1996 Quinta do Vesuvio
Posted: 16:05 Sun 14 Oct 2007
After a few indulgences in older and mature wines, I decided it was time to give my cellar a breather and to return to a wine that I want to follow as it develops with time. This is the first of a pair of bottles that I bought from Berrys' in December 2005 in one of their sales. This particular vintage of Vesuvio seems to be around in the UK in cosiderable quantity. The blurb on the back label says that 65 pipes were produced (which, I think, is equivalent to 43,680) and that the '96 was the first vintage trodden entirely by foot by a team of men employed to do nothing but tread the lagares.
On decanting at 3:30pm, I noticed the same fine - almost metallic - sediment swirling around in the dregs of the bottle as I commented on a year ago. However, this time there were also some more substantial leaf-like deposits in the bottom of the bottle. The colour is an opaque red, still with a hint of youthful purple in the rim. Even sipped straight from the decanter, this has an overwhelming nose of blackcurrants and spearmint. A sip is immensely acidic, almost painful in the mouth, with the acidity distracting from the mass of fruit that is also there. What tannins there are only make themselves known very late on in the flavours. A wonderful aftertaste that takes a long time to develop after having to wince as the acidity burns on its way down, but stays in the mouth for a very long time.
More notes in due course.
On decanting at 3:30pm, I noticed the same fine - almost metallic - sediment swirling around in the dregs of the bottle as I commented on a year ago. However, this time there were also some more substantial leaf-like deposits in the bottom of the bottle. The colour is an opaque red, still with a hint of youthful purple in the rim. Even sipped straight from the decanter, this has an overwhelming nose of blackcurrants and spearmint. A sip is immensely acidic, almost painful in the mouth, with the acidity distracting from the mass of fruit that is also there. What tannins there are only make themselves known very late on in the flavours. A wonderful aftertaste that takes a long time to develop after having to wince as the acidity burns on its way down, but stays in the mouth for a very long time.
More notes in due course.