...3+hrs: Dark purple/maroon almost right up to the edge of the glass with only a very narrow rim. Looks slightly hazy but that may be due to my sub-par job of decanting. Dark and smokey nose of blackberry, dried figs and prunes with hints of charcoal and cocoa. Medium weight with a sweet entry of dark, raisiny fruit, similar to the notes on the nose, and fresh acidity to balance it out. The alcohol kicks in a bit harshly on the back end with a big streak of green tannin punctuating the fairly long finish. So far a little rough but very enjoyable... seems to be opening up nicely even as I write this...
14+hrs: (Yes I'm having port for breakfast) Similar notes as last night - nose seems a little brighter w/ a pomegranate tone. Palate is a little bit smoother with the tannin more subdued but still with a lot of peppery heat on the finish. Hopefully the alchol will mellow out by tonight...
24+hrs: Not mellowed out yet - tastes like it went in the opposite direction as the tannins are back with a vengeance. Just too much heat and stalky tannin on the back end to really enjoy... in a wierd place or what?
36+hrs: Yikes! Still way too spirity and tannic...
48+hrs: I'm sipping on the last glass tonight and - wow! - this has finally calmed down and become much more enjoyable. Still showing smokey blue/black fruit with chocolate hints on the nose - not much change there - but the alcohol and tannin have really mellowed, leaving the palate much smoother, allowing the fruit to come to the fore and leaving the finish much cleaner. All of a sudden this is quite delicious...
This is a tough port to score - it seemed to be at its best in the first few hours after opening and then didn't come back around for almost 2 full days. I was almost ready to write it off as a not-very-good VP but in light of how much better it's drinking at the moment I'm starting to wonder if maybe it's just at an awkward stage and needs some more time to develop. Based on this last glass: 90 pts, Tasted 3/11