1997 Taylor Vintage Port

[Lamont Huxley]

Still a dark purple color with only a hint of redness developing on its edge. The nose took a good deal of patience before it revealed itself, but after about 5 hours of decanting it began to open, although it's still fairly tight - rich, heavy, dark fruit, smoked meats, and a heady floral edge - beautiful. It's huge on the palate, attacking with a crush of black cherry fruit and notes of tar with a lovely espresso-like bitterness, all centered around a solid core of spicy black pepper. The tannins are strapping, but not harsh at all - this port has great structure and a long finish. Impressively deep, this is an awesome wine that should only continue getting better for a really long time. 97pts, tasted 3/08