For The Love Of Port

On March 1st 11 of us gathered in New York City for a Q. do Vesuvio vertical, all wines came out of a gorgeous commemorative box. A very fun night with a few surprises--I've not had many Vesuvios before so welcomed getting to know the house. The 1994, 1992 and 1995 were the stars of the Vertical with the 1989 the clear loser (pine resin flavors in Port not good). One thing I noted was the wine color, while other brands tend towards magenta or crimson rims; these Vesuvios definitely were rose colored, with the rims various shades of pale red rose. And the first 3 were faded out much more than the balance. Overall, the weight of this brand is moderate and many come off with a light candy flavor.

After we had three 375s, a 1975 Kopke Colheita (marvelous), a 1994 Smith Woodhouse VP (Showed well for a pop and poor) and a Portal 10 Year White Tawny (Easy drinker).

1989 Quinta do Vesuvio Rose petal rim, deeper red rose core. Aroma was tawnyish, a little astringent with a plastic note. Lightly sweet but the wine is polluted by a smokey pine resin quality. We discussed how pressed in whole bunches with grape stems. N/R

1990 Quinta do Vesuvio Rose to brownish color and a tawnyish nose. Moderate to light weight for a Port, candied almonds and a hint stewy. 91 points

1991 Quinta do Vesuvio Clear rim of faded orange-red. Slightly opaque. Allspice and pepper comes through on nose. A very subtle Port with a lovely soft finish with a candy profile. 92 points

1992 Quinta do Vesuvio Deep red rose color with barely a clear rim. Noise is sweet with a candyish raisin quality. Super soft and subtle, lovely mouth feel. Hints of strawberry and cooked kumquats with an occasional hint of white pepper. Really in a good sport right now. 94 points

1994 Quinta do Vesuvio WOTN for me and group. Broodingly dark and deep red purple. Aromas of mashed grape and dark berries. Violets and aged blackberry with cassis. Finish has a hint o chocolate. Fruit is still very prominent and should be aged a lot longer--but what a great one. 95 points

1995 Quinta do Vesuvio Another bruiser that is squid ink. Touches of baked dark cherry on the nose. Strawberry and blackberry compote with a candied finish. Quite nice but suffers by following the 1994. 94 points

1996 Quinta do Vesuvio Slightly faded out wine with a dry tight nose. Moderate to light is weight; it has a candyish yet subtle soft finish. 91 points

1997Quinta do Vesuvio Brownish red color with a small orange sherbet rim. Another tight nose. For the youngest of the bunch its aging compares as accelerated. Light strawberry with a long yet uneventful finish. Overall OK. 89 points

Sounds like a great tasting!

The '92 is practically a ringer in a tasting because it's so good and you don't expect it. Conventional wisdom typically says that Vesuvio "starts" with the '94, but the '92 is superb and belongs in any discussion with the '94 and '95.

Speaking of which, the '95 would probably be the "legendary" Vesuvio if it hadn't followed '94.

Agree totally about 94-95. But would love to have some 95s nonetheless. These two would have set their status though .....as a one hit wonder does not have the same impact as a repeat hit... exponential results. Wish I had taken a picture of the box.... just beautiful.

Your comments about the older ones being a bit mature and stewed is, generally, spot on. The first few vintages were stored in the Douro without cooling and as a result do suffer from some "Douro bake". It is also why the bottles were waxed over, as a way to reduce issues caused by a fear of corks drying out from being stored in the Douro (I haven't seen any significant dried out corks, so suspect that ended up not being an issue).

Regardless, the first few vintages have never been great and are really more of a study in what happens when a company takes over a property and has to renovate things to improve the product. The fun part of tasting them is experiencing the improvements each vintage. And on the historical note, 1991 was the first vintage they installed cooling blankets in the lagars to control the temperature during fermentation.

I'll stop with 1992. This never seemed to show all that well when younger. I had a bottle some years ago and it had made this amazing turn around and has become a fantastic bottle as you experienced.

Many corks where breaking apart during extraction as they were dry--problematic as no one brought a Durand.

One person said the 1989 was pressed with all stems as well.

John M. wrote:Agree totally about 94-95. But would love to have some 95s nonetheless. These two would have set their status though .....as a one hit wonder does not have the same impact as a repeat hit... exponential results. Wish I had taken a picture of the box.... just beautiful.

Stolen from Jeff's Facebook feed, does this look familiar:

Yes!!!

Wish I could've joined, sounded like a fun event. I am going to look at your notes and figure out which Vesuvio's to try next!

Sounds like an amazing tasting, very cool!

Agreed. This is a great tasting!

I've had the 89, 91, 94, 95 & 97 all within the last 2 years. And I find myself having similar grades and experience as you John.

The 1989 is just "cooked" and seems lifeless to me. To much bake and smell/taste of preserved meat.

1991 is young and still vibrant, drinking well but still has gas left in the tank

1994 well no point discussing that. One of the best VPs made in the last 30 years

1995 is very under the radar. It tastes great right now. Still fruity but is very voluptuous and sneaky good.

Where we differ is on the 1997. I've tasted it in my club just 1 month ago and we all found it delicious. For sure it is more advanced in maturity than the 1994 and perhaps even the 1995, but very tasty none the less. I actually just picked up 4 bottles of it.

Great tasting! I agree with Thomas. I suspect that the 1997 is an off bottle. I had it somewhat recently and thought it had really come around and was FINALLY starting to drink well. For many years it was quite angry and closed.