Twenty Century eighth Decade -> Bar do Binho

Harmonious, Well Structured Classic (95)

Many of the 1970 vintage Ports are magnificent: wines with an abundance of rich, ripe berry flavours, firm tannins and a long finish. It is difficult to find better wines than the 1970 Taylor, 1970 Quinta do Noval Nacional and 1970 Fonseca. All three of these wines were not completely ready to drink in 1990 and needed another two or three years of bottle age. Most of the 1970s are very drinkable now but will continue to improve for another two decades. They are classic vintage Ports with the concentration of fruit and tannin to ensure excellent longevity.

The weather was nearly perfect throughout the year, with just enough cold weather and rain in the winter to stress the vines, and sufficiently warm temperatures and clear skies to ensure proper flowering. The summer was hot and mostly clear. September had a few showers during the first half, but by the third week the weather was warm and sunny again to start the harvest. The good weather continued through the picking. Fermentation and fortification went well just about everywhere.

The uniform quality of the vintage is amazing. Out of the 35 vintage Ports I have tasted over the years from the 1970 vintage, 28 were good to outstanding. Moreover, 20 scored 85 points or more on The Wine Spectator 100-point tasting scale. Any of the well-known houses' vintage Ports will please even the most finicky Port drinker. This is also a vintage to try some of the lesserknown houses like Niepoort, Quarles Harris, Rebello Valente, Martinez, Gould Campbell, Delaforce, Morgan Brothers and Burmester. This generally declared vintage is truly excellent.

Light, Fragrant, Easy to Drink Average (79)

Only Dow Rebello Valente and Offley Forrester declared 1972. Taylor also made a good Quinta de Vargellas. These few vintage Ports are good quality, with fresh fruit flavours and light tannins. They were still very drinkable in 1990, but did not seem to be improving.

Quantities were very small, since the weather was difficult for most of the year. The winter and spring were without incident, and the summer started out very well, with a hot June and July, but it rained intermittently through the rest of the summer. Another difficulty with the vintage was that the wines were fortified with synthetic alcohol. Perhaps that is why the few vintage Ports made in 1972 have an unusual canned fruit aroma.

Light, One-Dimensional, Fruity Good (80)

The 1975 vintage has received more hype than it ever has deserved. Some Port shippers admit that it was a child of the Portuguese revolution in 1974, when many producers thought 1975 was going to be their last vintage before being nationalized. Others say that politics had nothing to do with declaring 1975 and that their wines from the vintage looked very good when they declared. They merely did not envolve as well as expected. I only rated the 1975 as "good" since most of the wines are no longer improving and are starting to become very alcoholic. I am sure that even when 1975 was young it was never more than good.

It is difficult to say why 1975 is rather light compared to other vintage Ports at the 15 year stage. The weather was relatively good. There was a lot of rain during the winter, although most of the spring passed without precipitation. The summer was warm and sunny for the most part. The only problem may have been the rain just before the harvest, which occurred in the first week of October. This may have diluted the grapes slightly. The picking was done under clear skies, however.

1975 may be the only generally declared vintage that produced no outstanding Wines. Even the legendary Quinta do Noval Nacional was not that great in 1975, although it was ,cool and will improve with some bottle age. Cálem, Kopke, Ferreira and Noval are also very attractive.

Variable, Short Average (76)

Few houses made vintage Ports in 1976, so I can conclude only that the overall quality of the year was not very good. The 1976 Fonseca-Guimaraens must be a fluke, since it is a massively rich and structured wine - much better than its weakling sister, 1975. It still needed five more years of bottle age in 1990. Quinta de Vargellas is also good, with fresh fruit flavours and wellknit tannins, though it is completely ready to drink. Another second-label from a major house, Graham's Malvedos, is very weak and clumsy.

It might be better to buy Smith Woodhouse's late-bottled vintage if one is interested in drinking a wine from the 1976 vintage. Bottled after four years in cask, it is a traditional late bottled vintage and is not cold-stabilized, fined or filtered. It throws a crust like a vintage. The 1976 Smith Woodhouse late-bottled vintage is very good, with rich flavours and balanced fruit.

Tough, Tannic, Complex, Ageless Classic (97)

The 1977 is the best vintage since the glorious 1963. It has a monumental combination of concentrated rich fruit, iron-clad tannins and firm acidity. Many of 1977s may have the potential to age for 100 years, offering the Port lover decades of enjoyment. They are wines to be cellared for future generations, if one can be patient enough.

To taste the 1977 Fonseca is to experience perfection in vintage Port. The wine is so complete in every way it is hard to describe, and the Taylor is nearly the same. Those two wines and the Dow are clearly the stars of the vintage. In fact, all of the 1977 vintage Ports I tasted that scored 80 points or more will easily improve well into the 21st century.

The weather in 1977 was quite severe in many ways. It rained heavily for much of the winter and the spring was unseasonably cold. There were isolated instances of frost. This cold weather slightly delayed the flowering and continued mild temperatures for most of the summer slowed the development of the fruit. September, however, was extremely hot and threw the vines into high gear. The harvest began at the end of the month, and healthy grapes were picked under good weather conditions. The harvest was slightly smaller than average.

There was some idea that 1977s were starting to be ready to drink in 1990, but I believe most of these vintage Ports need a minimum of 15 years of bottle age. Only in 1990 were they begining, to come out of their dormant period, and some, such as Graham, were tasting slightly dumb still, not giving as much fruit and depth as one, would expect. Graham, however, like so many of the 1977s, is truly spellbinding. These are great vintage Ports, showing an abundance of wonderful fruit while maintaining a superb structure.

Surprisingly, some producers did not make a 1977, including Cockburn and Noval Both houses have already publicly admitted their embarrassment for not declaring a 1977. Perhaps they did not have the quality.

There were some poor vintage Ports made in 1977. Houses like Feuerheerd, Kopke, Cálem and Messias made flawed wines that were extremely high in vinegarlike volatile acidity. It only adds credence to the adage that great grapes can 'be ruined poor winemaking.

Fruity, Soft, Ready Good (84)

There were no outstanding wines made in 1978, but the year produced some attractive and delicious vintage Ports. Nearly all were extremely drinkable in 1990, with layers of sweet, ripe fruit and soft, round tannins. Many producers commented on the high residual sugar levels in their wines. Some of the 1978s are extremely sugary.

Nevertheless, wines like the Ferreira, Bomfim, Eira Velha and Vargellas are fragrant and delicious, with a caressing mouth-feel. They are ready to drink now and should continue to maintain their fruit for another decade or so. The major disappointment of the vintage is Quinta do Noval which strangely decided to declare the 1978 instead of the grand 1977. The Noval 1978 is one of the weakest wines of the vintage. The good 1978s can be deceiving due to their soft structure. They should evolve quickly; however, it could turn out to be a year like 1960, which some critics thou~ht would have passed away long ago but has still kept going in many cases.