For The Love Of Port

Hi all,
I will open soon two bottles :
Taylor Fladgate Vargellas 2001 (375ml)
Fonseca Guimaraens 1998 (375ml)
They will probably drink up in 2 hours. How much carafe time do you think they would need?

I'd say you can decant 1-2 hours before service. I had Vargellas pop and pour recently and it was already very good!

I'd go a little longer than Frederick... maybe 3-4 hours. I suspect that the Ports will show best between 4 and 6 hours after opening.

Neither 1998 nor 2001 is a classic vintage, but they're still pretty young so I think they still need a pretty decent decant.

I am on the side with Glenn on this for an event. Those bottles will be gone in no time so they need be ready at first sip.

I pop and pour virtually everything. Even an hour or two in has its merit. I don't think that is phase you arm aiming for on this occasion.

Finally I wrote this question too late because I already opened the bottles.
The bottles were opened a little less than 3 hours before the start of the tasting. Everything was drunk 2 hours later, so between 3 and 5 hours.
The Fonseca remained stable from start to finish but the Taylor seemed more floral (and interesting) after 3 or 4 hours. On the other hand, the Ports were probably too hot towards the end since we were in a fairly hot room.
According to my tastes, the Ports are perfect now. Despite everything, they were still in very good shape (especially for the Taylor) and should be good for a good 10 years (even for 375ml which surprised me slightly).

Thanks for the answers.