Decant advice for Vesuvio VP 1997

[Paul_B]

Hello port lovers,

after considering, the Roriz 2003, Niepoort 1997, I finally settled on opening for some friends the Vesuvio 1997.
Hopefully, I made the right choice and its in good shape. My cellar temp fluctuates between summer and winter. I have this one for many years, purchased near release from government liquor store. If it turns out bad I'll fall back to one of the others named.
I was planning on 1 hr of decant, what would be the recommended decant time?

Thanks
Paul

[Andy Velebil]

I’d go much longer than 1 hour. About 7-8 hours would be a good starting range.

[Paul_B]

oooh ok, better get started then...
thanks!
Paul

[Andy Velebil]

oooh ok, better get started then...
thanks!
Paul

Yes

[Eric Menchen]

I’d go much longer than 1 hour. About 7-8 hours would be a good starting range.

I agree with Andy, and hope this worked out for you. That's a powerful and tasty wine in my experience.

[Paul_B]

Hey
yes I owe you all an update. I did manage to get more in the range of 5-6 hours of decant but I was pressed for time.
I know this isn't the tasting notes section of the forum but the bottle was totally fresh and I would say still young at 26yrs old. Amazing integration and truly enjoyable. Mid-sweet and long finish with a nice nose, no issues anywhere. I was worried it would be past its prime as I said my cellar isn't the best, but wow, highly recommended now or even hold 5-10 more years easily. Amazing value as this was not an expensive bottle back then. Very little sediment and deposit. Just the cork crumbled as I pulled it. SO I had to pass the wine through a coffee filter. Not the first time that 25+ year old corks don't handle the standard pull. I may need to explore the hot tong or the Durand as my VPs are getting older.
The guests loved it but one fellow brought a 2007 Sauterne from his cellar so the some folks drank Sauterne and some drank VP. Which I was fine with as it left more VP for the next few days for me. I would say it drank well for a good week or more before showing decline which was in fact just the alcohol seeming more present or overly present.
Thanks to all who helped.
Paul

[Andy Velebil]

Thanks for the update and glad you liked it. It is a very good VP. As for the cork. The late 1990’s to early 2000’s had horrible corks for virtually all wines, not just port. They seal fine but when you use a normal corkscrew the whole middle just explodes into a million little pieces. Use an Ah-So or Durand helps a lot.