Opened and decanted from 750ml. Lost the bottom 1/4 of the cork, and managed to push that into the bottle....soldiering on! The color is purple, but nowhere near the dark purple of some of the younger ports I have sampled thus far (I'm four ports into my madness.)
The rim is more of a pinkish hue than "bricked". This wine has some serious legs that remind me of a high residual sugar dessert wine.Initial Taste: Nose is a bit hot with some fruit hiding underneath. In the mouth, this is medium weight, good dark fruit, quickly masked by the heat. Somewhat long, hot finish, with some tannic coating on the teeth.
2 hours: The heat has mellowed out considerably. The aroma consists mostly of cherries and plum. On the tongue the wine has gained significant weight, fully delivering a cherry and blackberry burst, followed by well integrated spirit and a medium-long finish. I don't have much vintage port experience, but this one from a lesser house certainly provides an excellent view into the pleasure a good vintage port can provide. Hard to tell if I am cutting off the development of this wine, as this taste is significantly more weighty and full of fruit than the taste I had at the wine shop (of course, that bottle had likely been open for a bit.)
More to come.....
+48 hours: This one is still delivering just fine. Rather than bursting, the fruit has "matured" a little bit. Still very powerful, just not bursty. Solid plum and cherry with some orange in the background. The finish is a bit hotter than before. We are really enjoying this one after a nice dinner.
Rich