So, just as I'm thinking that this winter 08 port drinking madness is starting to wind down, Lillian Petherbridge returns from Foxwoods casino with a pocketfull of poker winnings burning a hole in her pocket and a thirst for vintage port. Oh well, what can you do? I wasn't arguing. And so we wound up back at a local spot with a decent selection of port and the logical choice seemed to be the 2003 Vesuvio. I've never tasted a Vesuvio to present, and have only sampled one wine from the 2003 vintage to this point. I'd read rave reviews of this particular port and so perhaps I approached it with high expectations, but luckily I was not the least bit disappointed. This is one of the best ports that I've tasted to date, particularly at such a young stage of it's life - multi-layered, fragrant, deeply flavored, and very elegant, but with a powerful underlying structure - excels on all levels. Here were my thoughts...
QUINTA DO VESUVIO VINTAGE 2003
This is a beautiful looking port - dark eggplant purple in the core transitioning to a glowing oxblood colored rim - very vibrant. After the first couple of hours in the decanter the nose remained quite closed - just not giving up much at all. After another couple of hours of decanting it really opened up with an intoxicating perfume of earth, blackberry, cherry, strawberry, flowers, and dark chocolate. On the palate it's decadent and elegant at the same time; there are layers and layers of sweet, ripe, dark fruit with a sumptuous and velvety texture backed by a sprinkling of black pepper and big chalky tannins. The finish is long and lingering. This obviously has years - decades really - before it fleshes out fully, but it is so expressive and the tannins are so well woven in that with sufficient decanting it's totally enjoyable right now. I was very curious to see how this would show after sitting in the decanter overnight - forget about it - it was way too good to stop sipping and was gone way too soon. It was one of those times that I wanted to cry when I saw the last drop dripping out of the decanter. This is a fantastic young port, I love it, and will definitely be going back for more to store away for the years to come. Close to perfect stuff in my book. Thanks Lillian! 99pts, Tasted 3/08
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