For The Love Of Port

Warre’s Vintage Port - 1997
I decided to treat myself to something good after a little snip snip to the old boys. My recovery drink of choice while relaxing with an ice pack was to be the 1997 Warre’s VP. Decanted at 18:00 hrs on Saturday. I suspected that this one was going to be pretty closed and therefore would need a longish bit of time to open up. My target drinking time was Sunday, so there was plenty of time to allow the Port to develop and open up. Hopefully a couple of samples along the way would give clues as to the potential evolution of this Port.

First impressions - upon decanting
Medium purple colour. Unexpectedly, a brickish-red colour on the meniscus.

With muted cherries on the nose, there was a lot less alcohol on the nose than I suspected there would be.
Initial taste features dusty cherries and some plums, with very little alcohol to speak of. Even after 10-15 minutes, this seemed fairly muted, but elegant. A touch on the feminine side, with some tannins detectable, but not the brute force that I was expecting of a younger VP from the Warre house.

+2 hrs
The nose has developed a greenish straw smell – one I associate with young tannins. Significant heat now on the palate. This is the spirity, tannic wine that I was expecting and it seems that the air is starting to open this baby up. We’ll see over the next night and into tomorrow how this goes.

Medium sweetness, a touch of dryness, some acidity, and at this point, a long finish – nearly 75 seconds.

A bit more that did not get posted last night.

+4½ hrs
It didn’t notice this evolution at the 2 hour mark, but certainly do now: the wine seems to have darkened up significantly. Still a tinge of brick-red on the meniscus, there is a lot more darkness
Although it seemed unlikely, I think this Port is drinking beautifully right now, as if it were fully ready. There is still a hint of heat on the mid-palate, but the sweet grape and cherries lead through to a bit of plum on the finish. Some tobacco and wood nuances, perhaps cedar. Some biting acidity does keep the sweetness in check.

There are still some raw tannins present, which leads me to believe this Port could still have a good 5-10 years of evolution left before it IS at the fully mature stage. Medium bodied and relatively sweet.

+6 hrs
A quick nightcap before heading off to bed brings not a whole lot of further evolution. It may be my imagination but the alcohol may be slightly more integrated than at the 4 hour mark, but not dramatically. If that is the case, I suspect the optimum drinking window of this baby may be approaching soon, perhaps between the 8-10 hour window.

+15 hrs
Alcohol is completely integrated now. The biting acidity present before has calmed down and what is left is a mellow, feminine style of Port. Fruity yet with a slight tang of tannins that make me believe this Port could still live on for a good number of years. The dominant fruits are raspberries, some muted cherries (not as pronounced as previously) and a touch of red currents.

This Port definitely features more “red” fruit than the “black fruits.”

+1 day
Very mellow and smooth. I detect some raisins somewhere in the mix, in the middle. Still some raw, greenish tasting tannins sticking around on the mid- to end-palate, but the alcohol has completely integrated. A medium bodied, decently-structured Port that is great for the price I paid for it. I think based upon the Warre’s name and the relative youthfulness, I was expecting a lot more of a full-bodied structure, perhaps less integration of the alcohol and tannins that stood out a lot more than they did, but after tasting a few Warre’s VPs, I am coming to understand that this may be the house style – a bit less of a tannic beast than other big name producers.

+2 days
This is likely the best this Port has shown at this stage – what little harshness there was to the tannins previously, has mellowed out. The alcohol has been integrated completely for a day already. The palate has taken on a bit of strawberry fruit to add to the red raspberries, light cherries and currants.

For the price, I am glad I chose this particular Port to be my post-operation pain killer.

The Rating
I would say that although this Vintage Port may seem a bit young to be opening to the purists, it is drinking very well right now, with about a day in the decanter. Mellow, smooth and a touch on the feminine side. Great for the price I paid for it, I will look at picking some more up for longer-term aging.

I would rate this a 91 out of 100 pts for my taste. This should improve over the next 5-10 years, but I would take a wild guess that another 20 would leave it past its prime. Let me stress, this is just this guy’s (inexperienced) guess though!

Todd