Be prepared to be surprised:
(and thanks for sharing your thoughts!)
I was quite surprised when I opened this 375cl bottle of
Warre's Quinta da Cavadinha 1988 VP. I bought it a couple of monts ago for $25 from a trustworthy wine seller.
At first I thought that someone had exchanged the fluid with a tawny, not just because of the color but also because of the smell and taste. Even though I'm very unexperienced with Port, had this been served to me -- blindfolded or not -- I would have guessed it was a young tawny, just as many of you did.
I've tasted a VP from 1991 which was almost as dark and fruity as a young VP, so I can't figure out why and how it had developed this way. Bad vintage?
I decanted it for 6-8 hours but had a small glass before decanting it, which was rich on spirit and "tawny" smell. Almost no fruit as known from ruby types. The decanting didn't help a bit and it was even weaker after decanting and not better in any way than less spirit on the nose. There was a fair amount of sediment but since this is actually my very first "old" VP to open myself, I can't say if there was more or less than would have been expected.
Needless to say I was very dissapointed and even though it's a 375cl bottle I haven't finished it yet. The remaining 15% or so is still in the fridge.
![Image](http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/9264/thebottle31ch1.jpg)