For The Love Of Port

All,

Decanted my first bottle of this SQP, and was surprised by how strong the smell of alcohol was when first opened. I poured a small taste and let it sit for about 90 minutes in a glass. When I did taste it, I was again surprised, but at how smooth and fruity it was, in contrast to what I expected when I first opened it.

My next step is to decant it again, back into the original bottle, and cap it again (is currently capped) with a VacuVin top. Unsure if I will let it stay in a dark cupboard (my house is probably 60-65 degrees), or place it into the refrigerator. Expect to drink it all in the next few days (also looking to see how long it can last before it really falls apart).

All in all, it was good, but hoping will peak over the next 2-3 days.....

John

I've seen this in the shops in the UK quite often recently. It will be interesting to follow your notes over the next few days.

Have you read Roy's thread on how to store port once opened so as to give it the best chance of lasting that you can? If not, I'll try and do a search for the thread for you.

Alex

Alex,

Roy's thread is the first place I have ever heard that, so I am going to take a good taste tomorrow night and then see how things are progressing......

Still unsure about the refrigerator thing, but Roy knows more than I do.....

john

Day 3: I think, as I learn/train my palate, that I am a fan of port that has been opened for a few days, as it seems to me that this port is getting "softer" and more pleasureable as the days progress. I think what I need to do more, is when I pour a glass, to let it sit for quite some time before I drink it. Tonight I let it sit for about 90 minutes before I drank it, and I think it could have sat longer (but unsure if this really helps...)

John

PS Have been using a Vacu Vin topper (the Vintage Port site gave me the idea). Although I have read in some places where they do not work, so I am running that experiment too.....

PPS I have been told by a local wine merchant that Single Quinta ports actually hold themselves together longer than true vintage ports, but not as long as LBV's and Tawny's. Is this true?

John,

I don't have a lot of experience in drinking tawny's so can't really comment how a single quinta wine holds together compared to those, but basically what you have been told is generally true - but not for the reason that you've been given.

The reason that a single quinta wine holds together longer than a true VP is purely that of the age that they are drunk. Generalising horribly, VP will normally be drunk at an older age than a single quinta wine. Generally, younger port will hold together longer than older port. Hence - generally - single quinta port will generally last longer than VP.

However, if you were to make a comparison of like for like wines - say a Vesuvio 1991 single quinta port against a Grahams 1991 VP then you would see a difference in how they hold together, but that would be from the quality of the wine and winemaking style, not from the fact that one was a Single Quinta and one was not.

As an aside, I would suspect that Tawny's and LBV's hold together longer than VP or SQVP simply because part of their maturation process involves controlled exposure to oygen through their barrel maturation phase.

Alex

Alex,

That makes total sense to me..... I thank you, another fact about port that I did not know. I am waiting to see how the entire bottle goes before making a decision to buy more bottles of it.... So far, so good.

john