1987 Barros de Zeller Vintage Port
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 3:56 pm
I'm excited - I get to participate in my first Virtual Tasting! :) My TN posted in another thread was quite a unique experience. Cristiano van Zeller himself was pouring the Barros de Zellaer Vintage Port - 1987
For this entry I'll include an abbreviated tasting note. You can follow the link to view the full story if you have not seen "A Unique Tasting Experience" already.
-few hours in a decanter may have done this port a better justice, small amounts swirled rigorously in our glasses for 30-45 minutes certainly did a decent job of opening this beauty up.
-fresh, yet mellow nose, hints of blueberries, blackberries and a strong influence of licorice, hint of pipe tobacco, slight presence of a floral aroma, very elegant.
-softer red colour than I have seen in my previous two VPs, thought that it might be approaching a tawny age/colour
-taste yielded fresh berry notes, still young, with a very slight twinge of alcohol, no strong tannins present, and I wrote down "amazing that even freshly decanted, the port is exceptionally mellow and smooth."
-small hint of alcohol present on the back of the palate, not strong and overpowering
-After 30 minutes the alcohol seemed to disappear completely, integrating itself, licorice nose had disappeared, being replaced with a less vibrant fruit nose, smoothness resembled that of a Tawny, but with a youthfulness that reminded me that it was indeed not tawny but a much more fruit-intensive wine.
This port is drinking amazingly well right now. I would feel confident opening 375 or 750s. I also believe that the smoothness has the ability to stick around for at least a decade and may even become finer with greater aging.
I rate this a 7-8 on the Tom scale.
My only complaint is that I had to leave as I was on call and got paged, but not before I purchased a bottle of this exceptional port to open at home. I would like to see the effect that greater decanter time has on the wine.
Todd
This tasting note is one of several related tasting notes. Click [here] to see the original note in context.
For this entry I'll include an abbreviated tasting note. You can follow the link to view the full story if you have not seen "A Unique Tasting Experience" already.
-few hours in a decanter may have done this port a better justice, small amounts swirled rigorously in our glasses for 30-45 minutes certainly did a decent job of opening this beauty up.
-fresh, yet mellow nose, hints of blueberries, blackberries and a strong influence of licorice, hint of pipe tobacco, slight presence of a floral aroma, very elegant.
-softer red colour than I have seen in my previous two VPs, thought that it might be approaching a tawny age/colour
-taste yielded fresh berry notes, still young, with a very slight twinge of alcohol, no strong tannins present, and I wrote down "amazing that even freshly decanted, the port is exceptionally mellow and smooth."
-small hint of alcohol present on the back of the palate, not strong and overpowering
-After 30 minutes the alcohol seemed to disappear completely, integrating itself, licorice nose had disappeared, being replaced with a less vibrant fruit nose, smoothness resembled that of a Tawny, but with a youthfulness that reminded me that it was indeed not tawny but a much more fruit-intensive wine.
This port is drinking amazingly well right now. I would feel confident opening 375 or 750s. I also believe that the smoothness has the ability to stick around for at least a decade and may even become finer with greater aging.
I rate this a 7-8 on the Tom scale.
My only complaint is that I had to leave as I was on call and got paged, but not before I purchased a bottle of this exceptional port to open at home. I would like to see the effect that greater decanter time has on the wine.
Todd
This tasting note is one of several related tasting notes. Click [here] to see the original note in context.