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Tasted as part of a Vesuvio Vertical from 1989 to 2008 at The New Cavendish Club, London on 23rd February 2010.

• Organisation thread
• Review of the evening
• Quinta do Vesuvio 1989
• Quinta do Vesuvio 1990
• Quinta do Vesuvio 1991
• Quinta do Vesuvio 1992
• Quinta do Vesuvio 1994
• Quinta do Vesuvio 1995
• Quinta do Vesuvio 1996
• Quinta do Vesuvio 1997
• Quinta do Vesuvio 1998
• Quinta do Vesuvio 1999
• Quinta do Vesuvio 2000
• Quinta do Vesuvio 2001
• Quinta do Vesuvio 2003
• Quinta do Vesuvio 2004
• Quinta do Vesuvio 2005
• Quinta do Vesuvio 2006 (Magnum)
• Quinta do Vesuvio 2007
• Quinta do Vesuvio 2007 Capela
• Quinta do Vesuvio 2008 (Work-in-progress Cask Sample*)

*Please note that the 2008 Cask Sample was donated to this tasting by the Symington family before the final blend was complete so this may not accurately represent what the Vesuvio 2008 will be, should it be approved and declared later in 2010.

A step darker than the 89 and 90. Lots more fruit on the nose, too, though in the mouth that same immediate wateriness was present. Quite muted but elegant. Tasted rather closed. Very drinkable.

People seemed to find this more agreeable than I did.

Starting to transition to a more port-like (i.e., darker) color, but still a touch lighter than you'd expected to find (especially for a generally declared vintage). A bit of spice on the nose (goal for the year -- get better at picking out individual spices), a bit of spirit too is clear on the nose. In the mouth, I found this to be the least impressive of the three so far -- lacking structure/balance, and the alcohol is proving to be a bit too much for the fruit to handle. I believe the consensus was that this wine was a bit closed, but to me it simply tasted maladjusted and uninteresting.

81 points

Much darker than the 89 and 90. Very young appearance for its age. Blackcurrant jam on the nose and a lovely big mouthful of black fruits and good tannins. A little heat in the mid-palate but all round a very good port.

V91: 80% opaque, pink at edge. The first big-fruit Vesuvio. Red fruit, and a hint of roughness. Not mature mouth cloyingly tannic. I added ‟will be best of this page”, so superior to V89, V90, V92.