1972 Offley Boa Vista Vintage Port

[Al B.]

Decant: 4 hours - A bottle that had clearly been cellared on its side, with good fill, good colour and a sound cork. Solid sediment remained in the bottle. Gorgeous burnt sienna colour, looking to be at perfect maturity. Very restrained nose, showing some faint floral perfume and a rather unpleasant soapiness. Sweet entry, perhaps a touch cloying, rather hollow and with a bitter soapy edge to the tongue. Bitterness is the dominating sensation. The fruit presence is light, the tannins are resolved to nothing but a faint dustiness; overall, not a great palate. A touch of heat on the aftertaste, before a delicious aniseed dominated finish of decent length - the finish is easily the best feature of this wine. This wine did improve in the glass and the impression after 4 hours was much better than after 1 hour. 79 points