vintage Port 1951931, mostly for their own consumption. Ramos Pinto is fine, seductive and elegant with
some underlying power. Cálem is fine, firm with crisp acidity keeping the wine alive and
Sandeman, now a pale pink-tawny, has a soft creamy texture with underlying richness. In
the spring of 1998 I tasted what I am told was the last remaining bottle of Cockburn 1931
which, although not as rich or dense as either Noval or Niepoort, retains the balance and
elegance of an outstanding but almost overlooked vintage.
Pick of the Vintage: Quinta do Noval; Niepoort.
1927 ***** classic, dark, concentrated wines
Embraced by most shippers, 1927 has stood the test of time and remains a truly monumental
vintage. Although yields were not huge, in terms of vintage Port it appears to be one of those
rare years that combined both quality and quantity. Both Cockburn and Croft apparently
declared around 30,000 cases apiece.
The grapes were far advanced by the end of July but August was unusually cold with
only a few really hot days and the grapes ripened slowly and evenly. September remained
cool with some rain. Towards the end of the month, good weather helped to conclude the
ripening process. The vintage began on 3 October. According to Ernest Cockburn, ‘the
grapes were ripe except those very high up, and the weather [during harvest] was hot and
perfect. The lagares stood a great deal of work and the strengths were good’. The wines
were widely declared at the top of the market, shortly before the Wall Street Crash, and
subsequently proved difficult to sell.
I was fortunate to taste eleven 1927s side-by-side in 1989 when James Suckling was
researching his book on vintage Port, and recall debating at the time whether Fonseca
was ready to drink! I have tasted a number of wines individually since and continue to
be amazed by the wines, some of which are so dark and dense that they will continue
to improve in bottle over eighty years later. Taylor (tasted in 2007) is the most recent
example of this: still deep, ripe and supple supported by powerful, cast-iron tannins with
a peacock’s tail of a finish. Sandeman, tasted in 2011, is lighter but still rich and shows
the balance of the vintage. Niepoort (last tasted in 2003) was still closed; tight, solid and
not particularly expressive initially, it opens up to reveal an incredibly powerful wine.
Likewise Cockburn (last tasted in 2012): more expressive but still incredibly youthful
with beautiful floral aromas and bitter-chocolate intensity.
Pick of the Vintage: Cockburn; Niepoort; Taylor.
1924 **** high quality wines, the best still keeping well
It was apparent from the time of the harvest that 1924 would be out of the ordinary. The
summer had been cool but dry. After rain fell in early September the grapes, which were
small and dried up due to the drought, began to swell and ripen evenly. Ernest Cockburn
notes that some grapes were not properly ripe when the harvest began on 29 September but
yields were low and the wines produced had ‘good colour, medium body and fair sweetness’.
Gordon Cosens (of Silva & Cosens) concluded at the time ‘that the 1924s will turn out to