do Tua and Quinta das Lages in the Rio Torto, along with grapes from vineyards owned by Symington family members, Quinta do Vale de malhadas and Quinta da Vila Velha) (96 pts.)
  • 1980 Graham Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
    Bricking dark raspberry red color with pale meniscus; VA, fig, baked berry, baked plum nose; berry, baked plum, raspberry, cherry palate; long finish (94 pts.)

Quinta do Vesuvio

  • 2007 Quinta do Vesuvio Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
    Opaque very dark red violet color with cherry red meniscus; charcoal, herbal, black fruit, berry nose; softer entry, elegant, tart blackberry, berry, black fruit, herbal palate; medium-plus finish 91+ pts. (55% Touriga Nacional, 45% Touriga Franca, the latter sourced from the Teja Vineyard at Vesuvio) (91 pts.)
  • 2006 Quinta do Vesuvio Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
    Opaque black red violet color with cherry red meniscus; charcoal, black fruit, herbal, sage nose; berry, blackberry, anise palate; long finish (92 pts.)

Smith Woodhouse

  • 2007 Smith Woodhouse Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
    Very dark red violet color; blackberry, berry, black fruit, tar, licorice nose; deep licorice, berry, tar, herbal palate; long finish 92+ pts. (grapes sourced primarily from Smith Woodhouse old vine vineyards Quinta da Madalena in the Rio Toro and Quinta do Vale Coelho of the Douro Superior) (92 pts.)
  • 2003 Smith Woodhouse Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
    Opaque black red violet color with cherry red meniscus; figgy, black fruit, baked berry nose; black fruit, berry, blackberry palate; medium-plus finish (91 pts.)

Warre

  • 2007 Warre Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
    Opaque black red violet color with cherry red meniscus; figgy, black fruit, baked berry nose; black fruit, berry, blackberry palate; medium-plus finish (grapes sourced from Quinta da Cavadinha, Quinta do Retiro Antigo and Quinta da Telhada) (91 pts.)
  • 1985 Warre Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
    Medium red violet color with pale meniscus; maturing, dried mushroom, herbal, fig, coffee liqueur nose; mature, fig, herbal, berry, coffee liqueur palate; long finish 92+ pts. (92 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Nice notes Richard. How long were these wines decanted?

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Good question Steve. The Ports were quickly splash decanted twice–out of the bottles, while they rinsed them out, and then back in–about 3 hours before I tasted. Given that there wasn’t a long aeration, the '07s were remarkably approachable for big young Ports. They were still big tight babies though, of course.

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Richard, I wonder if you tasted from the same bottle of '94 Dow that Alan Rath and I did. Both of us strongly felt that wine still had a fierce structure, but totally lacked the fruit core to stand up to the other elements. Matt also saw that. I hope that was just an off-bottle and not a sign of what that wine, in general, has turned into. Based on the wine we tasted, that wine would’ve scored in the low 80s.

As a general point (not referring to Richard’s notes here), the '07 Dow lacked any sort of tannic backbone. It was soft and supple! What’s up with that?! I’ve never seen a newly-released Vintage Port with that profile.

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Richard,
Thanks for the detailed notes. I am heading to this tasting with Dominic later this evening here in L.A. and can’t wait to again try the 07’s (only had some of them 6-7 times already this year [berserker.gif] ) I agree that the Graham’s is a smoking good bottle, but so is the Dow’s…granted it shows better after being opened a long time. Same goes for the Vesuvio, so don’t write that one off so quickly, even though 91 is a respectable score. I assure you it probably wasn’t in a great place when you tasted it. Of them 5-6 times I’ve had this in less than a year I’ve been in the 92-95 point range depending on when it was tasted (i.e. early on) and how long it was decanted.

The Smith Woodhouse was a surprise for me, as it’s a house that has some ups and downs. I was spot on with your score and think this is a very well made and worthy of buying.

Larry,
I suspect you had an off bottle or it wasn’t decanted long enough or ???. The 1994 Dow’s is a great wine and I assure you it will blow your socks off when you get a solid bottle of it to try.

As to the 2007 Dow’s. These 07’s have been an ever changing thing the past 7 or so months I’ve been trying them. They can make some dramatic swings, but generally have started to meld and show more harmony now that they’ve had at least a little time in bottle. The '07 Dow’s is one of my favorite’s from the Symington’s and was the first case I bought when they came available.

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Andy,
Thanks so much for your feedback and additional info. It’s great to hear from a real Port expert about these wines. I’m still trying to learn Port and how to judge them, especially new vintages. (Vintage Madeiras are my thing, and Port is quite a different animal.) I look forward to your take on the tasting with Dominic.
–Richard

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Richard takes much more detailed notes than I, here they are FWIW:

2007 Dow - Deep, intense, vibrant, bit of anise and spice, good finish. 94

1994 Dow - Medium/light body, nice sweetness, some spice, decent finish. 91. Given that I tasted this early, and Richard showed up a bit later, I have to assume we tasted from two different bottles. I should have gone back, as I have to believe this was somewhat unrepresentative. Brought back some memories of having bought this wine at Costco when released, for something like $30 :slight_smile:

2007 Graham’s - Huge, lush, vibrant, typical Graham’s with it’s higher toned riper style. 94

1980 Graham’s - Medium/light body is a bit deceptive, giving way to a huge, intense, deep, lush wine, with a full bodied mouth feel and great balance. It would be nice to see a little more color intensity, but that’s a minor nit. Drink this in a dark room. 95

2007 Vesuvio - Deeply flavored, a touch raw relative to the other 07s, shows the more baritone house style with hints of anise, herbs, and lavendar. Always a favorite of mine. 94

2006 Vesuvio - Gorgeous deep, vibrant, huge dose of complex spices, wine of the tasting for me. I love the lesser ripeness (though 06 was supposedly a warmer vintage), and that melange of Vesuvio spice, a wine that anchors the other end of the spectrum from Graham’s. 96

2007 Smith Woodhouse - Expectations? don’t know, but this was a bit unbalanced, moderately sweet, maybe a bit syrupy, lacking much complexity. 88

2003 Smith Woodhouse - Deep and dark, though just starting to shed it’s opaqueness relative to the 07s, huge, deep, medium sweet, a bit one-dimensional but enjoyable. 91

2007 Warre’s - Big and bold, medium sweetness, some anise and nice complexities. 93

1985 Warre’s - Medium bodied, intense, deep, lush, spices, excellent balance, long finish. 95. A reminder that every bottle is different, as this vintage was poured the last time Dominic Symington came around a few years ago. While good, it wasn’t as good as this bottle, showing softer, with a bit of caramel.

Overall, nice wines in 2007, though I remember being more impressed at this stage with many of the 03s and 00s. These 07s seem more approachable to me than 03s were (I remember walking out of tastings then with my tongue in knots from the tannins, which I didn’t do this time).

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Had the 1994 Dow’s the other day and boy was it closed up tight. I guess it has finally hit that closed up phase of it life, so best to leave it for a number of years until it comes out.