1985 Osborne Vintage Port

[Mike Kerr]

This one drank over two days.

Decanted at 9:30pm
Cork broke off and had to be pushed in. Colour is a slightly tawny shade of a light strawberry jam. Rubbing alcohol on the nose with oak; kind of earthy...figgy. Rubbing alcohol seems to be overpowering other scents. A tad hot, but bright. Earthy, oaky flavours, but surprisigly light on the midpalate with bright berries and figs. Slight permeation of alcohol through the tasting though. Finish is medium to long, but not really tannic at all. Vibrant is a word that comes to mind, but not sure its the right word. 80

12:30am - 3 hours decanted
Still some alcohol on the nose, a little more earthy. Colour is more opaque, but still fairly light and jammy, perhaps a little more towards a tawny. I can see some sediment clouding in the glass. Still a twinge hot. Juicy, fruity, bright, but not extremely complex. Some pears or peaches, some apple. Pretty spicy now. Finish is long and spicy. Maybe not as long as the '80 Graham's was, but I believe this is spicier. I really look forward to how this will taste without the rubbing alcohol on the nose and palate. Will have good dreams tonight in anticipation... 83

12:30pm - 15 hours decanted
Alcohol nose pretty much gone...surprised there's still some lingering. Additional faint aroma of licorice. Colour is the same as my jar of strawberry jam (Smuckers). Juicy, fruity, fairly straight-forward. Can't say much of a change from last night. 84

6:30pm - 21 hours decanted
Colour is a touch more opaque than the strawberry jam. Pruny nose, berries. More berry than before. What I mistook for an alcoholly presence on the nose is actually more a floral scent than alcohol. More velvetty texture. First taste is of chocolate, touch of licorice, apple, pears, figs, maybe a hint of walnut somewhere in there. More earthy than before. The taste, even with the chocolate, is still pretty bright. Start of the finish seems more powerful, making me think the finish had gotten longer, but it petered out quicker than I would have thought with the same overall length as before. I have to say that although I think it's not an extremely complex wine (comparing to the Graham's '80 I had a few weeks ago), this has markedly improved since this morning, in my opinion. I'm surprised it took this long to open up though. 88

9:30pm - 24 hours decanted
Berries, figs, chocolate, and nuts on the nose. More earthy. Jammy flavour, chocolate has moved to the mid-palate. Nuttiness is a little more pronounced. Still fruity, but getting more mellow. I don't think it tastes as sweet as it did anymore, or the berries are getting a little bitter. Not bad, but losing some of the brighter flavours. Not sure it can get more acidic as it breathes, but it seems that way. Past its decanted prime, in my opinion. 83

I've heard Osborne has made great strides in the past decade in VP's. For older vintages pre-90, using this '85 as a benchmark, I'd say I would rate this as a QPR. It was a good port and was at least $30 cheaper than other ports from the early-mid 80's. Personally, if I'm going to grab something 20+ years I'm more likely to pay the extra to get a classic. But in a pinch, this would be a good standby. I would say it's probably got five more years on it, but I'm not a good judge of ageing. I'd buy another to have on-hand.

Mike.

[Al B.]

Mike,

Thanks for the notes - it is interesting to see how long it seems to take for a decanted VP even with 18 years of bottle age to hits its drinking peak.

Alex