1970 Taylor Vintage Port

[Lindsay E.]

This Taylor label says bottled 1972 by the Savoy Hotel, London.

Nose: mellow strawberry and cherry fruits. a few hours later, on swirling I got notes of shaved carrots, VA and raspberries/blackberries and cream. Day 2, some black cherry, eucalyptus, and some cigar box (both the wood and the tobacco) followed by more strawberry.

Palate: Hard red candies, lightweight. Day 2: picked up weight, but there is almost a slight numbness on the palate at times. This has superbly electric acidity throughout.

Finish: Plenty of tannins. This wine was still vibrant but not youthful. It has an overall burn, but not as intense as cinnamon red hots.

The lasts 2 times I've had this wine, I've been torn with whether to guzzle it on pop 'n pour or to let it open up. The expression of fruit is so clean and pure on the pop 'n pour! Sure, the mouth-feel adds weight over 6+ hours and the fruit mellows allowing that cigar box to come through, but I don't know if one is preferable to the other. The decant is probably the more "honest expression" but the pop 'n pour is so delicious...even if it's a tad bit more one dimensional.

Points: I'm 94pts on the pop, and 93 after the decant