For The Love Of Port

Once a year around my birthday I host a Port tasting with friends that happen to be around. We usually do a pot-luck dinner, with a main that can go with Port. We've done a Croft vertical, a 1991/1992 horizontal, and a 1955-2000 Taylor vertical last year. With that range of years you can really taste how wine develops with time. This year, in contrast, I wanted to see how a single producer's wines would change from year to year, in a narrow time frame so that time in the bottle wouldn't be the major factor. Instead, would weather and selection produce something different from one year to the next? Since Marijke and I really love the 1994 Quinta do Vesuvio, and they produce a VP just about every year, they were an obvious choice for the producer. Last year we paired duck breast with the Taylors for Duckedence. This year the Ports were served before Beef Wellington, for Searendipity: A Short Vertical Tasting of Quinta do Vesuvio.

All bottles were 750s, decanted beforehand for the time specified below, then poured back into the bottle and stoppered until the tasting. At the end of the evening the 1992 and 1996 went home with friends. I stoppered the 1990 and 1991 and left them out on the counter overnight. The 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1998 were vacu-vinned, placed in the refrigerator, and poured on the second day and given time to warm back up to cellar temperature.

There were some variations in color, but not enough that I bothered to record this. All were pretty thick magenta-red, with the 1990 a little lighter than the 1998, and nothing really standing out (like a 1977 SW stands out from its contemporaries).

1990 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port
Decanted 1 hour, 45 minutes. Aroma showed some heat and faint berry fruits along with some menthol. In the mouth it was still warm, but there was lots of deep dark fruit, boysenberry, jam-like. It was not tannic at all. On day 2, overnight on the counter did not treat this one well. The aroma was more of candied fruit and marzipan, but there was also a slight off-putting mustiness. It was very weak in the mouth with a short finish. 90 points.

1991 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port
Decanted 2 hours. Aroma is much more subdued than the 1990. In the mouth, it is quite sweet and tangy too. There are flavors of strawberry and cherry, and a medium long finish. This wine was nice on its own, but weak with the meal. On day 2 this didn't shine, but did do better than the 1990. It also showed a candy sweet aroma, along with marzipan, and baked custard/flan/caramel. It edges out the 1990 with more tangy fruit in the mouth, but also isn't very strong. There are flavors of cotton candy and caramel covered with light cherry syrup. 91 points.

1992 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port
Decanted 2 hours, 5 minutes. More of a musty aged aroma than the 1990 and 1991. There is lots of aroma, including a woody cedar. Medium body, fairly acidic, and huge berry fruit along with some eucalyptus. I didn’t take a lot of notes, but this was a great surprise in the line-up of 1990s Vesuvios. It was tied with the 1997 for my WOTN. 94 points? Not tasted on day 2.

1994 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port
Decanted 16 hours, 5 minutes. Few notes taken on this one on the first night. It had a fairly medicinal aroma. Compared to the 1992, and previous tastings of this vintage, it fell short. On day 2, aromas or dried leaves and flowers, like a potpourri. There is eucalyptus, and faint fruit-orange and strawberry. It is warm in the mouth and finish. There is some tannin, and low acid. Flavors of tangy cherry cough syrup, and jammy too with more eucalyptus. 91-92 points.

1995 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port
Decanted 4 hours, 10 minutes. Few notes taken on this one on the first night. Lots of sweet cherry and some cinnamon too. On day 2, dried leaf, faint dried grass, and grape jam aroma. Not as tannic as the 1994. Sweet and smoother in the mouth. Pleasant warmth and a little tannin too with some good swishing. Sticky berry fruit, cherry-raspberry. Really nice now. A little fig in the decent finish. 92-93 points.

1996 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port
Decanted 4 hours, 25 minutes. Hardly any notes taken, and then the bottle went away at the end of the evening. Showed some grape stem. May have been nicer than the 1995, but I can’t recall well enough to score it. However, it was Rob’s WOTN, which he noted as, "chewy, vigorous, and intense."

