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D+1.5 This has a huge nose: muscovado sugar, butterscotch, malt syrup, cloves, bitter chocolate, black cherries, violets, herbs, rhubarb...
In the mouth there is a granularity in the texture, lots of bitterness, cold sweet black coffee, not a long finish but the coffee dominates.

djewesbury wrote:D+1.5 This has a huge nose: muscovado sugar, butterscotch, malt syrup, cloves, bitter chocolate, black cherries, violets, herbs, rhubarb...
In the mouth there is a granularity in the texture, lots of bitterness, cold sweet black coffee, not a long finish but the coffee dominates.

I'm not sure whether or not this is a compliment.

Me either. I am enjoying it but it's definitely very bitter. This is the first ruby port I've opened since before the summer. I'm going to see what it's like tomorrow. And I missed out a descriptor in the aroma: a faint whiff of rubber bands (not very hot).

djewesbury wrote:Me either.

Or perhaps neither?

djewesbury wrote:I missed out a descriptor in the aroma: a faint whiff of rubber bands (not very hot).

Always a good sign

DRT wrote:

djewesbury wrote:Me either.

Or perhaps neither?
I think this may be a bit of Hiberno-English that I've picked up. This is an interesting dialect, and consists mostly of words and usages left over from Elizabethan English (as in "I'm just after drinking all that port" and "amn't I clever for drinking all that port?").

That might be rubbish though.

djewesbury wrote:That might be rubbish though.

More than likely at this time of night.

You should try living on the Yorkshire/Derbyshire border for a while so that the word while takes on a completely new meaning.

Scotsman at recruitment interview: "What are the normal office hours?"

Manager in charge of interview: "Nine while five, me duck."

Answers on a postcard.

Perhaps the '98 Crusted is still too young? (Which is surprising for a 16-year-old Crusted, but might be possible none the same.)
At least that's what I thought when I opened a bottle last year:
http://www.theportforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7776

AW77 wrote:Perhaps the '98 Crusted is still too young? (Which is surprising for a 16-year-old Crusted, but might be possible none the same.)
At least that's what I thought when I opened a bottle last year:
http://www.theportforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7776

I felt the same; should be lovely in another 10+ years (so I bought some to store)

AW77 wrote:Perhaps the '98 Crusted is still too young? (Which is surprising for a 16-year-old Crusted, but might be possible none the same.)
At least that's what I thought when I opened a bottle last year:
http://www.theportforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7776

It seemed to have a lot more than you found in it though, a very lively nose indeed, at least at first. I have it here know, a day later, and yes, it is rather jammy, like the Johannisbeeren (redcurrant) jam I like in Germany, which is exactly what you noticed. The bitterness I found so dominant yesterday is almost all gone, and heat dominates in a much longer finish than just after opening. This seems simpler now it's a little more integrated.
Yes, this is a keeper, I think.

Tonight (3 days after opening) this is all caramel and mint. Very nice, integrated, a lovely finish. The bitterness is subdued and just discernible as a cleanness in the pleasant, long finish. Good port.