The 1970's and 1980's will not go down in history as a particularly glorious era for vintage port. This is not the place to analyse the root causes in detail, but it is likely that the use of chemical fertilizers and herbicides (which increased dramatically with the construction of the patamares) and poor handling and hygiene are collectively to blame. The 1970 vintage was excellent, probably underrated initially and now fully mature but still with a long life ahead of it. Taylor, Graham and Fonseca are all fabulous. After the light but pleasant vintage of 1975, 1977 was hailed as one of the finest of the 20th century but it has failed to live up to its promise (with some noticeable exceptions, such as Taylor, Graham, Fonseca, Dow and Warre).

From experience I can confirm that in 1980, Dow and Smith Woodhouse did very well and Graham has a good reputation too. Fonseca disappointed slightly in 1980, and it fared even worse in 1983. In that year, Dow, Warre, Taylor, Graham and Offley Boa Vista were excellent, but the award for best vintage of the decade should really have gone to 1985. I have tasted excellent 1985's from Kopke, Taylor and Graham and I have yet to start on a case of (reputedly very fine) Fonseca, but it is said that nasty surprises abound (in my personal experience Quinta do Cachao and Real Vinicola are cases in point).


After the split declarations of 1991 and 1992 (Fonseca is excellent, as is the frightfully backward, 100PP, Taylor), 1994 was regarded as a uniformly outstanding vintage and plenty of interest from America allowed for a major declaration. In their youth, the rich and fleshy wines garnered substantial critical acclaim, with Fonseca and Taylor receiving perfect scores from Wine Spectator. The wines are now twenty years old and on 7 March 2014 Guus van Otterloo of Terroirwijn in Rotterdam held a tasting at Villa Augustus in Dordrecht of no fewer than 22 vintage ports from 1994 to see if the wines live up to their stellar reputation. I was happy to contribute a number of bottles from my private cellar and you will find my tasting notes below, but the conclusion is that the wines were certainly not uniformly excellent. What struck me most, were the enormous differences in evolution; whereas some wines already seemed to be going down the hill, others clearly needed more time to reach their plateau of maturity. This was borne out by the vast differences in colour, ranging from young and purple to brown and (more than) fully mature.

The big names generally performed very well, but both bottles of Taylor (one previously decanted, one freshly opened) had a vegetal / stalky note that may or may not disappear with further ageing and Fonseca seemed a bit stalky and hot on the day. Nacional was not as big and brutish as in 2007 (the last time I tasted it) and has developed into a wine of exquisite beauty; for me clearly the wine of the tasting. Kopke, Churchill and Osborne on the other hand were major disappointments and Dalva and Martinez were pleasant but already seemed fully mature. Niepoort was volatile to the point of being acetic (a problem also encountered in the 1985) and Sandeman was clearly not feeling well. The Symington second XI all performed well, but it is safe to say that the old rule of caveat emptor also applies to vintage port from 1994. The indication "vintage port 1994" on the label is not in itself a guarantee for excellence. All the wines below were tasted blind.


Xavier Auerbach


1. Kopke

Purchased recently from the Dutch importer of Kopke. Very evolved colour, seems fully mature; light and mature nose, nuts and brown sugar, slightly stalky, maderised; light and mature palate still retains some tannic grip but is slightly hollow, flavours of amarena cherries and chocolate; decent intensity and length. 86

2. Quinta da Romaneira

Youthful appearance, ruby red with still a hint of purple; the nose is still a bit closed but seems to reveal good depth; primary palate, not very concentrated and slightly one-dimensional but with attractive flavours of jammy fruit; good length. 89

3. Ramos-Pinto

Very youthful appearance, ruby red, little or no evolution; perfumed and harmonious nose, ripe fruit, hints of eucalyptus and cocoa; medium weight, elegant, very clean and harmonious, juicy, bright acidity, slightly tough tannins; very good length. Good future. 91

4. Churchill

Mature appearance; evolved nose, hint of maderisation, stalky, little to it; light palate, lacks weight and concentration, cherry stones, vegetal notes, drying tannins, liquorice. 87

5. Dalva

Light colour; sweet style, light structure, slightly stalky, liquorice, bright red cherries, still fresh on the palate but at the end of its tether, really. 88

6. Niepoort

Mature appearance; very high-toned, volatile nose that turns acetic after a while, velvety, lacks definition; very sweet style, raisins rather than plums, not a lot of tannin but the acidity is sticking out slightly and it finishes rather hot. 87

7. Osborne

Mature appearance; clearly maderised nose; light palate, nutty flavours, edgy acidity, cherries steeped in alcohol; good length. 86

8. Martinez

Mature appearance; very compact style, together, relatively dry, cedary; good length. 90

9. Sandeman

Mature appearance; nose is quite closed, bay leaf and lovage, hints of boudoir powder and lovage, little fruit; the palate is quite jammy, with slightly aggressive acidity and resolved tannins, finishes hot and short on a note of cocoa. Score reflects the benefit of the doubt. 90

10. Quarles Harris

Mature appearance; very dominant note of lovage but backed up by sweet fruit (berry rather than cherry); the palate seems a bit disjointed but it has stuffing, balance and energy, flavours are a bit muted; very good length. Needs more time. 91

11. Gould Campbell

Lively ruby colour, starting to show some maturity; hint of tangerine, has stuffing, structure and balance, lovely flavours, cedar, classic, excellent length. Tasting blind, I thought this might be Warre. 93

12. Smith Woodhouse

Lovely ruby colour, starting to show some maturity; nose is a bit muted but will develop into a classic VP nose; velvety and rich palate, firm core, good stuffing, excellent balance, calm, spice, starting to mature, needs time. 92

13. Dow

Relatively youthful appearance; rich and sweet nose, still quite primary, hint of lovage; rich and energetic palate, sweet, a bit unruly, needs time to integrate, slightly hot finish. Wait. 93

14. Croft

Lively ruby, starts to show some evolution; ripe and glossy fruit, clear cocoa flavour, juicy and forward, concentrated and energetic but could do with a little more tannic structure and complexity; very good flavours and length. 92

15. Warre

Deep and rich colour, youthful appearance; nose needs time to open up in the glass, classic and subtle; masculine, powerful, great backbone and balance, excellent flavours and length. 94

16. Skeffington

Mature appearance; the nose is hollow, stalky and more than slightly maderised; medium weight, no lack of intensity or flavour but very hot on the long finish. Good wine but not a good bottle. Flawed.

17. Quinta do Noval

Youthful appearance; not very communicative at present but perfectly fresh and together, attractive fruit, silky, elegant, black cherries and a hint of milk chocolate, very stylish, medium weight, subtle, finesse. 94

18. Quinta do Noval Nacional

Youthful appearance; sublime fruit, sweet cherries and coca, elegant and refined, powerful and broad shouldered, extremely energetic and pure, an essence, incredible finesse, an iron fist in a velvet glove. 98

19. Fonseca

Quite youthful but starting to show some evolution; good stuffing of ripe fruit, lovely freshness, resolved tannins, nice flavours but also a bit stalky and hot, raisins and currants, powerful. 94

20. Quinta do Vesuvio

Youthful appearance; energetic, excellent juicy fruit, bright and lively, powerful and concentrated, clean and elegant, really top-notch, charming and delicious, feminine. 95

21. Taylor

Lively but mature appearance; has weight, concentration and backbone, excellent stuffing of fruit, powerful but much more approachable than the 1992, just a hint of stalkiness and a vegetal note. 95

22. Graham

Lively but starting to show some maturity; velvety, warm and rich, spicy, exotic, rounded, beautifully balanced, clean, complete and complex, stunning. 96