For The Love Of Port

Purchased six bottles in London in 1998 and had four left. Been stored stable in my temperature controlled cellar since purchase. Noted from Dirk Niepoorts visit to Roy in May that he was not pleased with the developments of his VP 94 and 97 and I decided to drink them during this autumn. Decanted 5 hrs. Slightly oxidized. Medium red colour with a significant touch of brown. Aroma dominated by coffee, wood, flowers and some spirit. Medium body. Taste is in the beginning weak with some fruit, middle part OK, then sharp towards the end with acceptable tannins. Still more spirit than preferred even after several more hours in the decanter. This vintage port is not out of balance, but I got the impression that it is on the way to fall apart. 83 pts.

Sadly Niepoort had an issue with V.A. (Volatile Acidity) in their Vintage Ports. According to Dirk, who is very open about the issue, stated it started showing up circa 1985 thru 1997. Sometimes it shows more than other times so you may end up with a good showing bottle or varying degrees of off bottles. I've had a couple stellar 1997 VP's and some that were so badly tainted with VA they were undrinkable.