Vintageport.se

Est. 2011

Great Vintage Port Tasting

Vintage 1983

This vintage is a rated as an Outstanding Vintage with 36 houses i.e., almost all producers declaring it. It was a split decision between 1982 and 1983 vintage and their good qualities have never been questioned. In November we usually have our Great or Semi Great Tasting and up to today we have had Great Tastings i.e. more than 20 houses of the vintages 1960, twice of the 1963, 1966, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982 and Semi-Great Tastings of 1947, 1958, 1979, 1984 and 1988. In addition we have had House Tastings of Calem, Cockburn, Ferreira and Guimaraens.

The weather during 1983 was variable. The winter was cold and dry, while most of the spring was extremely wet resulting in poor flowering in some vineyards. The summer had a moderate temperature with some rain, but in early September the nature smiled turned into glory. The wines were firm with well-focused fruit and lovely backbone and they were deep purple and fruity, rich in tannins, and with a very good aging capacity.

Broadbent gave this vintage **** out of 5*, Suckling 92 points out of 100 and we 9 out of 10 points. We believed that the vintage was Outstanding, but this was not the case in our Great Tasting. We have now changed this vintage to the rating Very Good. Many wines were defect with volatile acidity and many wines were not what we had expected, sorry to say. However, some of them were excellent such as Quarles Harris, Gould Campbell, Graham's, Smith Woodhouse and of course Taylor.

The Wine Society 18% had a Great Tasting 16 and 18 March 2017 of 31 Houses. We know of 57 houses/brands, see all Vintage 1983s here. We have earlier tasted another 20 houses from the Vintage, which do not participate in this Great Tasting but we surely enjoyed drinking them when they passed our lips. We were 16 participants in the tasting. The tasting was semi-blind i.e. we knew which houses participated in each Flight but not what we had in each glass.

The tasting was conducted over three flights.
First flight:
Flight 1

Second flight:
Flight 2

Third flight:
Flight 3

Tasting notes. Note that the points are for the actual bottle tasted. Read about how we set point on the page "How to understand our points valuations"

