Purchased en primeur at Berry Bros, London, back in 1995 and picked up at their Heathrow shop in October 1996. So been in our temperature controlled cellar for nearly 20 years.
We let a quarter of the volume stay in the decanter for three more hours, which was not successful. Aroma still nice, still full body. But as for the taste it was then much more tannic and became a bit strange, and at that stage only 87 pts. However, my “official tasting note” will be as below since 9.5 hrs decanting is too much for this vintage port.
6.5 hrs decanting. Some sediments at opening. Deep dark red colour. With actually a tiny touch of brown. Quite fresh aroma of fruit on the sweeter side, such as ripe plums. Full body. Powerful and to some degree elegant. Plenty fruit such as cherries. Tannins were quite dominating towards the end. 91 pts.
1994 Dow's vintage port
Moderators: Glenn E., Andy Velebil