For The Love Of Port

1999 Niepoort LBV from 750ml, bottled in 2003. Cork was extracted intact as expected with only four years passed since the bottling date.

0 hours (pop and pour): The bottle aroma was muted (or seemed so given a bit of allergies due to lots of wind lately!) A very nice, deep purple color in the glass, fading to a rose/pink at the edge. Very long legs in my cabernet glass (hey, I'm lazy and didn't feel like washing another glass!)

The aroma from the glass was dominated by prunes/raisins, with a background of cherries, then a spot of heat. A good taste delivers on the aroma, adding a dark berry note to the finish, with a sweetness that really reminds me of a mixed berry cobbler. Medium heat on the somewhat long finish. This is well-balanced in terms of tannin, acid, sweetness and heat, with the latter being a bit more noticeable than previous bottles, but that is likely due to the fact that this was pop and pour.

I'll add more tonight and as we continue.

Rich

Ok, so I never added more to this TN, but 4 months later, I have popped open another bottle of this port.

I decanted this one about 5-6 hours ago, and am really enjoying it. It has a very nice aroma in the glass, is somewhat viscous on the palate, and delivers a wonderful amount of fruit/spice/etc in the mouth. The finish is plenty long enough, though still holding a bit of heat right now. Some tannins coating my tooth enamel suggest this has a bit of backbone to age for a while.

Cool night, wood fire, reading on the couch with my wife.......port fits in nicely. This one is not disappointing.

Happy day after turkey day!

Rich