1999 Sandeman's Vau Vintage Port

[Mahmoud Ali]

It was a long night, 3 couples, one person being careful as she had to drive, and 8½ bottles. All the wines were served blind and not a dud among them. By the time we got to the port things got hazy.

Anyway, here I am on day two, having got back from a birthday dinner at about midnight and, apropos another post, instead of doing the sensible thing and going to bed decided instead to taste the little bit of port remaining in the decanter. One small glass each not being enough my partner and I decided we'd better "freshen up" our palates with a Graham's Six Grapes before tasting the Vau Vintage.

The '99 Vau packs quite a punch and has good depth and intensity. The colour is a deep ruby red with slight fading at the rim. After more than a day in the decanter the nose has little in the way of heat and a spicy, cinnamon-infused, fleshy plum fruit. The palate is sweet at first, then moves to a red-fruited, herbal, slightly spirited mid-palate to a dry tannic savoury finish. A very nice port and judging by how it performed on day two this isn't just an ordinary "early drinking" port but rather a tasty one that can withstand some cellaring.

When I decanted the wine yesterday the sediment was not the usual kind that slowly shows itself with a steady stream. In this bottle the sediment was of the thick glutinous sort, showing itself suddenly as a thick dark mass and impossible to stop from entering the decanter. Tonight, when pouring my last glass I was equally unprepared for a thick mass of sediment entering my glass. It was soft, jelly-like, and quite tasty. Forget Maxwell House, the '99 Vau Vintage was "good to the last drop".

Good value with 10% off, Canadian $31.50.

Cheers.......................Mahmoud

[Andy Velebil]

Forget Maxwell House, the '99 Vau Vintage was "good to the last drop".

That old phrase, related to the coffee commercials, gave me a good laugh.

And yes, IIRC while the 1999 was dialed down to be more approachable than the 1997, last I had it it still had the stuffing to be a decent mid-long ager. I've just brought home my last 1/2 bottle of the 1997 and 1999. I think I may put them side by side one day soon to see how they compare.