1998 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port

[Andy Velebil]

On it's 25th birthday, decided to check in on this one. Still an abnormally dark ruby for a 1998 VP. Youthful dark fruits have not yet started their transition into secondary flavors. Some medium tannins still holding on. Could use a little more in the acidity and complexity departments, but still very enjoyable. A medium finish full of fresh berries and a touch of spirit. 1998 was a tough year and this is one of the better examples from it. There's no rush to drink these, as the fruit is still so young, it just lacks a bit in the complexity department. At 25 yrs old, I'll call this one a medium+ ager. Fun to drink now and perhaps over the next 10-15 yrs. But when that youthful fruit starts fading the complexity will most likely also drop off even more. At that point it will just depend on what profile you like your VP's to have.
89 Points

[Glenn E.]

The one we had 3 years ago in our mini vertical of 1994-1998 was the least favorite of that tasting, but I still gave it 93. I think Vesuvio is just another one of those producers whose style suits me, along with Graham and Fonseca.

I think this point of yours: "There's no rush to drink these, as the fruit is still so young, it just lacks a bit in the complexity department" is spot on. Especially when tasted in a vertical, it just lacks a little bit of complexity compared to the others. That doesn't mean it is simple, just that it just isn't quite as complex as its siblings.