1991 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port

[Philip Harvey]

Quinta do Vesuvio 1991 Vintage Port - 25th May 2006



Decanted at 7.30am, a dull dark ruby/crimson with just a hint of wine gums on the nose at this stage. A small sip showing sweet fat fruit and a slightly medicinal note, reminiscent of cherry flavoured Tunes.

12 hrs – A very muted nose still but with some plums and spice starting to show through. First taste proper reveals a massive wine – very concentrated, very thick and sweet with huge chewy damson and sour cherry fruit. This is very unctuous, fat and concentrated but the finish seems short and a distinct lack of grip makes it feel unbalanced at this stage. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

36hrs – Much more evolved now. Those spicy tannins are really starting to show through and I am glad to feel a bit of grip and ‘bite’ at last. The finish is now really quite spicy (white pepper) which is a relief as this wine badly needs something to balance that mass of sweet fruit. I need to brush my teeth!

Overall – I guess this wine may just be going through a ‘dumb teenager’ phase at the moment but reading between the lines, this feels like a great ‘terroir’ doing its plucky best in an average vintage. However, it just seems to lack the tannic backbone needed for the long haul and in the meantime, the massive sweet ‘damson jam’ style is not for me.

It would be good to hear from anyone else who has tasted the QdV 91 recently and compare notes.

Philip