Sort on: Name Sten's rank Jörgen's rank Stefan's rank Group's rank

HouseQuarles HarrisVintage1983
ColourStill dark in colour but yellow, mature in colour.
BouquetCoffee, tea, violet, cacao, dark chocolate, toffee and old grocery shop in the nose. Quite generous and attractive.
TasteFull-bodied. Quite mature and peaking now! Balanced and very complex port with a wonderful taste of violet, cacao, dark chocolate, toffee, and much more. The finish is long, attractive and never seems to end. The best Quarles Harris we have enjoyed for many years!
SAI point17.50JB point17.00SS point17.90Group point17.23
SAI rank1JB rank3SS rank1Group rank1
Comment
HouseGould CampbellVintage1983
ColourStill quite dark but yellow, mature in colour.
BouquetCoffee, cacao, cream candy, toffee and old grocery shop in the nose.
TasteQuite full-bodied. Mature and peaking. Toffee and cacao in taste. Balanced and elegant. Very complex and easy to drink and like with a long and attractive finish. A wonderful port indeed!
SAI point17.00JB point16.50SS point17.75Group point17.00
SAI rank2JB rank8SS rank2Group rank2
Comment
HouseGrahamVintage1983
ColourStill quite dark but yellow, mature in colour.
BouquetLiquorice, ginger, cinnamon, bitter chocolate, toffee, fudge, vanilla, roasted coffee, cacao and Christmas spiciness in the nose.
TasteFull-bodied. Mature and peaking. Absolutely on top! Toffee, fudge and bitter chocolate and much more in taste. Complex, elegant and balanced port with a wonderful, long and attractive finish. This is a marvellous port!
SAI point17.00JB point17.50SS point16.75Group point16.73
SAI rank2JB rank1SS rank6Group rank3
Comment
HouseSmith WoodhouseVintage1983
ColourStill very dark but yellow, mature in colour.
BouquetToffee, dark chocolate, fudge, cacao, roasted coffee beans and old grocery shop in the nose.
TasteFull-bodied. Quite mature with some soft and elegant tannin and almost peaking. Toffee and dark chocolate in taste. Balanced and very elegant. Wonderful complexity and flavours. Elegant, long and attractive finish. A great port now and will probably even be better.
SAI point17.00JB point17.00SS point17.00Group point16.54
SAI rank2JB rank3SS rank4Group rank4
Comment
HouseTaylorVintage1983
ColourYellow, mature and very beautiful in colour.
BouquetThe bouquet was quite generous with butterscotch, dark chocolate, toffee, violet, orange peel and cacao in the nose.
TasteFull-bodied. Quite mature nearly at its peak but still some soft tannin and will probably live for many years to come. Sweet with violet and Sultana raisin in flavour. Elegant and complex with an attractive, very long and lovely finish. This is a wonderful port indeed!
SAI point16.75JB point16.50SS point17.25Group point16.42
SAI rank5JB rank8SS rank3Group rank5
Comment
HouseFeuerheerdVintage1983
ColourYellow, mature in colour.
BouquetCream candy, candy, butterscotch and old grocery shop in the nose.
TasteMedium body. Mature and peaking with still some nice acidity. The port is balanced and elegant. Candy, toffee and cream candy in taste with a long and quite attractive finish. Very easy to love and like!
SAI point16.50JB point17.00SS point16.50Group point15.72
SAI rank6JB rank3SS rank7Group rank8
Comment
HouseFonsecaVintage1983
ColourMature, beautiful yellow almost tawny in colour.
BouquetToffee, fudge, mint, old grocery shop, some chocolate and liquorice in the nose.
TasteAlmost full-bodied. Mature and peaking. Chocolate and toffee in flavour. Balanced and quite elegant. Sweet and easy to drink and enjoy with a long and quite attractive finish.
SAI point16.40JB point16.50SS point16.90Group point15.50
SAI rank7JB rank8SS rank5Group rank14
Comment
HouseQuinta do Seixo FerreiraVintage1983
ColourYellow, mature in colour.
BouquetWonderful bouquet of coffee, tea, cacao, ginger, zest of orange and old grocery shop.
TasteMedium bodied. Mature and at its peak. Astonishing dry but elegant and rather complex. Cacao and ginger in flavour. The finish is quite complex, attractive and very long. Elegant port.
SAI point16.40JB point17.00SS point16.40Group point15.41
SAI rank7JB rank3SS rank8Group rank16
Comment
HouseBarrosVintage1983
ColourMedium deep colour but yellow mature in colour.
BouquetCoffee, cacao, ginger and spiciness in the nose.
TasteMedium body. Mature and peaking. Balanced and quite elegant and easy to drink and like. Cacao, ginger and spiciness in taste. Lovely and very attractive finish.
SAI point16.00JB point15.50SS point15.25Group point15.50
SAI rank9JB rank21SS rank21Group rank14
Comment
HouseBorgesVintage1983
ColourYellow, mature very beautiful in colour.
BouquetOld grocery shop, cacao, coffee and roses in the nose.
TasteMedium body. Mature and at its peak with some still balanced acidity. Elegant and quite complex with a nice finish. Will not be better but delicious now and easy top drink and like.
SAI point16.00JB point17.50SS point15.90Group point16.22
SAI rank9JB rank1SS rank11Group rank6
Comment
HousePalmeiro Duoro Wine Shipper and Growers AssociationVintage1983
