The 2007 Dow’s Vintage Port is one of the stars of the vintage. A glass-coating opaque purple color, it offers up an already complex bouquet of mineral, pencil lead, licorice, spice box, and assorted black fruits. On the palate it is quite massive, slightly dry in the house style, and packed with fruit. It has the structure to be one of the long distance runners of the vintage taking as much as 20 years to reach its peak and drinking well through 2050. As an aside, I was able to taste the individual components of this wine on the day prior to this tasting. The final blend is better than any of its parts.Importer: Premium Port Wine, San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 554-9920

The 2007 Dow’s Vintage Port is one of the stars of the vintage. A glass-coating opaque purple color, it offers up an already complex bouquet of mineral, pencil lead, licorice, spice box, and assorted black fruits. On the palate it is quite massive, slightly dry in the house style, and packed with fruit. It has the structure to be one of the long distance runners of the vintage taking as much as 20 years to reach its peak and drinking well through 2050. As an aside, I was able to taste the individual components of this wine on the day prior to this tasting. The final blend is better than any of its parts. Importer: Premium Port Wine, San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 554-9920

A solidly structured wine, packed with initially sweet fruit that then becomes drier as the ripe tannins show through. All the ingredients are there, supported by a tense texture to go with the first sweetness. It’s an exciting wine, obviously very ageworthy.——R.V.(12/15/2009)—— 96