2007 Vintage 18 Very dark and brooding to look at. Dry and complex with some notes of vegetation on the nose. Really rather polished and superior. Masses of extract, not an awful lot of sugar, but refinement and breed. If it were a person it would definitely be a man. In a pin striped suit (as this taster is today, funnily enough). Clean peppermint finish. Jancis Robinson, 21 May 2009 2007 Vintage 94-97 out of 100 Points "Intense aromas of blackberry, wet earth and grape follow through to a full body, with medium-to-light sweetness, very big tannins and a mouth filling finish. Round and delicious already. Has the stuffing to age. Powerful." James Suckling, Wine Spectator, 6 May 2009 1966 Vintage Full, fat and concentrated intensity. Rich, ripe plum and spice on the palate. Great depth of flavor means it still has some way to travel, even after 40 years. A remarkable example of a fine year. Peter Cobb, Quartely Review of Wines, April 2008 1997 Vintage 94 points out of 100 Mouthfilling and round, without any sharp edges, but this wine remains extremely firm and dense, with several decades of life ahead of it. Dried fig, chocolate and black licorice flavors only hint at what lies ahead. Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast, March 2008 1963 Vintage 95 out of 100 points Perfectly mature, this Port's tannins have softened over the past 40-plus years, leaving it lushly textured and displaying rich fig and chocolate flavors. Finishes long, picking up a touch of almond to go with the fig, flavors Symington calls "Dow's hallmarks". Drink now-2015, longer if you prefer very mature wines. Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast, March 2008 1970 Vintage Sweet, voluptuous bouquet. Coffee and cinnamon tastes. So beautifully balanced and elegant. Stunningly poised. A 1970 like this is sheer perfection and exactly what great, mature Vintage Port should be. Serena Sutcliffe, CUISINE & WINE ASIA 2008 VOLUME 12, 2008 1994 Vintage The massive 1994 is unquestionably the finest Dow I have tasted since the 1977...it is super-concentrated and multi-layered, with huge masses of fruit and some tannin in the finish...This is a slightly drier style...but it appears to be a classic, majestic, enormously constituted 1994 that should age effortlessly for three decades or more. It is one of the stars of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2030. robert parker, erobertparker.com, 2008 1963 Vintage 19.5 out of 20 Mid to pale ruby with a brick rim. Wonderfully mature, complex nose with dried fruits – prunes? – but freshness too. Hint of dark chocolate. Alcohol wonderfully integrated. Then on the palate a real dancer of a wine – perfectly lively and truly tonic on the palate. Real delicacy – not desperately sweet, just beautifully balanced. Very very clean finish with a definite whisper of tannin on the finish. The Syms reckons this would be one of the top four or five vintage ports of the 20th century by anyone´s reckoning and certainly it demonstrated to me exactly what I love about really mature, top quality vintage port – a world away from young ruby Jancis Robinson, JancisRobinson.com, 2008 1994 Vintage Spiced plum nose - very heathery. Orange skins. Really gummy, liquorice taste. The perfect vintage conditions are so obvious here...A dried flower taste, especially violets. Serena Sutcliffe, CUISINE & WINE ASIA 2008 VOLUME 12, 2008 1963 Vintage Real spice plum bouquet. Totally amplified on the palate in extraordinary fashion, a sign of a stupendous Vintage Port. Almost cassis in flavour. Absolutely brilliant... Serena Sutcliffe, CUISINE & WINE ASIA 2008 VOLUME 12, 2008 1924 Vintage The alluring, rosy nose of my last bottle, a few years ago, was not so evident...but there's still a toffee and tar finish with a really fantastic sweet upturn at the end, a true "lift". Serena Sutcliffe, CUISINE & WINE ASIA 2008 VOLUME 12, 2008 1945 Vintage We all know that this is a superlative vintage and this was an absolutely flawless bottle, at 63 years old. A huge, brambly Vintage Port, extraordinary in its dimension and impact. Fruit, structure and, still, pure black fruit - perhaps that is its greatest legacy. Serena Sutcliffe, CUISINE & WINE ASIA 2008 VOLUME 12, 2008 1966 Vintage Glorious notes of roast nuts and plum skins on the nose with lots of damson fruit on the palate and pure seduction Serena Sutcliffe, CUISINE & WINE ASIA 2008 VOLUME 12, 2008 1980 Vintage This is the outstanding Port of the vintage. A real wood-fire nose. Fruity cassis. Medium weight with a lovely gummy finish...it is so easy to drink it slips down imperceptibly. Serena Sutcliffe, CUISINE & WINE ASIA 2008 VOLUME 12, 2008 2003 Vintage Five years on with deep purple colour. Incredible plum nose. Extraordinary concentration of fruit...soft pure velvet. Intense damson hedonistic pleasure. Chocolate finish, with black pepper which denotes tannin...it melts in the mouth... Serena Sutcliffe, CUISINE & WINE ASIA 2008 VOLUME 12, 2008 1977 Vintage 93 out of 100 Points This is an extraordinary house that seems to have been particularly successful with its vintage port since 1977.The 1977, still a baby, is fabulously scented, very rich and concentrated, and has a potential longevity of at least another 30-50 years. Robert Parker, Robert Parker, 2005 Aged Tawny 20 YO Gold Medal Smooth liquorice plum cake. Fresh, crisp acid. Beautifully mouth-filling and very well integrated. Long, fresh finish. Wine & Spirits, October 2007