1945 Sandeman VP

[John Danza]

Brought to a dinner by a friend. I don't know anything about provenance. Oporto bottled in 1947. Decanted 5 hours before service (too long?).

Light brink red in the glass. Alcohol heat still intense. Any sweetness is masked by the alcohol heat. Flavors of raspberry and cooked rhubarb.

After about 15 minutes in the glass, the alcohol heat thankfully dissipated by about 90%. This allowed the chocolate to come out and the mouthfeel to get a bit more dense.

Overall, a pretty interesting trial. This was my first 1945 VP. I was underwhelmed based on what I have read about wines from the vintage. I know the wines are 77 years old now, but I suspect the better producers such as Fonseca, Taylor, and Graham will show better with properly stored bottles.

[Andy Velebil]

At that age for VP, it does become a bit of a coin toss if you get an amazing bottle or an average bottle. So many factors come into play after being stored for that long.

[Glenn E.]

Yeah at 77 years old bottle variation is pretty huge. The big names are still more likely to show well, but it can be pretty random. That's why I prefer to save those few bottles that I have which are that old for big tastings. That way I'm likely to get to taste a few good bottles to go along with the bad ones, or at least that's the theory.

[Moses Botbol]

Sandeman was on point back then, so good chance of it being decent assuming the storage.