ColourStill quite dark but yellow, mature, amber in colour.
BouquetCream candy, ginger, vanilla, spiciness and old grocery shop in the nose.
TasteMedium body. Mature and peaking but with some slight acidity and have probably been better. Elegant and quite balanced. Easy to drink and enjoy but quite dry. Spiciness and cream candy in taste with a nice finish. Drink up!
SAI point16.00JB point15.50SS point14.75Group point15.19
SAI rank9JB rank21SS rank25Group rank19
Comment
HouseQuinta do Cachao MessiasVintage1983
ColourYellow, mature in colour.
BouquetSome cacao, coffee, roses, raisin, herbs and burned sugar in nose.
TasteMedium body. Mature and peaking. Balanced and elegant. Herbs and cacao in taste. Dry but easy to drink and like. Quite attractive with a nice and quite long finish.
SAI point16.00JB point16.00SS point15.90Group point15.78
SAI rank9JB rank13SS rank11Group rank7
Comment
HouseRozesVintage1983
ColourBeautiful mature, yellow in colour.
BouquetCoffee, tea, cacao and ginger in the nose.
TasteMedium body. Mature and at its peak. Very elegant and complex. Cacao, ginger and tea in taste. A good port with a lovely and long finish. The best Rozes we have ever had?
SAI point16.00JB point16.00SS point15.50Group point15.63
SAI rank9JB rank13SS rank16Group rank10
Comment
HouseWarreVintage1983
ColourStill rather dark but yellow, mature in colour.
BouquetDark chocolate, coffee, cacao, cinnamon and dried fruit in the nose.
TasteFull-bodied. Mature and peaking. Sweet but of course balanced and with complexity. Cacao, coffee and dark chocolate in taste. An attractive port with a long and very attractive finish.
SAI point16.00JB point16.00SS point15.50Group point15.04
SAI rank9JB rank13SS rank16Group rank23
Comment
HouseCalemVintage1983
ColourMature, yellow quite beautiful in colour.
BouquetSpring flowers, coffee, cacao, cinnamon, ginger, some spiciness and old grocery shop in the nose.
TasteAlmost full-bodied. Mature and peaking. Very sweet with flowers, dark chocolate and spiciness in taste. Elegant and balanced port with an attractive and long finish. Very easy to drink and enjoy now!
SAI point15.90JB point16.00SS point16.40Group point15.66
SAI rank15JB rank13SS rank8Group rank9
Comment
HouseFeistVintage1983
ColourYellow, mature in colour.
BouquetCacao, toffee, burned candy, sweet liquorice, some dark chocolate and fudge in the nose.
TasteMedium body. Mature and peaking. Fudge and dark chocolate in taste. Balanced and quite elegant. Easy to drink and like. Sweet port with a rather attractive and long finish.
SAI point15.90JB point16.50SS point15.90Group point15.59
SAI rank15JB rank8SS rank11Group rank11
Comment
HouseDalva C. da SilvaVintage1983
ColourQuite deep, yellow, mature in colour.
BouquetCinnamon, dark chocolate, dark cherry, nuts and spiciness in the nose.
TasteMedium body. Mature and peaking. Balanced and will not be better. Elegant and quite complex. Easy to drink and enjoy today with and attractive finish. Drink up, the port is lovely now!
SAI point15.75JB point16.00SS point15.75Group point15.38
SAI rank17JB rank13SS rank14Group rank17
Comment
HouseQuinta do Silval Quinta do NovalVintage1983
ColourBeautiful mature, yellow in colour and still quite dark.
BouquetButterscotch, coffee, dark chocolate and toffee in the nose.
TasteMedium body. Mature and peaking but maybe a little old and tired. Still balanced and with complexity. Cream candy, toffee and butterscotch in taste and with a nice and attractive finish. Easy to drink and enjoy this port.
SAI point15.50JB point17.00SS point15.40Group point15.16
SAI rank18JB rank3SS rank19Group rank20
Comment
HouseRainha Santa ForresterVintage1983
ColourTawny in colour.
BouquetToffee, herbals, butterscotch, dried fruit, some cacao and burned sugar in the nose
TasteMedium body. Mature and at its peak. Balanced and quite elegant. Flavour of pepper, burned sugar and herbals. Lovely and quite long finish. Very interested indeed.
SAI point15.50JB point16.00SS point15.40Group point15.13
SAI rank18JB rank13SS rank19Group rank22
Comment
HouseRebello Valente RobertsonVintage1983
ColourThin, tawny in colour.
BouquetBurned sugar, spring flowers and some rose in the nose.
TasteThin body. Mature and peaking. Burned sugar in taste. Balanced with some complexity and easy to drink. Quite sweet with a nice but rather short finish but we do like it!
SAI point15.50JB point16.00SS point16.25Group point15.58
SAI rank18JB rank13SS rank10Group rank12
Comment
HouseTuke Holdsworth HuntVintage1983
ColourAlmost tawny in colour.
BouquetCream candy, toffee and butterscotch in the nose.
TasteMedium body. Mature and a little old with some light acidity. Still almost balanced and quite elegant and easy to drink and enjoy. Dried fruit and toffee in taste. A nice finish.
SAI point15.40JB point16.50SS point15.25Group point15.16
SAI rank21JB rank8SS rank21Group rank20
Comment
HouseGuedes Real Comp. VelhaVintage1983
ColourYellow, mature in colour.
