1977 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port

[Glenn E.]

From the 2012 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament tasting in NYC.

Color: medium dark red or possibly garnet. One of the darker Ports of the night, though I can't remember exactly where it fit in the spectrum.

Nose: fairly standard nose for the evening - violets and cherry, though in this case the cherry was less sweet. I wouldn't call it sour, though... more of a neutral cherry. Possibly some darker bing cherry as well, or that might have been plum.

Palate: rich but not round. Medium full body, good tannins, but slightly lacking (though still pretty good) acidity. I agree with others who mentioned vanilla - the fancy brewed variety, not the cheap extract in the small bottles.

Score: 90 points. Possibly the most disappointing Port of the night, as I would normally expect this Port to be in the mid-90s. There was no obvious flaw... it just wasn't a great bottle.