1987 Hutcheson

[Alex Bridgeman]

After 4½ hours in the decanter.

Deep colour, a rich mahogany red-brown. Nose quite closed but giving some oatmeal and blueberries. Sweet entry, quite smooth, not a lot of fruit on the initial impact but there is some pleasant mid-palate development of sandalwood and redcurrants. The alcohol comes through on swallowing, but precedes a very pleasant and lengthy aftertaste constructued around a core of lemongrass and bitter lemon. Enjoyable, but not sure if this represents good value for money at £20 a bottle - probably the weakest 1987 VP that I have drunk to date. Certainly sits in the bottom quartile of wines that I expect to drink this year, probably just above the weakest 5 but the good news is that it is not likely to deteriorate over the next 10 years, so 2/2 or 85/100.

This is the other VP on offer at BAA's duty free shops, at £20 a bottle. However, having tasted this and the Kopke 1985, I would recommend paying the extra £5 and buying the Kopke 1985.

Alex

[Alex Bridgeman]

The following evening this wine has not improved noticeably, if anything, the alcohol was less integrated on the palate and the initial aftertaste. However, apart from the burn, the aftertaste is longer and better than it was yesterday - but not enough to improve the rating or relative rating of this port.

Alex