vintage Port 185Dow’s Bomfim, Graham’s Malvedos and Warre’s Cavadinha were still showing quite well in
2011 with Malvedos the best of the bunch. Drink soon.
1978 **
Cold weather in spring and early summer was followed by drought from June until late
October with a heatwave in September. A handful of shippers preferred 1978 to 1977
(Ferreira, Krohn and Quinta do Noval). Niepoort and Kopke declared both years. The wines
are generally soft, quite rich and approachable although Noval is weak. Noval Nacional was
better and is entirely ready to drink. The year was notable for the number of single-quinta
vintage Ports, some of which appeared on the market for the first time. Drink soon.
1977 **** ripe, concentrated wines at the outset, many developing
faster than expected
The winter of 1976/1977 was exceptionally wet and the spring and early summer were cool and
unsettled. Frost inflicted great damage in the higher vineyards on 12 May. The flowering was
uneven, reducing the potential yield, and the pintor (veraison) arrived late, only occurring in
the third week of July. From mid-August onwards the weather improved but at the beginning
of September Michael Symington records that sugar readings were still as low as 10.5 degrees
Baumé. Fortunately September was hot with temperatures over 30°C and the grapes ripened
evenly. Picking in the Cima Corgo began around 28 September and fine weather continued
through the early part of the vintage into October. Even then, sugar readings were not all that
high and the warm weather meant that the early lagares took little work before being run off.
However the ambient temperature fell markedly in early October and the musts began to take
more work. Rain fell from 5 to 8 October and although yields were high and grape skins were
fairly thin, bunches resisted disease. From the colour and flavour of the musts at the time it was
clear that some fine wines would emerge. All except Cockburn, Noval and Martinez decided
to declare. From early on, the 1977s were compared in stature to the 1963s. This was praise
indeed, and although 1977 produced wines that must have looked very impressive up against
the 1975s and other wines from the early 1970s, none are quite up to the standard of the
finest wines from 1963 or 1966. The 1970 wines have much more staying power. Many of the
1977s are now beginning to show their age. Cálem, Croft, Quarles Harris, Rebello Valente,
Rozès and Sandeman are fading and should be drunk quite soon. Dow, Graham, Warre and
Smith Woodhouse are extremely good; sweet, quite soft, suave and ready now but with the
capacity to keep for another decade or so. Unusually, Dow bottled two pipes of Quinta do
Bomfim 1977 for shipment to Denmark and apparently this is holding up better than the
fully declared wine. Graham is particularly good, not big like Smith Woodhouse but with a
haunting violet-like aroma that is the hallmark of a really fine, mature vintage Port. Taylor and
Fonseca are fabulous and it is perhaps on these wines that the reputation of the vintage has
been established. Both are still quite closed and dense with bitter cherry fruit and have more to
give. These may be drunk now to 2030 plus, but they are not wines to last a lifetime.
Pick of the Vintage: Fonseca; Taylor; Smith Woodhouse.