1997 Quinta do Noval Silval Vintage Port
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 9:20 pm
After the discussion where 1997's came up I thought it would be appropriate to open a 1997 and check in to see how this almost 19 year old VP is doing....for educational purposes only 
"Emergency" decanted for 3 hours. The color is mostly still a dark ruby that is just starting to show some age to it. The nose is quite pruney and straight forward. The bing cherries on the palate aren't very sweet and the tannins are mostly resolved with just a light amount still noticeable. The palate is pretty straight forward Bing cherries and a layer of menthol lingering in the background and the acidity is fairly light with just enough to keep this from being overtly sweet. There is some pepper that shows up the moderately long, but simple, finish. My overall impression is of a decent VP that hasn't reached maturity yet, but at the same time lacks complexity to make this a compelling long term ager. I'd say this still has a good 8-10 years before reaching full maturity. But at the same time, as I mentioned, I'm not sure lasting that long is such a good idea given the overall lack of complexity which will only magnify with age.
88 Points
"Emergency" decanted for 3 hours. The color is mostly still a dark ruby that is just starting to show some age to it. The nose is quite pruney and straight forward. The bing cherries on the palate aren't very sweet and the tannins are mostly resolved with just a light amount still noticeable. The palate is pretty straight forward Bing cherries and a layer of menthol lingering in the background and the acidity is fairly light with just enough to keep this from being overtly sweet. There is some pepper that shows up the moderately long, but simple, finish. My overall impression is of a decent VP that hasn't reached maturity yet, but at the same time lacks complexity to make this a compelling long term ager. I'd say this still has a good 8-10 years before reaching full maturity. But at the same time, as I mentioned, I'm not sure lasting that long is such a good idea given the overall lack of complexity which will only magnify with age.
88 Points