1996 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port

[Andy Velebil]

Only 65 pipas produced. Very dark with only some very slight fading at the edge. A very smooth and silky palate with lots of cedar/cigar box and some really nice floralness. The only thing lacking is its a little short on tannins and the finish is also a little short. This is a good now drinker (or for short term cellaring). 91 points.
10/05/06

[Roy Hersh]

We need to open one of these and give it some air time and I think you'd find this Vesuvio more dense and intense than it appeared.

[Felix Warners]

Is there any generalisation you can make about Quinta do Vesuvio? I opened a 1994 a while ago but didnt gave it enough time to open up. It had so much power and deserved more time to open up.
Now I also have bought the 1998 vintage. Is this a totally different animal than the 1994? I know 1994 is a much better vintage but there is still a 4year difference. If I open a 1998, how long should I decant it? Im not a big fan of decanting for a to long period of time before I start to drink because I feel I miss a stage. On the other hand when you drink a bottle of port with a group of people you dont always have the possibility to taste the port after 12 hours because it is already consumed.
So my question is: are the lesser vintages, like 1998, more open and need less cellaring or are they just less complex but still need a lot of time to open up.

[Andy Velebil]

We need to open one of these and give it some air time and I think you'd find this Vesuvio more dense and intense than it appeared.

Agreed!

[Andy Velebil]

Is there any generalisation you can make about Quinta do Vesuvio?

So my question is: are the lesser vintages, like 1998, more open and need less cellaring or are they just less complex but still need a lot of time to open up.

Felix,
As to your first question re: any generalisation....Vesuvio is a solid house, and even in non-declared years they still made a solid VP that is worth buying.

#2: I'll have to make a general statement here becuase it really depends on what year and what producer we are talking about. But generally, the lesser (or non-declared) years typically don't have the backbone (tannin/acidic balance, strong fruit, etc) that carry them into really old age. They tend to be more "soft" or feminine on the palate at a much younger age. This results in less cellaring before they becoming easliy aproachable. Sometimes the complexity is there, but they lack a long finish, or are showing to much or to little of something else like acidity. Which would hurt its overall score and effect its ageability. However, this doesn't mean they arn't good. In fact many are very good, offer very good QPR (Quality to price ratio), and give us something to drink while we wait for those greats to mature.

However, being a young VP they can still require some time to open up, irregardless if it's a great VP or not. For example, this week I have been sipping a 2005 VP for the past 3 days to evaluate it. I can say so far its not a long term ager and would be best consumed in the shorter term, say 12-17 years. So far the end of day two is where it was showing it's best balance. So as you can see, even a "lesser" VP sometimes needs a longer decant when young.

Decanting is a personal thing too. Some people like a much longer decant to soften the tannins down a lot to make it more smoother or "softer" on the palate. Some prefer them with less decanting to make use of the stronger tannins. The only way to really find out what is right for you is to experiment with the Ports you drink. I still occasionally will set some Port aside for 3,4, or 5 days just to see how it holds up and changes. For me, most of the time they start getting a little too soft by the end of day 2. Of course this is for younger Ports (say under 10-15 years old).