BouquetCinnamon, roses and some spiciness but also a hint of ether and pharmacy in the nose.
TasteMedium body. Mature and even a bit old. Had been better. Spiciness and roses but also some pharmacy in taste. Sweet. Easy to drink. A little short finish. Drink up! The port is still acceptable.
SAI point15.25JB point14.50SS point15.00Group point14.59
SAI rank22JB rank25SS rank24Group rank26
Comment
HouseA. Pinto dos Santos Jr.Vintage1983
ColourBeautiful, mature and amber in colour.
BouquetToffee, crème caramel, fudge, vanilla, cream candy and zest of oranges in the nose.
TasteMedium body. Mature and peaking. Elegant and balanced port. Toffee, crème caramel and a hint of orange’s zest in taste. Sweet with a very long and very attractive finish. Astonishing port from this for us quite unknown house.
SAI point15.25JB point15.00SS point15.75Group point15.53
SAI rank22JB rank23SS rank14Group rank13
Comment
HouseCockburnVintage1983
ColourStill very dark in colour with a yellow rim.
BouquetButterscotch, cream candy, dark cherry, liquorice, some roasted coffee and roses also but a hint of pharmacy and acetone in the nose.
TasteFull-bodied. Mature and nearly peaking but also in this bottles some unbalanced acidity. Butter scotch and burned sugar in flavour. This bottle is OK but not as enjoyable as this vintage can be. Dry and a very long finish. This is a dangerous vintage for Cockburn – see below.
SAI point15.00JB point16.00SS point15.25Group point14.73
SAI rank24JB rank13SS rank21Group rank25
Comment5 bottles have been corked. There is no denying that when this vintage from Cockburn present clean, it is in the top vintage of 1983. Nevertheless this vintage has globally shown a high incidence of cork defect. The former winemaker of Cockburn, Miguel Corte-Real, has admitted that there was a “significant problem” with this vintage
HouseOsmann Hutcheson-FeuerheerdVintage1983
ColourYellow, mature in colour.
BouquetButterscotch, burned sugar, toffee, cinnamon and cream candy in the nose.
TasteMedium body. Mature and peaking and maybe even a little old but balanced. Easy to drink and enjoy. Butterscotch and burned sugar in taste with a nice but maybe a little short finish.
SAI point15.00JB point15.00SS point15.50Group point15.22
SAI rank24JB rank23SS rank16Group rank18
Comment
HouseNiepoortVintage1983
ColourStill rather dark but yellow, mature in colour.
BouquetAcetone, ether, old pharmacy, hospital and burned sugar in the nose
TasteMedium body. Mature but old port with some volatile acidity and unbalanced. Defect for some of us. Not so enjoyable at all, sorry to say, but still drinkable with a decent finish.
SAI point14.25JB point14.50SS point13.75Group point14.88
SAI rank26JB rank25SS rank26Group rank24
Comment
HouseOffley Boa VistaVintage1983
ColourDark but yellow, mature in colour.
BouquetA hint of cacao and dry fruit but also corked and not enjoyable.
TasteMedium body. Corked going through but almost drinkable with dry fruit and a nice finish.
SAI point12.00JB point14.00SS point10.00Group point14.31
SAI rank27JB rank27SS rank28Group rank27
CommentThis port is corked and defect for some of us
HouseRoyal Oporto Real Comp. VelhaVintage1983
ColourStill quite dark but yellow mature in colour.
BouquetAcetone, old hospital and pharmacy in the nose.
TasteMedium body. Mature and also quite old in taste with some volatile acidity. Pharmacy and acetone in taste. Rather unbalanced. Not easy to enjoy but not quite undrinkable. Nice finish but with volatile acidity. For some of us an almost defect port.
SAI point12.00JB point12.00SS point12.00Group point13.84
SAI rank27JB rank29SS rank27Group rank28
Comment
HouseReal Vinicola Real Comp. VelhaVintage1983
ColourYellow, mature in colour.
BouquetAcetone, old hospital, ether and pharmacy in the nose.
TasteMedium body. Mature and also quite old in taste with some volatile acidity. Pharmacy and acetone in taste. Rather unbalanced. Not easy to enjoy and hardly quite undrinkable. Nice finish but with volatile acidity. A defect port.
SAI point11.00JB point11.50SS point9.00Group point12.69
SAI rank29JB rank30SS rank31Group rank29
Comment
HouseDowVintage1983
ColourYellow, mature almost tawny in colour.
BouquetAcetone, ether, old pharmacy and hospital in the nose.
TasteMedium body. Unbalanced with terrible volatile acidity. Taste of acetone, ether and old pharmacy. Not enjoyable at all. This bottle is defect but still almost drinkable even if not enjoyable
SAI point10.00JB point14.00SS point10.00Group point11.92
SAI rank30JB rank27SS rank28Group rank30
CommentThis bottle and 5 more bottles of this vintage have been defect (Sic).
HouseKopkeVintage1983
ColourStill quite dark but yellow, mature in colour.
BouquetTerrible nose of ether, acetone and pharmacy.
TasteMedium body. Lots of volatile acidity and this port is hard enjoy but still we believe it is drinkable but is not good.
SAI point10.00JB point8.00SS point10.00Group point10.56
SAI rank31JB rank31SS rank28Group rank31
CommentThis is a defect bottle according to us.

