1963 Dow

Tasted blind. Pale russet. A touch of alcohol but backed up by a sense of ‘weight’ on the nose, with spicy, leather and coal-smoke tones, and a dried black fruit hint. Quite a powerful, dense flavour – Dow's perhaps? Spicy and almost meaty, with a blackberry tone. Fair length, albeit with some spirit. (TJ)

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. 19.5/20

This is an extraordinary house that seems to have been particularly successful with its vintage port since 1977.The 1963 is a classic, a monumental, rich, still tannic wine that will last at least another 30 years.