All the ‘5s’ (and a few more) - MTRC Port Dinner 2025

Having missed a year in 2024 we resume our annual dinner with the ‘5’ theme this year. There is a pattern that years ending in ‘5’ have tended to be abnormally hot, and often extremely dry in recent years. 2025 was no exception and I am led to believe that we can look forward to some rather fabulous wines in 2027. But for now, we gathered together wines from 2015 back to 1935 (with only the 1960s missing). We cheated by including a 1970 (at least it is divisible by ‘5’). Some of my notes are rather more brief than normal due to the fact that I was tasting the wines and talking about them at the same time. My thanks to everyone who contributed a bottle (or more) of Port for this year’s MTRC Port dinner.

Cockburn 2015 ****

From a hot, dry year in the Douro which happened to coincide with Cockburn’s bicentenary. Fully declared by some shippers, with especially good wines made in the Douro Superior from where this wine mostly originates (Quinta dos Canais): still deep in hue with a lovely soft ripe, fleshy character, sweet and stylish with that ‘marmalade’ character that is so much part of Cockburn’s DNA. Proof that this house is back on form under the Symington’s ownership. Still youthful, drink from 2035. 17.5

Dow Quinta Senhora da Ribeira 2005 ***/****

Another hot, drought year which shows in this wine from the Douro Superior: mid-deep in colour with rich but rather pruney fruit on the nose, sweet in style for Dow, illustrating the ripeness of the year yet well-defined with a firm finish. Drink now and over the next 20 years. 16.5

Fonseca Guimareans 1995 ***/****

Yet another hot year and an early harvest which finished by the end of September (now seemingly the norm): hot country fruit on the nose (unsurprisingly with some many raisinised grapes in 1985), rich and broad if mid-weight, fruit slightly cooked and pruney on the palate and on to the finish. Now – 2040 16.5

Hooper 1985 *

Richard Hooper & Sons are part of Royal Oporto who, it is fair to say, were not on top form in the 1980s. This wine has a label commemorating the 50th Anniversary Battle of Britain. Pale tawny in colour, woody and hollow on the nose, soft and fully mature with just a dusting of tannin. Correct (better than some ‘85s which are volatile and faulty) but washed out on the finish. Sadly this is going nowhere – drink up! 11

Martinez 1985 ***/****

Martinez was a subsidiary of Cockburn at the time and it is generally agreed that they made a better wine than the parent house in what has turned out to be a very variable vintage: still mid- deep in colour, soft cherry fruit retaining some depth, sweet, mid-weight with a good linear finish. Drink now – 2035 16.5

Graham 1977 ****

This wine was generously added to the list at the last minute to make up for the faulty Ramos Pinto 1945 (below): now quite pale in colour, light and lifted on the nose with obvious Graham’s sweetness and style, not fleshy but gentle, linear and elegant. Probably one of the best ‘77s but quite forward. Drink over the next 15 years. 17.5

Taylor 1975 ***

This was another hot year in Portugal, both climatically and politically in that it coincided with the height of the revolution: now looking quite pale, slightly lifted on the nose with some nice minty ripeness, sweet and retaining some backbone though fully mature. Drink fairly soon – over the next ten years. 16

Sandeman 1970 ****

Perhaps the last ‘traditional’ Port vintage before things changed dramatically in the next decade. Sandeman, already owned by multinational Seagram, was on the wane having made some fantastic wines in the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s. Quite pale for a 1970, elegant and a bit high toned on the nose, soft and gentle with rather medicinal cherry fruit, some grip but lacking the power and depth characteristic of the 1970s, elegant mid-palate but attenuated on the finish. 17

Martinez 1955 ****

From a lovely vintage, widely declared and well received, producing wines with staying power: retaining good depth of colour for a seventy-year-old wine, sweet and still quite voluptuous in style, showing depth with firm tannins mid-palate and lovely, defined length of flavour. 18

Ramos Pinto 1945

1945 was a stupendous year for Port, declared the ‘victory vintage’. Sadly this bottle was badly ullaged and there seemed to be no cork on penetrating the lead seal. The wine was pale amber, still sweet but far from what you would expect for a wine from this year. No mark.

Cockburn 1935 (Bottled by Jeffersons of Whitehaven, Cumbria) *****

I was reminded by the donor that we enjoyed this wine at the same Port dinner back in 2008. It dates from a time when Cockburn was one of the leading producers of vintage Port (which they have now returned to being) and a lovely Port vintage with the declaration split between 1934 and 1935: still retaining good mid-deep colour; beautiful nose with classic fragrant, floral aromas; ripe, sweet, still firm with power and depth, leading to a fine bitter-sweet finish. Very elegant and remarkable at 90 years of age. Unsurprisingly it was voted the top wine of the night. 19