1997 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port
Decanted 8 hours, 40 minutes. Very deep, lots of depth of flavor. There were some tannins, and later oxidized fruit and raisin flavors. This was, like the 1992, a major pleasant surprise, tying it for WOTN on the first night in my opinion. 94-95 points. That seems higher than the 1992, but the 1992 wasn't tasted on day 2, so I can't fairly pick one over the other. On day 2 there are aromas of blackberry and currant, slight warmth, and a hint of olive. There is some warmth in the mouth and finish, but it is very nicely balanced against a thick, juicy body that is luscious, velvety, and coating of the mouth. Later the is more berry, blackberry. This reminds me a lot of Smith Woodhouse, which is also one of my favorites.

1998 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port
Decanted 6 hours, 50 minutes. Few notes taken on the first night, other than recording that it was quite fresh, but weak with the meal. On day 2, there is a sweet floral aroma--orange blossoms? There is fresh citrus fruit as well--orange. Fairly acidic in the mouth. Lighter bodied than the 1997. With some swishing and air it becomes more tangy and thick, but still fruity with peach and pear. Even on day 2 this is still bright and fresh. 92-93 points.

Conclusions:

1. These wines were much more similar than they were different. I had expected more differences, but it appears Peter Symington is pretty consistent in maintaining the house style. I didn't get tar, tobacco, anise, or even chocolate in these wines (although the latter wouldn't surprise me). They were all fairly fruit forward (with cherry and bramble berries pretty common), more powerful than the subtle Warres, but not as extracted as Smith Woodhouse vintages I've tasted. While I noticed some having more sweet aromas, there were none as dry as I typically find Dow, nor none as sweet as Grahams. They were pretty much in the middle of the road as far as sweetness goes, and decently acidic across the board. There was a little variation in tannins, but in generally I found them all slightly on the lighter side.
2. I can't say which was more responsible, but vacu-vinning and/or refrigerating the wines overnight made a world of difference the next day. Those four wines were vibrant and delicious on day two, while the two I left out on the counter with just a T-stopper were definitely degraded.
3. When to drink? I wouldn't be in any rush to open these, but the 1990 in this tasting didn't suggest to me that it was going to improve any. The 1992 and 1997, my favorites of the tasting, I think have good upside potential. The 1994 I am a little troubled by, as this has shown better in the past. I'm hoping it is just a phase that will pass.
4. It's great to have friends to share with. Otherwise I'd not be able to justify opening all of these at once. Thank you Marijke, John, Andrea, Kari, Rob, and Melissa.
   

Thank you for sharing this, it inspired me to open a 1997 Vesuvio to go with the cheese tonight after dinner. A lovely drink!!

How do you work the logistics w friends?
Sounds like you provide all the Port, invitees bring whatever food they feel like?
Of my good friends I am prob the only one that has any Port. I would love to drink my Port in their company but am not sure how I make that happen in a reasonable way (ie, where they don't all end up feeling bad for not contributing anything, and decide to never come back for take #2)

No one feels guilty. Last year one or two bottles were brought by others. One of the guests this year just hosted a similar event for his birthday, with 1961 Torres, etc. Another supplies me with mead, others provide elk when they are succesful in their hunting ...

Sounds as though you've worked out some mutually beneficial arrangements with your friends. Thanks for the tasting notes! I found the comparison between years to be very interesting and not quite what I would have expected.

Awesome notes! Thanks for posting. I'll have to open a 1997. I have been avoiding opening them due to how powerful and closed they were back in 2006. The 1994 definitely seems like an off bottle.

David Spriggs wrote:Awesome notes! Thanks for posting. I'll have to open a 1997. I have been avoiding opening them due to how powerful and closed they were back in 2006. The 1994 definitely seems like an off bottle.

You're welcome.

I don't think the 1994 was a single off bottle. A number of notes lately have suggested this is going through a phase. And see my further comments below.

