TN: 2000 Taylor Quinta de Vargellas Vinha Velha Vintage Port

[Al B.]

Decant: 6 hours - A faint nose of sweet blackcurrants can now be made out, but very weak. Neutral entry into the mouth, then a wall of acidity and puckering tannins - all enclosing a hint of a fruity monster. Swirling in the mouth releases the chocolate coated black cherry juice. The aftertaste is much more pronounced now and lasts much longer, dominated by fruit before fading away to a chocolate finish. Still not a great drink, although I am now intrigued by (i) what this will taste like in 2-3 days and (ii) what this will taste like in 20 years when I open my next one. On the Tom scale this would rate in the bottom quartile of my tasting experiences in the last 12 months, but not right at the bottom so I will award it a 2. However, with the combination of fruit, sugar, acidity and tannins this wine has I believe that it could well be a superb wine in 10-40 years so I will give it a very bizarre rating of 2-6. 86 points