Just to make myself clear here: no, I didn’t drink 2000 different Vintage Ports. We had a blind tasting of Vintage Ports from the year 2000.
The wines were tasted fully blind, so we didn’t have any idea which shippers were represented. However, we were in the belief that most of the Big Names would be represented - and indeed they were.
There was also a non-Port ringer in the lineup - of which we weren’t told anything - but it was so different from the other wines that most of us asked if this was a Vintage Port at all, since it stuck out from the lineup like a sore thumb.
It was a shame that the Graham’s wine was faulty, since I’ve had it a few times before. Although the Graham’s style is not my favorite among the Port shippers, I have to admit that 2000 has been a very successful vintage for this wine and it would’ve been nice to see how it would’ve fared against its peers.
As we do quite often in our tastings, we rated the wines. The 10 attendees all got three points that could be distribute freely to the wines however we wanted to, ie. one point for three different wines, three points to one very special wine or one point for one and two points for another wine.
The wines were sampled, rated and revealed rather quickly, and even though the wines had been decanted off the deposit about 1-2 hours before the tasting, I think this didn’t process benefit the Dow’s bottle; at first I rated the Fonseca VP higher than Dow’s, since the Dow’s wine seemed rather understated in the beginning. However, later in the evening, when I went through the wines again, Dow’s had opened up nicely, so I adjusted my assessment accordingly. Anyways, when we voted for the wines, my points went to Warre, Taylor and Fonseca.
Later in the evening I also opened yet another 2000 VP; Gould Campbell. It wasn’t part of the original tasting, but it was definitely one of the most impressive wines of the evening and probably would’ve made my Top 3 list, if it had been a part of the initial lineup.
When the wines were revealed, it was pretty surprising that the winner was Warre, as it is considered a sort of underdog of the Vintage Port scene, not sporting the same kind of clout as producers like Taylor’s, Ferreira, Fonseca, Dow’s or Graham’s. Another surprise was how many people liked the non-Port wine (Kaesler); to me, it had a lovely nose, but it felt quite flabby and mellow on the palate, lacking the power and intensity most of the Vintage Ports showed. I guess the other attendees just don’t like it when a wine shows proper sense of structure?
Here is the final ranking of the wines, including the points the wines got (and my personal rating in parentheses):
1 - 2000 Warre's Vintage Port, 6 pts. (95)
2 - 2007 Kaesler Touriga Nacional Vintage, 5 pts. (87)
3 - 2000 Fonseca Vintage Port, 3 pts. (92)
4 - 2000 Cálem Vintage Porto, 2 pts. (91)
4 - 2000 Dow's Vintage Port, 2 pts. (93)
5 - 2000 Barros Porto Vintage, 1 pt. (83)
5 - 2000 Ferreira Vintage Port, 1 pt. (88)
5 - 2000 Taylor's Vintage Port, 1 pt. (94)
6 - 2000 Graham's Vintage Port, 0 pts. (NR)
- 2000 Cálem Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (30.9.2024)
20% alcohol and 4,9 g/l acidity. Tasted blind from a half bottle.
Very slightly translucent black cherry color. The nose feels dark-toned with aromas of black chocolate and roasted carob pod, some dark plummy tones, a little bit of blackberry jam, light earthy notes, a hint of peppery spice and a spirituous touch of aguardente. The wine feels sweet, vibrant and still relatively youthful for its age with a full body and rich flavors of ripe black cherries, some dark chocolate tones, a little bit of blueberry jam, light raisiny tones, a hint of pipe tobacco and a touch of soft strawberry. It feels the raisiny nuances probably come from the elevated level of ripeness, not from age, as the wine still feels so youthful in all other aspects. The overall feel is pretty open-knit with the medium-plus acidity and the somewhat grippy medium-plus tannins. The finish is juicy, somewhat grippy and pretty hot with a long aftertaste of blueberry jam, some pruney tones, a little bit of dried black cherry, light peppery nuances, a hint of raisiny fruit and a touch of boysenberry.
