For The Love Of Port

Opened for the Sept/Oct 2017 Virtual Tasting and shared with my Starfinder gaming group.

Very likely the worst condition I've ever encountered from a "young" VP cork - it never occurred to me to use a Durand, but I'm not even sure that would have saved it. A normal corkscrew simply pulled the center of the cork straight out almost without moving the rest of the cork at all. Then used the Durand's ah-so portion, but that simply crushed and shredded more of the dry and crumbling cork. What I managed to remove was nearly the consistency of sawdust, though in slightly larger pieces. (Think Grape Nuts size with some finer sawdust-sized material mixed in.) The largest pieces were maybe the size of peas... everything else that came out was in tiny bits and pieces. Eventually I just pushed the rest into the bottle so I could decant.

Luckily the bad cork didn't seem to have affected the Port, at least not in any dramatic way.

1994 Vesuvio VP

Color: Dark magenta and garnet. Still very purple, but no longer opaque.

Nose: Fruity and lively, though no longer boisterous or lodgey. Plenty of darker notes as well, including some faint plum and anise. Possibly also some blueberry? Vaguely floral as well, though not enough to pick out a specific type of flower.

Palate: First impression - superb balance, a rich and nicely maturing VP. Lots of purple brambles (especially mulberry), some anise (Lisa said licorice and I couldn't argue other than I don't like licorice but can tolerate anise), some blueberry. The tannins seem a little light, but are still present and moderately grippy. Easy to drink, but in a way that makes you aware that it isn't yet fully mature.

Score: 94 points. I feel like this could have been a point or two higher, but that the bad cork may have contributed to some very slight premature aging. That said, even this bottle had another 5-10 years of aging left. Past bottles with better corks have felt like they had another 20 years left in them.

Sounds like the cork was totally dried out. How long have you had it?

Glad the rest of it showed so well despite the cork.

I'm not completely certain which purchase this came from, though I'm pretty sure it's one of two. (The third six-pack has been in a different fridge for several years.) Regardless, I've only had the bottles for a couple of years but I'm pretty confident of their former handling.

I have a vague memory of the last one I opened having a similar (but not as dramatic) issue, though. I'll keep track of the last 2 bottles from that six-pack and see what they're ultimately like.

I've had one of these crumbles from the inside corks before in a wine, and ended up just pouring through the hole in the cork. As I recall, the cork otherwise looked fine, and was on a relatively young bottle that was stored on its side for as long as I had it. At the time I suspected the cork itself was the issue and not the storage.

This a port that I bought off the shelf not so long ago so I am quite interested in the condition of the cork as it too may have been stored upright and have a drier than normal cork. I suspect that a crumbly cork is not necessarily an issue unless it has allowed more air than normal to pass through. More worrisome I would think is a normal cork that is TCA affected. I have of course laid down my bottles but am mindful that my bottles may not have seen the best of storage and hence may require drinking earlier than better stored examples. In any case your bottle still sounds like it is a delicious port, elegant and balanced.

Cheers ..................... Mahmoud.