Last tasted:

2nd March
Bioma Vinha Velha
Niepoort 2016
Blackett 2013
Boeira 2021
Burmester 1992
Burmester 2020
Butler-Nephew 2003
Butler-Nephew 2017
Butler-Nephew 2020
Dalva
C. da Silva 2016
Dow 1994
DR 2002
DR 2013
Quinta dos Malvedos
Graham 2012
Kranemann 2009
Kranemann 2018
Maynard 2016
Niepoort 2015
Pocas Jr 2018
Portal 2000
Portal 2007
Quevedo 2021
Quinta do Bomfim
Dow 2009
Quinta do Cachao
Messias 1982
Quinta da Cavadinha
Warre 2006
Quinta da Devesa 2018
Quinta da Devesa 2019
Quinta do Javali 2017
Quinta do Noval 2021
Pacheca 2012
Pacheca 2016
Pacheca 2017
Pacheca 2019
Quinta do Pego 2015
Quinta do Pego 2016
Quinta do Pego 2020
Quinta da Prelada 2008
Quinta da Prelada 2016
Quinta da Prelada 2020
Quinta da Romaneira 2005
Quinta da Romaneira 2008
Quinta da Romaneira 2016
Quinta da Romaneira 2021
Quinta Seara d’ Ordens 2015
Quinta do Seixo
Sandeman 2019
Quinta Senhora da Ribeira
Dow 1999
Quinta das Tecedeiras 2016
Quinta de Terra Feita
Taylor 2005
Quinta de Terra Feita
Taylor 2008
Quinta de Vargellas
Taylor 2012
Quinta de Vargellas
Taylor 2015
Rozes 2016
Sandeman 2000
Sandeman 2016
Sequeirinha 2020
San Leonardo 2017
Taylor 2003
Vau
Sandeman 2000
Vieira de Sousa 2019

more...

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