A sophisticated, balanced and thoroughly pleasant Vintage Port that is still surprisingly youthful, considering the bottle format. When 2000 Vintage Ports are starting to show some age even in full-sized bottles, it is quite unexpected to have a Vintage Port still this youthful from a half bottle! Although the overall feel wasn't as big or complex as the best wines in our 2000 Vintage Port horizontal, this was still a lovely effort in its own, somewhat unassuming way. The wine scored 2 points from the ten attendees, finishing on shared 4th place.
(91 points) - 2000 Dow Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (30.9.2024)
Made with fruit sourced from the two Dow estates, Quinta do Bomfim in Cima Corgo and Quinta de Senhora da Ribeira in Douro Superior, both which are planted to high percentage of Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional. There is also a not insignificant amount of Tinta Barroca, along with some Tinta Roriz and a smaller amount of local interplanted varieties. Bottled unfined and unfiltered in 2002, after 18 months of aging in traditional 535-liter oak pipes. 20% alcohol, 95 g/l residual sugar and 4,7 g/l acidity. Tasted blind.
Deep, slightly translucent and rather dark plummy color. The nose feels bold, dark-toned and a bit hot with aromas of plummy dark fruits and blackberries, some licorice root notes, a little bit of boysenberry jam, light bilberry tones, a spirituous hint of aguardente, a touch of dried figs and an evolved hint of meaty character. The wine feels sweet, lush and slightly evolved on the palate with a full body and rather concentrated flavors of blueberry jam and sour cherry marmalade, some developed gamey tones, a little bit of hoisin, light savory notes of meaty umami, dried-fruit hints of raisins and dried dates and a touch of peppery spice. The medium-to-moderately high acidity and somewhat grippy medium-plus tannins keep the wine quite effortlessly in balance. The finish is sweet, somewhat grippy and moderately concentrated with a long aftertaste of dried dates and raisiny dark fruit, some blueberry jam tones, a little bit of ripe blackberries and boysenberries, light savory notes of meaty umami, a hint of hoisin and a touch of sour cherry marmalade.
At first the wine just seemed somewhat closed and relatively evolved yet a bit one-note, making me dismiss it at first. When asked for three favorites in our blind 2000 Vintage Port horizontal, with my 3rd point I was on the fence between this wine and the one that turned out to be 2000 Fonseca VP. When push came to shove, I gave my 3rd point to Fonseca, but when I re-tasted the wines later, I found this Dow's had improved quite a bit with air - now showing some vibrant and more youthful fruit flavors in addition to its more evolved, meaty qualities. I'd say that at this point 2000 Dow's VP is slightly better than Fonseca's 2000 VP, but I would like to add that I think Dow's is also approaching its apogee and any further improvement with additional aging might be getting quite marginal, whereas that Fonseca seemed to be further away from its peak and might both outlive this Dow's and surpass it in quality in the process. Nevertheless, both these are fine examples of 2000 Vintage Port and among my favorites from the wines we tasted. The wine scored 2 points from the ten attendees, finishing on 4th place.
(93 points) - 2000 Graham Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (30.9.2024)
The wine is a blend of traditional Port varieties (mainly Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Amarela) harvested from the five Symington quintas in the Douro Valley: Quinta dos Malvedos, Quinta do Tua, Quinta das Lages, Quinta da Vila Velha and Quinta do Vale de Malhadas. Bottled unfiltered in 2002. 20% alcohol, 110 g/l residual sugar and 4,58 g/l acidity. Tasted blind.
