Question: How can you tell a young VP has star potential?

[Im a Dad]

What are the characteristics, e.g., balance, complexity, that you look for to determine if a young Vintage Port is built to be a winner over the long-term?

[Roy Hersh]

In most cases, the dynamic I look for first and foremost is balance. Except for Taylor's I can not think of another producer who can make a wine that is out of synch when young ... only to find that nearing twenty years old, the ship can avoid the iceberg. Taylor has a remarkable way of doing that.

But BALANCE normally is a great character to seek out. The balance of fruit, acidity and structural components is the key.

Having a solid underpinning of tannins is what I seek out for determining the longevity of the wine and to a lesser degree, the acidity as well.