For The Love Of Port

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

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

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

Paul_B wrote:oooh ok, better get started then...
thanks!
Paul

Yes

Andy Velebil wrote: ↑Sat Nov 18, 2023 12:46 pm 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.

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

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.