Chesterfield in town for a tasting!

My young brother Harrington Chesterfield was in town this weekend and Lillian and I spent an evening in the Neck with the family. To celebrate this mini reunion, we decided to go digging in the Johnson Avenue vault and pop something special. Upon assessing my collection, I realized that I was still sitting on 3 Niepoort 1997s. Hmmm... I'd been loving the 97's I'd had recently, and it had been a good 8 years now since I first tasted it so hey... why not? I can't say I regret the decision - it was a decidedly different wine from the first sampling. **Bill - I supplemented the collection with a bottle of Niepoort 2000 at the same time as I removed this bottle of 97, so don't worry, we'll still be enjoying plenty of good Niepoort together in the future!** As is often the case when a bottle gets popped early in the evening at number 175, a second bottle was soon to follow. I'd been sitting on a bottle of Romariz 97 for about 7 or 8 years, and as I had recently read some pretty lackluster opinions of it, thought it might be a good one to sacrifice. It turns out it lived up to the drab reviews. Oh well, you can't win em all...

NIEPOORT VINTAGE 1997

Since drinking this wine last - 8 years ago now - the color has certainly begun to show some maturity. It's become a very pretty purple/raspberry hue at this point. The nose offers a very unique and intense bouquet of eucalyptus, coffee, bittersweet chocolate, and a high-toned and prominent note that is redolent of enamel paint or nail polish. This may have been due to a bit of taint in the wine, though in any case, as strange of a note as it sounds, it doesn't distract from the other notes in the wine, it's just rather unusual. Fills the mouth with a full-bodied attack, though only moderately sweet, it dishes up a decidedly earthy palate of flavors - the eucalyptus and coffee characters on the nose are also apparent here, as well as cranberry, a strong medicinal cherry aspect, and notes of tar on the long finish. Although it's opened up a great deal since first tasted as a baby, this port still has a brawny tannic foundation and great depth on the palate that should carry it for a very long time to come. An iconoclastic and delicious offering from one of my favorite producers. 95pts, Tasted 4/08

And here were Harrington's thoughts...

Cherry-purple in color, starting to show it's age a bit. A perplexing, slightly spirited nose with strange hints of sourness, but in a pleasant way, sweet and slightly syrupy. Notes of medicinal cherry, bitter orange rind and spice. One of the most unique ports i have tasted, very different from how it tasted 8 years ago. This port might be a chamaeleon, changing in character as it ages.

ROMARIZ VINTAGE 1997

Medium dark purple in color with burgundy highlights. Shows some pleasant dark fruit on the nose along with a leafy/cabbagey aspect - perhaps a sign of a lack of ripeness? Comes off a bit better on the palate with medium sweet blackberry fruit, black pepper, and just a hint of dark chocolate. The tannins are soft and the finish is on the short side. Overall, one-dimensional and unexciting. 81pts, Tasted 4/08