1994 Dow Porto Vintage

Community Tasting Notes (315) Avg Score: 93.5 points

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  5/8/2024 - Fiorano wrote: 95 Points

  Drank this over a couple of months after the holidays, using argon gas. My impression was that of a still-young port {though I had never opened one of the two purchased in the 90's until now.} Everything is in place and in balance, but at 30 years on, aging slowly. A delicious, almost plush wine, to me this is quite drinkable now. However it promises much more to those with the patience and longevity to enjoy it in the decades to come. 95+

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  4/24/2024 - forceberry wrote: 94 Points

  This is a re-release of this legendary vintage from the Symington stock that has been aging in the Vila Nova de Gaia lodge. 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 1996, after 18 months of aging in traditional 535-liter oak pipes. 20% alcohol, 92 g/l residual sugar, 4,8 g/l acidity and pH 3,61.
  
  Evolved, slightly hazy reddish-maroon color. The nose feels sweet, fine-tuned and very attractive with evolved aromas of raisins and prunes, some pipe tobacco, light autumnal notes of leafy undergrowth, a little bit of minty lift, sweet hints of ripe black cherries ad boysenberries, a touch of dried bilberries and a whiff of smoke. The wine feels broad, silky and rather sweet on the palate with a full body and rich yet savory flavors of blueberries and wizened black cherries, some pruney tones, a little bit of gravelly minerality, light peppery notes along with savory, earthy spices, hints of tobacco and dried flowers and a touch of dried figs. Despite its age, the wine still retains great sense of structure, due to its relatively high acidity and ample tannins that feel ripe and silky, yet retain quite a bit of grip and firmness. The finish is long, complex and moderately grippy with a sweet-yet-savory aftertaste of wizened blueberries and black cherries, some evolved meaty tones, a little bit of peppery spice, light boysenberry tones, a hint of tobacco and a touch of dried fig.
  
  A fantastic, complex and still wonderfully vibrant Vintage Port that is starting to show some age, yet is not quite at its plateau of maturity. Tasting this side-by-side with the sweeter, more mellow 1995 Quinta do Vesuvio VP, the drier, peppery and somewhat more angular house style of Dow's became very obvious. This is a harmonious, beautifully matured and rather structure-driven Vintage Port that is in a wonderful spot right now, but I can see this wine aging, evolving and improving for at least a few decades more. An outstanding wine already now, but expect the score to inch even further up as the wine ages. This re-release is not a particularly affordable wine at 170€, but at least you get a wine with perfect provenance at that price!

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  4/13/2024 - tomandlu wrote: 96 Points

  The cork was dry at the top and fell into the bottle when I tried to remove with an osso. It was clearly sound, though. Decanted the wine and started poured a glass immediately. The nose was soaring, complex, and intense from the first whiff with aromas of mint, eucalyptus, cranberries, tobacco, Asian spices, figs, and hot iron. Wow. I expected a free-for-all on the palate but instead I got a beautifully balanced, even graceful, intense, rich, fruity, and elegant palate impression. Wow, again. The finish was long, at least 45 seconds, with more iron and fruit and just a hint of fine tannin remaining. These impressions staid pretty much unchanged for 2+ hours of drinking. What really struck me in the end, though, was that the alcohol was never a feature. I've had more powerful, more complex, and more intense ports in the past but I've rarely had one that balanced all of those traits so gracefully. Purchased on release and stored in my cellar since.

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  4/9/2024 - gmbdds wrote: 93 Points

  Opened at Christmas and drank well for a month. I kept a few dregs until now and forgot to take it out of inventory. Notes are largely lost to time but I remember a still quite primary but delicious deep fruit and chocolate wine.

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  3/30/2024 - Musigny1955 wrote: 95 Points

  Purchased on release in fulls and halves, 750 bottle #6 of 12. No ullage, cork crumbled a bit. Forgot to decant before serving, yet still had super length, complexity, nose, forever finish. Rich yet drier Dow style works very well. This wine has been firing on all cylinders for the last half-decade, halves may be showing a bit more maturity than fulls. Not a drop left after the dinner party! If had decanted would probably been 96 or higher.

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