For The Love Of Port

Glenn told me 4 hours was a good decant time, so 4 hours it has been...

Hard to see the color as room is a bit dark but appears to be more of along the lines of a redish 10 year tawny. The nose is full of dried strawberries, eucalyptus, old leather, and dried oleander. It's a rather light/medium weight on the palate. Dried strawberries, fully resolved tannins, with a pronounced cocoa which shows up mid-palate and lingers throughout the moderate finish. The finish brought forth some lovely acidity that helps add some perceived complexity on the back end. If this bottle is representative, it's a fully mature and ready to drink VP. These will make a nice "house VP" for me. I'd recommend consuming these within the next few years for best results.
88 Points

Sounds familiar! I've been scoring them higher (~91) but your note sounds spot on for a good bottle. I've seen some bottle variation, but even the "off" bottles have been very tasty... just not what you'd expect them to taste like.

It will be interested reading what people think of these. I've seen the bottle variation too. However, delicious for current drinking and a decent plateau too. Love that mocha essence that is impossible to miss.

First bottle I've opened so will report back if/when I notice any variations in bottles.

And yes, I found that cocoa (or mocha for you) as an odd ball in it, in a good way. Usually I don't see that flavor in a mature VP. It usually is in much younger and primary VP's so it caught me off guard...I like when that happens in a Port.

I get the cocoa/mocha in all 3 of the Souzas from the buying op (87, 95, 97), but it does seem to be most prominent in the 87 (and weakest in the 97).

Yep, that is definitely the case, Glenn.

Cocoa ... mocha ... kind of splitting hairs. But we all do get different aromas/flavors from these.