1987 Taylors Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port

[nicos neocleous]

8) 1987 Taylors – Quinta de Vargellas

I decanted this for 30 minutes, then poured it back into the bottle and served it 4 hours later. Deep red with a pink rim. Fine herbs, with the fairly alcoholic nose giving off strong hints of ripeness, and violets that are characteristic of a fine Taylors Vintage Port. The alcohol was less prominent on the palate, with the sweet Christmas cake mix of homely flavours held up very well by a positive acidic backbone. The concentrated sweetness of the palate was typically more Fonseca than Taylor, which threw me a little. Still youthful, this will be drinking well for at least another 10+ years. With hindsight, this Port needed several hours more in the decanter to open up and for its excellent components to come together. However, it is not an exact science to get the decanting time right, especially when drinking Port in the evening at an offline after work. My most enjoyable sip of this Port was the last one, and the alcohol was less prominent than at the start. I look forward to trying this again in the near future. By the end of the evening, 91+/100.

[Roy Hersh]

Thanks Nicos. I opened one on Thursday that was a bit disappointing. Hotter than normal and showing alcohol more on the finish of the palate than I have ever experienced. This, after a nice long decant. Atypical from my many experiences with this bottling.

We'll both have to try it again.