Deep, fully opaque blackish-red color. The nose feels weird, dull and dusty with atypical aromas of bruised green apple slices, some mildewy basement notes, a little bit of green almonds and a hint of dusty TCA. The wine feels sweet, rich and quite hollow on the palate with a full body and dull, one-dimensional flavors of cherry marmalade, some tobacco, light dusty and mildewy notes of old attic, a little bit of green almonds, a hint of green apple slices and a touch of blueberries. The medium-to-moderately high acidity lends already good sense of balance to the wine, but the structure relies more on the quite ample and rather grippy tannins. The finish is sweet, short and rather grippy with a dull, hollow aftertaste of dusty attic, some bruised green apple slices, a little bit of strawberry jam and a hint of earth.
This seemed to be a bottle defective in multiple ways: it was not only corked, but it also seemed to suffer from elevated levels of acetaldehyde, making the overall feel both musty and weirdly green-toned. This was a big disappointment - fortunately I had already sampled a sound bottle half a year earlier while visiting the Graham's lodge! Unsurprisingly, the wine scored 0 points from the ten attendees, finishing on last place.
(NR/flawed) - 2000 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (30.9.2024)
Made with the best fruit sourced from the Quinta de Vargellas, Quinta de Terra Feita and Quinta do Junco estates. First vinified by foot-treading, then followed by additional extraction by robotic plungers. Fortified with 77% aguardente, aged in large oak vats for 1½ to 2 years, then bottled unfined and unfiltered. 20,5% alcohol and 95,5 g/l residual sugar and 4,7 g/l acidity. Tasted blind.
Deep, saturated and totally opaque black cherry color with a faint evolved plummy hue. The nose feels very dark-toned, maybe not that expressive and somewhat hot with nuanced and still pretty youthful aromas of blueberries and boysenberries, some ripe forest fruits, a little bit of tobacco, light spicy and subtly green-toned nuances of eucalyptus or anise and Sichuan pepper, a hint of wizened figs, a spirituous touch of aguardente and a whiff of salty liquorice. The wine feels broad, firm yet silky and vibrant on the palate with a full body and clean, surprisingly youthful flavors of ripe bilberries and boysenberries, some tobacco, light blackberry marmalade tones, a little bit of eucalyptus, a hint of black raspberry jam and a touch of sweet Christmas spices. Although there is a subtly saccharine edge to the wine's youthful fruit, the wine doesn't come across as an excessively sweet crowdpleaser, thanks to its rather fresh, high acidity and still moderately grippy medium-plus tannins. The finish is rich, juicy and quite grippy with a long, youthful aftertaste of boysenberry jam and ripe bilberries, some blackcurrant marmalade tones, a little bit of tobacco, light cooling nuances of eucalyptus and anise, sweeter hints of prunes and dried figs and a touch of extracted bitterness.
This was a fantastic Vintage Port and easily among my top wines in our horizontal blind tasting of 2000 Vintage Ports. It was probably the most youthful in terms of evolution, showing still lots of very vibrant fruit and no obvious tertiary qualities, and the structure was still pretty firm and quite tightly-knit, yet not tough or aggressive in any way. And even then, the wine seemed to show more depth and complexity than many other 2000 Vintage Ports that had already started to exhibit some evolved tertiary characteristics. This is an outstanding example of what the best Port shippers produced in 2000 and it is obvious this wine was built for the long haul. I don't know how long it will take before this wine reaches its plateau of maturity, but I'm sure it is not going to happen in the immediate future. Hold, don't drink. In our blind tasting of 2000 VPs, the wine scored 1 point (mine) from the ten attendees, finishing on shared 5th place.
(94 points) - 2000 Fonseca Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (30.9.2024)
A blend of traditional Port varieties from Quinta de Santo António, Quinta do Cruzeiro, and Quinta do Panascal; all located in the Cima Corgo sub-region of Douro. The grapes have been foot-trodden in lagares and the grape must is fortified after approximately 48 hours of fermentation. Aged in oak for approximately 18 months, bottled unfined and unfiltered. 20,5% alcohol. Tasted blind.
