1992 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port
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- Tom Archer
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1992 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port
An odd bottle from a mixed auction lot bought a couple of years ago.
Decanted a few minutes ago - a very tight cork of length 1.75"
Taking an oblique slice from the inside edge of the cork, I find the wine staining goes no more than 0.5mm into the cork. This, presumably, leaves very little scope for TCA tainting.
Colour very dark, as one expects from Vesuvio; but very little sediment - just a tablespoon of soup.
First sip - mute bouquet, and on the palate - aggressive! - really very fiery, and totally lacking in composure, but not necessarily a bad bottle - a classic 'Kevin' perhaps.
See how it develops..
More anon..
Tom
Decanted a few minutes ago - a very tight cork of length 1.75"
Taking an oblique slice from the inside edge of the cork, I find the wine staining goes no more than 0.5mm into the cork. This, presumably, leaves very little scope for TCA tainting.
Colour very dark, as one expects from Vesuvio; but very little sediment - just a tablespoon of soup.
First sip - mute bouquet, and on the palate - aggressive! - really very fiery, and totally lacking in composure, but not necessarily a bad bottle - a classic 'Kevin' perhaps.
See how it develops..
More anon..
Tom
Alan, why are you surprised?
Taking an oblique slice from the inside edge of the cork, I find the wine staining goes no more than 0.5mm into the cork.
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
- Andy Velebil
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I was wondering the same thing.Alan C wrote:Tom,
Go on, whats a 'kevin'?
Alan
Andy Velebil Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used. William Shakespeare http://www.fortheloveofport.com
- Derek T.
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Alan,
You disappoint me - I can understand why our cousins over the pond would miss this reference but how can you not make the leap between a spotty, brooding, unrefined teenager and the name Kevin? Where were you in the 1990's?
PM me if you still can't get it to avoid further public humiliation :?
Derek
You disappoint me - I can understand why our cousins over the pond would miss this reference but how can you not make the leap between a spotty, brooding, unrefined teenager and the name Kevin? Where were you in the 1990's?
PM me if you still can't get it to avoid further public humiliation :?
Derek
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Todd,
It is an obscure Comic Character from the show, Harry Enfield and his Chums.
TCA is a cork problem. 'Corked' is a term that is used to describe a chemical reaction which causes a wine to be tainted by a substance known as TCA (trichloroanisole) which is found in the lower portion of the bark of cork trees.
Basically, good quality corks come from high up the tree and cheap corks come from areas with thin bark and close to the ground, where TCA is present. When such corks are used they occassionally impart the TCA into the wine causing it to be tainted (Dont they Derek?)
Alan
It is an obscure Comic Character from the show, Harry Enfield and his Chums.
TCA is a cork problem. 'Corked' is a term that is used to describe a chemical reaction which causes a wine to be tainted by a substance known as TCA (trichloroanisole) which is found in the lower portion of the bark of cork trees.
Basically, good quality corks come from high up the tree and cheap corks come from areas with thin bark and close to the ground, where TCA is present. When such corks are used they occassionally impart the TCA into the wine causing it to be tainted (Dont they Derek?)
Alan
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Alan,
Thanks for the help. I did see your earlier reference to Harry Enfield, but thought that just might be more insider stuff! :)
As far as TCA - now I know - thanks! I am sure that as I try more and more VPs I will come across this myself, but hopefully that day is far enough off in the future! 8)
Todd
Thanks for the help. I did see your earlier reference to Harry Enfield, but thought that just might be more insider stuff! :)
As far as TCA - now I know - thanks! I am sure that as I try more and more VPs I will come across this myself, but hopefully that day is far enough off in the future! 8)
Todd
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- Tom Archer
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A slight delay to my reports here due to AOL messing up my computer...
I'm sure we've used the term 'Kevin' before here - oh well...
A day on and the wine has gained a little composure, but to be honest, it looks smells and tastes like a cheap basic Ruby - not a class act in any way. It has an odd - slightly soapy - aftertaste, which is rather unpleasant.
It is very tannic still and a long way short of maturity, but whether it will bloom in a few years time - or just wither away - is hard to judge.
To score:
For immediate gratification, this one of the worst wines I've encountered in recent months - but it is drinkable - so it gets a 1
Where's it going? Hopefully a little better, but I can't see this becoming a star. I'll be optimistic though...
My score: 1-3
Tom
I'm sure we've used the term 'Kevin' before here - oh well...
A day on and the wine has gained a little composure, but to be honest, it looks smells and tastes like a cheap basic Ruby - not a class act in any way. It has an odd - slightly soapy - aftertaste, which is rather unpleasant.
It is very tannic still and a long way short of maturity, but whether it will bloom in a few years time - or just wither away - is hard to judge.
To score:
For immediate gratification, this one of the worst wines I've encountered in recent months - but it is drinkable - so it gets a 1
Where's it going? Hopefully a little better, but I can't see this becoming a star. I'll be optimistic though...
My score: 1-3
Tom
I have to agree with Roy's highlighting of this very strange behaviour. Surely most people would take a straight slice and not an oblique slice?Taking an oblique slice from the inside edge of the cork, I find the wine staining goes no more than 0.5mm into the cork
I've only had this particular Vesuvio vintage once, but I experienced a very different wine. Mine was tannic, dark and brooding (perhaps going through its teenage Goth phase) but had huge volumes of fresh fruits and fully integrated alcohol.
Any idea if the bottle had been spoiled through poor storage? Have you tried any of the other wines from the same parcel?
Alex
- Tom Archer
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I took an oblique slice because I was using a scalpel to get a clean cut - the blade is not big enough to cut through the whole cork.
The bottle was one of six Vesuvios that were sold as a vertical - I've had no problems with the other bottles, and I can't detect any obvious storage related defects.
If the bottle had been labelled 'Cockburn's finest Ruby' there would be no issue!
Tom
The bottle was one of six Vesuvios that were sold as a vertical - I've had no problems with the other bottles, and I can't detect any obvious storage related defects.
If the bottle had been labelled 'Cockburn's finest Ruby' there would be no issue!
Tom
TCA is a cork problem. 'Corked' is a term that is used to describe a chemical reaction which causes a wine to be tainted by a substance known as TCA (trichloroanisole) which is found in the lower portion of the bark of cork trees.
Basically, good quality corks come from high up the tree and cheap corks come from areas with thin bark and close to the ground, where TCA is present. When such corks are used they occassionally impart the TCA into the wine causing it to be tainted (Dont they Derek?)
Athough the above is "partially correct" it is important to know that the cleaning method of equipment and the corks themselves are often to blame for the wine being corked. There have been numerous reports of entire wineries' output being tainted by TCA that had ZERO to do with the cork itself. The list is long but if you want to read for yourself, check out Gallo and Hanzell as just two of many examples, where bleach was blamed for contamination of the winery and the TCA found in their products. In the past, corks were often times bleach tumbled which was believed to sterilize the corks. However it led to the growth of TCA in many batches of corks. That practice is now fortunately, almost extinct.
If you are interested enough and want to learn more, here is a good basic primer on TCA: http://www.winepros.org/wine101/vincyc-tca.htm
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
Yes, hear hear!
A few weeks? YIKES.
A few weeks? YIKES.
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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