TN: 1995 Taylor Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port

[Al B.]

Decant: 0 hours - From a freshly opened bottle, served by the glass. Deep red in colour, opaque centre, still some hints of purple or plum on the rim. Nose quite closed, smelling faintly of blackcurrants. Floral into the mouth, lots of bramble fruit and sweet blackcurrants in the mid palate. Sweet liquorice development and a balanced, acidic structure. The tannins are present, but well hidden behind a mass of fruit that grows bigger the longer the hold the wine in your mouth. Smooth as it slides down with the alcohol suprisingly well integrated for such a young wine straight from the bottle, before a quick tingle on the lips and cheeks followed by a milk chocolate aftertaste. Very pleasant, but still so young. Although enjoyable, this is probably below the average of the bottles that I expect to drink this year so I will rate it 3 for current drinking. However, I do feel that this has a lot more potential and in 10 years will be drinking better - perhaps much better - so I will rate it as a 5 for drinking in 10 years time with the footnote that I may be a little harsh here. 88 points