TN: 1985 Martinez Vintage Port

[Al B.]

Decant: 4 hours - Initial impressions after 20 minutes in the decanter.

Crystal clear, mid-red colour holding into the rim, transparent centre. Beautiful smell of strwberry syrup rising out of the glass but with a bit of a dirty / hot tone when you put your nose into the glass. Very poised and elegant in the mouth, some lovely restraint. Lots of fruit, lots of tannins, huge acidity but plenty going on to keep me interested in the way this is going to develop. A bit harsh when you swallow, with the acidity and the alcohol fighting to see which can burn the back of your throat the most, but a great, very long, lingering, chocolate and cherry aftertaste when the fight has finished.

After 2½ hours in the decanter, this port is absolutely wonderful.

On the nose it's got a lovely dusty toned red cherry juice showing. All the heat and harshness from earlier has gone. The elegance and poise on the tongue and in the mouth is still there, but the acidity has eased off a bit. The tannins still show, but are a little more organised and provide structure rather than distraction. And what do they provide structure for? A wonderful combination of sweet, red fruit and some delicious spicy coriander and capiscum.

The aftertaste is certainly a great feature of this port. Lovely black liquorice that just plays around the sides of the tongue and the insides of the cheeks.

This is a wonderful port, one I shall really enjoy and savour over the evening. Scoring - I rate this wine on the current display as 92/100. It may pick up another point later tonight if it continues to put on weight and refinement. 92 points