1963 Royal Oporto Carvalhas
Posted: 13:46 Thu 03 Jan 2008
From a bottle with a leaking cork (cork branded as Carvalhas Vintage Port 1963) and a low shoulder fill. Lots of sediment in the bottle. The colour of the port was very pale orange ± the same sort of colour I expect to see in a 5 year old Sauternes. It didn’t put on much colour in the three hours that it sat in the decanter before taking the note.
Very tawny nose, lots of clover honey and delicate perfume with just a touch of dust. In the mouth there is initially a little creamy vanilla brûlée, in the mid-palate the sugars come through but are pretty plain; some caramel and fudge. The aftertaste is one of the best features of this particular port, but is faint and dominated by sweet sugar and a touch of marmalade. Respectable, enjoyable and as good as the occasional 20 year tawny that I have consumed in the past. On Uncle Tom’s vintage port scale this only rates 0/0 - it’s actually quite delicious and enjoyable and is not what a vintage port should be. 82/100.
Very tawny nose, lots of clover honey and delicate perfume with just a touch of dust. In the mouth there is initially a little creamy vanilla brûlée, in the mid-palate the sugars come through but are pretty plain; some caramel and fudge. The aftertaste is one of the best features of this particular port, but is faint and dominated by sweet sugar and a touch of marmalade. Respectable, enjoyable and as good as the occasional 20 year tawny that I have consumed in the past. On Uncle Tom’s vintage port scale this only rates 0/0 - it’s actually quite delicious and enjoyable and is not what a vintage port should be. 82/100.