Dense, almost fully opaque blackish color with a deep blood-red hue. The nose feels savory, even slightly meaty and moderately spicy with aromas of wizened blackberries, some tobacco, light peppery tones, a little bit of smoke, sweet hints of ripe bilberries and dried figs, a touch of licorice root and a whiff of dusty sun-baked earth. The wine feels robust, sweet and pretty chewy on the palate with a full body and brooding flavors of bilberries and boysenberry jam, some tobacco, a little bit of ripe fig and even dried dates, light malt syrup tones, a hint of extracted bitterness and a touch of licorice root. Although the overall feel is very firm and structure-driven, the structure seems to rely more on the quite high acidity than on the moderately resolved medium tannins. The finish is long, quite warm and somewhat grippy with a dark-toned aftertaste of wizened cherries, some licorice notes, a little bit of ripe bilberry, light jammy notes of boysenberries, a hint of tobacco and a touch of dried dates.
A somewhat restrained but enjoyably fresh and savory Vintage Port that is slowly starting to show its age, yet is still some ways away from its peak. The wine isn't that big or powerful, but instead feels more like it is holding back a little. Even though not a big powerhouse of a Vintage Port, I liked this quite a bit, and I ended up giving this wine one point - I was split between this and another wine (that turned out to be Dow's VP 2000) based on how the wine performed at first. I think with some air Dow's actually surpassed this wine, but the difference was nevertheless pretty minimal - both this and Dow's are both beautiful 2000 Vintage Ports at this point. The wine scored 3 points from the ten attendees, finishing on 3rd place.
(92 points) - 2000 Warre Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (30.9.2024)
A blend of traditional Port varieties from old vineyards (averaging 50-55 yo, some vineyards even 80 yo and older) in Quinta da Cavadinha and Quinta do Retiro Antigo; all located in the Cima Corgo sub-region of Douro. The grapes have been foot-trodden in lagares and the grape must is fortified after approximately 48 hours of fermentation. Aged in oak for approximately 18 months, bottled unfined and unfiltered. 20% alcohol. Tasted blind.
Quite youthful and almost fully opaque black ruby color. The nose feels bold, dark-toned and a bit savory with aromas of ripe dark plums and sun-baked earth, some tobacco, light fragrant notes of dried flowers, a little bit of old leather, a brambly hint of blackberries, a boozy touch of aguardente and a whiff of black cherry marmalade. The wine feels rich, silky and a bit chewy on the palate with a full body and intense, nuanced flavors of kirsch and plum jam, some blackberry marmalade tones, light perfumed nuances of dried flowers, a little bit of ripe blueberry, a savory hint of meaty umami and a touch of brambly black raspberries. The still somewhat youthful flavor profile is hedonistic yet quite savory, and the overall feel is firm and balanced, thanks to the rather high acidity and still quite ample and rather grippy tannins. The finish is quite concentrated, moderately tannic and a bit hot with a long, intense aftertaste of ripe blueberries and plum jam, some savory notes of meaty umami, a little bit of blackberry marmalade, light raisiny tones, a hint of kirsch and a perfumed touch of floral lift.
A beautiful, impressive and very harmonious Vintage Port that combines vibrant and even a bit hedonistic fruit profile with more savory undertones and an impressively muscular structure. The wine doesn't feel young anymore - which isn't surprising when it is clocking in at 24 years of age - but I'd say the overall feel is nevertheless surprisingly youthful; this was probably the second most youthful Port in our blind horizontal of 2000 VPs, after Taylor's 2000 VP. The wine is absolutely fantastic right now, but it also packs quite a bit of stuffing to hold its ground for another decade, or even several. I was honestly very surprised when the wine was revealed to be Warre's - I expected it to be Taylor's or Fonseca! This was not only my favorite wine of the evening, but also the rather unanimous winner of the tasting as well: the wine scored 6 points from the ten attendees, finishing on 1st place.
(95 points) - 2000 Barros Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (30.9.2024)
20% alcohol. Tasted blind.