Andy Velebil, 25 Sep 13 wrote:Some of the 1994's are now in a spot at the moment and not showing particularly well. I had a 1994 Vesuvio last week and it was quite spirity and lacking in the normal large fruit. Pretty consistent with other experiences I've had in the past couple years of this VP. I'm in the camp of stay away from these upper end beauties for a few more years.

Miguel Simoes, 9 Aug 13 wrote:Decanted 8 hours. This was my first bottle of VP. Enjoyed it but was expecting a lusher experience. The ending of it wasnt v smooth, tasting a bit off.

David Spriggs, 9 Aug 13 wrote:Agreed. The wine has closed up. Not totally closed, but given how it has shown in the past it's a bit dumb. I am also not opening these. My expletive is that right now, day 3 is best.

On day 3 I tasted the 1997 and 1998 again. Both had let off from their peaks. They were still drinkable and enjoyable, but nowhere near as good as days 1 and 2.

On day 4 I tasted the 1994 and 1995 again. The 1994 was really tasty now. Had the time vacuumed in the fridge improved it, or was it just in contrast to the others at this point? The 1995 certainly was weak, only worth sipping after finishing off the large glass of 1994. I think the 1994 had improved, and at least earned the 92 points of my initial 91-92 range.

Eric, you quoted me in that rebuttal. What triggered my response were two words: medicinal and eucalyptus. I have had many, many of these bottles (probably 40 from both the US importer and from the UK) and none of them have shown this quality. My notes about being closed meant that I found the nose is fairly dumb on opening and the tannins and more noticeable and interfering with the fruit and mouthfeel. By day three all is good and the wine sings.

David Spriggs wrote:Eric, you quoted me in that rebuttal. ...

Fair enough then. I will give you that that aspect may have been an off bottle. Like you, I found the nose a bit dumb, and things much improved on day three, with much more pleasant fruit then.

I have made multiple purchases of 1994, and I believe this bottle was a retail purchase for which I have a number of other bottles remaining. Hopefully they won't show any medicinal quality.

Eric,

Great read and thanks for the tasting notes. Sounds like a lot of fun.

1992 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port
Decanted 2 hours, 5 minutes.

When I read this and other times I burst out laughing as only Mr. Menchen would put the time as 2 hours, 5 minutes instead of just rounding out to 2 hours. I've put out an alarm to the Port geek control patrol.

Roy Hersh wrote:Eric,

Great read and thanks for the tasting notes. Sounds like a lot of fun.

1992 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port
Decanted 2 hours, 5 minutes.

When I read this and other times I burst out laughing as only Mr. Menchen would put the time as 2 hours, 5 minutes instead of just rounding out to 2 hours. I've put out an alarm to the Port geek control patrol.

Roy,
That has made it official, Eric is a real Port Nerd now

What a fantastic evening. I like the 1990 for a "drink now" VP. This, along with the 1989 was stored at the Quinta at first. So there is a very slight touch of Douro Bake to these, also why the they were the only ones sealed with wax. None the less, it's still a very pleasant VP. It ain't going to make old bones though so drink up sooner rather than later.

I and some others have mentioned it before, the 1994 has gone into a weird phase the past couple of years. I suggest putting it away for at least a few more years until this awkward phase passes.

Roy Hersh wrote:When I read this and other times I burst out laughing as only Mr. Menchen would put the time as 2 hours, 5 minutes instead of just rounding out to 2 hours. I've put out an alarm to the Port geek control patrol.

I thought about defending my actions as the easier path as I just wrote down all the times as I went along and then did the math; but without consulting a lawyer, I just decided to give that up. I plead no contest.

Andy Velebil wrote:I like the 1990 for a "drink now" VP. This, along with the 1989 was stored at the Quinta at first. So there is a very slight touch of Douro Bake to these, also why the they were the only ones sealed with wax.

In this group both the 1990 and the 1991 had those annoying hard wax seals.

Thanks. You are correct so was the 1991 as well.

I pretty much get the Douro bake through at least 1991 Veusvio.