1997 Quinta do Tedo Vintage Port

[Glenn E.]

Purchased on closeout at my local grocery store for $22/bottle. Has been a great QPR so far!

This bottle, though, looked wrong from the start. When I extracted the cork I was drawn to a Port-colored line that ran the length of the cork. Upon closer inspection it appears that the cork was flawed, and while the bottle hadn't leaked yet it was almost certainly going to be a leaker in the future. Sure enough, when decanted the Port looked thin and very light for such a young VP. It looks more like a 10-yr old Tawny than a 14-yr old VP.

Still... it smelled okay so I thought it worth a try.

1997 Quinta do Tedo Vintage Port

Color: Medium red, some orange. Almost tawny - looks very much like a 10-yr old tawny.
Nose: A bit spirity with some very present spearmint or possibly wintergreen. Also tea (like Lipton's). Fruit is subdued.
Palate: Bordering on hot, lots of spirit, that same mint from the nose, and finally some fruits. But the fruits are secondary or oxidized, again making me think of a 10-yr old Tawny or Colheita. The mint takes on a medicinal tone when combined with the fruits.
Finish: Starts with a sharp edge and more of the mint, then fades and lingers for quite a while. The sharp edge never completely goes away, though, making the finish below average.

Score: 77 points. This is fair at best, and while I probably won't pour it out there's an excellent chance that I'll cook with it rather than drink it. (In fact I already used half a cup to make a Port reduction to go with dinner's steaks tonight.) I strongly suspect that this is an off bottle due to a flawed cork, but I can't really pinpoint anything wrong with it other than the fact that it seems prematurely aged.