Deep, somewhat translucent and slightly evolved plummy-red color. The nose feels dry, somewhat dull and quite evolved with aromas of game, some earthy tones, a little bit of boozy alcohol, light oxidative notes of meat stew, a sweet hint of pruney dark fruit and a touch of loose tobacco. The wine feels sweet, slightly hot and quite evolved on the palate with a full body and lush flavors of strawberry jam and cherry marmalade, some raisiny tones, a little bit of ripe boysenberry, light tertiary notes of tobacco and gamey meat, a hint of hoisin and a touch of dried figs. The overall feel is very soft and even a bit flabby with the rather low acidity and gentle, resolved medium-minus tannins. The finish is gentle, sweet and rather hot with an evolved aftertaste of raisiny fruit and meat stew, some boysenberry tones, a little bit of gamey meat, light earthy notes, a hint of tobacco and a touch of strawberry jam.
A surprisingly evolved and even a bit tired Vintage Port that is getting quite tertiary. I was surprised how soft and mellow the wine was from the structural perspective - not only was the acidity markedly low, but the wine was lacking the firm tannic backbone that one would expect to find in a Vintage Port. I guess it's not a surprise the wine has started to fall apart if it is lacking in structure so badly. I was very disappointed with this wine, but even then somebody found the wine enjoyable enough to give the wine a point. The wine scored 1 point from the ten attendees, finishing on shared 5th place.
(83 points) - 2000 Ferreira Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (30.9.2024)
20,5% alcohol. Tasted blind.
Dense and fully opaque reddish-black color with a tiniest bit of haze - probably some of the deposit made its way into the glass. The nose feels somewhat evolved with a sweet-yet-savory aromas of juicy dark plums, some sun-baked dusty earth, a little bit of wizened black cherry, light meaty tones, dried-fruit hints of raisins and dried dates, a hint of old leather and a faint touch of farmhouse funk. The wine feels sweet, pretty stern and a bit understated on the palate with a full body and slightly reticent flavors of dried dates and raisiny dark fruit, some butterscotch tones, a little bit of extracted bitterness, light evolved notes of leather and meaty character, a hint of eucalyptus and a touch of pipe tobacco. The overall feel is pretty structure-driven, thanks to the moderately high acidity and quite assertive, rather grippy tannins. The finish is moderately long, somewhat hot and quite grippy with a savory-sweet aftertaste of raisiny dark fruit, some pruney tones, a little bit of old leather, light sweeter notes of dried dates, a hint of extracted bitterness and a touch of gravelly minerality.
We were surprised to learn this was Ferreira when the bottles were revealed - while nobody was surprised how a wine with this kind of impressive tannic structure turned out to be Ferreira, the somewhat understated fruit profile with the somewhat savory and even a bit funky or leathery taste were not really what people expected from Ferreira. There was some discussion whether the wine was every-so-slightly corked; perhaps prematurely evolved and thus showing some atypical qualities; or just showing some bottle variation. We couldn't reach any conclusion, and since one person even gave the wine a vote, I guess at least one person thought the wine was in a proper shape. I found the wine tasty and enjoyable, but somewhat underwhelming compared to the other 2000 Vintage Ports we tasted at the same time - and not what a 2000 Ferreira VP should've been. Furthermore, the wine seemed to only fall apart in the glass - it definitely didn't benefit from additional aeration. The wine scored 1 point from the ten attendees, finishing on shared 5th place.
(88 points) - 2007 Kaesler Touriga Nacional - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley (30.9.2024)
100% Touriga Nacional from a 20-yo vineyard. Fermented spontaneously. 18,5% alcohol. Tasted blind.
