|
1991 | |
| Churchill | Very deep and youthful colour. Dark, spirity but slightly volatile nose - not seriously so though. Good depth of fruit. Palate slightly leaner than nose implied. 17/20 |
| Quinta do Vesuvio | Very pale coloured, looking far more mature than 1. Delicate, but quite fine mature nose of red fruits and spice. A nice wine but lacking guts and staying power. 14/20 |
| Quarles Harris | Another very pale looking wine. First bottle out of condition, with an odd, woody and oxidised nose. Second far cleaner but again not one for the long-haul. Very good current drinking. 13/20 |
| Croft | Mid depth but with some maturity on rim. Big powerful nose of dark fruit and chocolate. Really quite a classy nose. Fat, ripe and very structured palate. A very good mid term wine on this showing. 18/20 |
| Graham | Lighter, mid-ruby colour and again an odd grain-spirit like nose. Light but enjoyable palate. Mature now, quite soft sweet fruit still with a nice structure, but quite delicate. Very fine wine all the same. 17/20 |
| Cockburn | Two bottles opened. Both very aged and oxidised. Lacking fruit. Poor wine. |
| Gould Campbell | Mid-depth, still youthful. Fine floral/violet nose with a strong tannic palate still. Big full yet also remarkably fine with an enormous length. The best of the tasting so far. 19/20 |
| Delaforce | Deep full wine, big gutsy palate, but hard edged and lacking finesse. Could just be a stage its going through, but marked down on this tasting. 14/20 |
| Dow | Fairly deep colour and, as with a few others, not totally clear spirit, but not offensive. Gravely tannins with a deep, full and powerful palate. Lacks complexity but likely to be a long staying wine, but hard to judge now. 16/20 |
| Fonseca Guimareans | Much deeper colour and far less mature. More youthful nose too with a big, generous and opulent palate backed up with really big, ripe and surprisingly fine tannins. Very good. 18/20 |
| Quinta da Vargellas | Lovely deep but ruby coloured wine, looks more mature than 10. Very fine big nose of cistus and black fruit. Some liquorice hints and dark chocolate. Firm but not aggressive palate, with very fine fruit. 19/20 |
| Smith Woodhouse | Odd cooked smoky bacon nose, not pleasant. Second bottle very similar. Not marked |
| Warre | Very deep ruby red with a beautifully clean and fine nose, really quite elegant, with fine fruit and like 11 with the gum cistus noses. Big structured palate, very firm and very long. 19/20
|
1992 | |
| Quinta dos Canais | Maturing garnet colour but reasonably dense looking wine. Again that off jammy nose we had with some of the 1991s, and an odd hint of really fine Japanese Sake about it. Sweet palate that lacks guts. 16/20 |
| Smith Woodhouse | Far fuller wine with great depth and concentration of ripe plumy fruit and the liquorice flavours you sometimes get from the Douro Superior. Spoilt by an oddly volatile spirit though. 16/20 |
| Churchill | Mid depth with a light, slightly nutty nose, aromatic and attractive. Very firm and obvious structure on the palate but at this stage lacking the core of fruit needed for balance. 16/20 |
| Taylor | Big, very dark looking wine with masses of still very youthful ripe fruit. Really concentrated very fine palate, very rich and full, backed up with a firm tannic scaffolding. 19/20 |
| Quinta do Vesuvio | Medium depth, mature nose of red fruits and spice. Light palate. A very pleasant and fine wine but oddly mature for age. 15/20 |
| Quinta do Bomfim | Fine fruit and a nice lively aroma. Mid-weight palate with medium tannins and a nice finish. Not a great wine but very good of its type. 18/20 |
| Delaforce | Stunningly concentrated nose. Very big and full palate. Tight, gutsy tannins. Lacks elegance and finesse but could be a long stayer. 19/20 |
| Quinta dos Malvedos | Deep colour but surprisingly light nose and palate. Sweet, rather jammy flavour. 16/20 |
| Fonseca | Deep colour. Initially an odd nose of smoky bacon but that passed to give a great depth of fruit. Firm structure with good fruit and a hugely long finish. 19/20 |
| Calem Quinta da Foz | Very deep colour but garnet red rather than ruby. Perfumed floral nose, really very elegant and attractive. 18/20 |
| Warre Cavadinha | Medium colour good fine nose with that gum/resin flavour again. Firm structure on palate and nice fruit, although slightly lacking fruit flavour. 18/20 |
So which was, or is the better vintage? On this showing it is difficult to tell, the usual high-fliers stood out, with one or two disappointments amongst the mid-ranking wines. It is unfortunate that there were a couple of notable absences here, no Noval, nor Neipoort or Ramos Pinto for example.
91 was a hot year, that led to concentration in the grapes, in 92 the grapes were riper and the wines perhaps more balanced as a whole. Different styles, but the jury is still out on the overall quality, perhaps with 92 just having the edge.