Dense, fully opaque blackish-red color. The nose feels sweet, open and beautifully fragrant with expressive aromas of boysenberries and blueberries, some ripe dark plums, light spirituous notes of alcohol, a little bit of smoky phenolic character, floral hints of violets and roses, a touch of pipe tobacco and a cooling whiff of eucalyptus. The wine feels sweetish or even just medium-sweet on the palate with a full body and somewhat developed flavors of pronounced licorice tones and meaty umami, some ripe boysenberry and raspberry marmalade tones, light sweeter notes of plum jam and dried dates, a little bit of wood spice, hints of violets and cherry pits and a touch of salty liquorice. The overall feel is surprisingly soft and mellow - borderline flabby - due to the low acidity and almost nonexistent tannins. The finish is juicy, mellow and quite warm with a moderately sweet aftertaste of jammy strawberries and plums, some ripe boysenberries, a little bit of licorice root, light blueberry tones, a hint of pipe tobacco and a floral touch of violets.
In a blind tasting of 2000 Vintage Ports, it was obvious that this wine was the ringer - the style was so noticeably different from the other wines that you really couldn't confuse this for a Real Deal. The nose here was beautiful and captivating with a heady and expressive bouquet of floral nuances and very ripe fruit aromas. However, on the palate the wine was bit of a let-down. Although the wine was somewhat less sweet than any of the Vintage Ports we tasted, I didn't mind - the wine carried its less sweet and more savory nuances effortlessly. The bigger problem was the wine's structure - or, actually, its absence. The wine felt remarkably low in acidity, which made the overall feel not only noticeably soft, but also listless, lacking in energy and intensity. Also, the tannins - that are quite vital to the sense of firmness in a true Port wine - were also more or less completely absent. It was so disappointing for the beautiful nose to be followed by such a flabby, blowzy wine. This wasn't bad, just below my expectations. Nevertheless, many other attendees loved the wine, so it scored 5 points from the ten attendees, finishing on 2nd place.
(87 points) - 2000 Gould Campbell Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (30.9.2024)
The Gould Campbell Vintage Ports don't come from any specific quinta or quintas, but are instead made with purchased fruit sourced mainly from the Pinhão and Rio Torto valleys in Cima Corgo. 20% alcohol.
Deep, slightly translucent black cherry color that doesn't look that young nor particularly evolved. The nose feels fragrant, expressive and rather fruit-forward with intense aromas of blackberry jam, some ripe boysenberries, a little bit of sweet plummy fruit, light fragrant notes of pipe tobacco and cooling eucalyptus greenness, a hint of blueberry juice, a perfumed touch of floral lift and a whiff of overripe strawberry. Lots of everything here! The wine feels vibrant, a bit hot and surprisingly youthful on the palate with a full body and intense flavors of boysenberries and blueberry jam, some plummy tones, a little bit of dried fig, light green-toned nuances of eucalyptus or peppermint, a hint of cassis and a touch of licorice. The overall feel is moderately hot with a firm, muscular structure due to its pretty high acidity and still rather ample and grippy tannins. The finish is rich, sweet-toned and moderately grippy with a long aftertaste of ripe boysenberries and bilberries, some crunchy dark plums, a little bit of blackberry jam, light dried-fruit notes of raisins and wizened figs, a perfumed hint of violets and a faint touch of pepperminty greenness.
A terrific, still remarkably youthful and impressively structure-driven Vintage Port that comes across as almost backward, given its 24 years of age! The wine was not part of our blind horizontal of 2000 Vintage Ports, but if it would've been, I'm pretty sure this would've made it easily into my top 3 - right behind the fantastic Warre's and Taylor's VPs. A very impressive effort from the often overlooked underdog of Vintage Ports. I'm sure this wine will easily continue to evolve for another decade or two, although this is pretty darn lovely right now. At just 42,90€, this has been a bargain.
(93 points)
Posted from CellarTracker
) and extremely helpful, as I have the 2000 Taylor, Fonseca, Warre’s, Gould Campbell, and Dow (among others) sitting in the cellar. I have a few also in 375s, so may dive into those soon.
Anyways, I’ve always loved the slightly drier and more peppery style of Dow’s - that’s also why I wanted to ensure a visit to Quinta do Bonfim when we were in the Douro valley!