2005 Quinta do Vale Dona Maria

[MigSU]

The last (and only) TN for this wine was a cask sample from 2007, so I thought I'd crack one open to see what it's like at 20 years old.

The cork broke in two using a regular corkscrew, but the bit that stayed in the bottle was easy to remove without crumbling.

Still super dark. Maybe a slight bricking at the very edge, but much darker than what I was expecting. Opacity maybe 80%.

P'n'P: the nose is quite minty, I like it. The alcohol is still showing a bit, nothing overpowering. A very slight touch of VA in the distance; I'm not bothered, it's hardly noticeable, might even go away on its own. Some stewed black fruits and a fine touche of cedar. Interesting mix between the mintiness and the stewed fruits.
The tannins are not really that strong, they don't really match the colour of the wine. The mouth is not as interesting as the nose, unfortunately. Not bad at all, but a bit simple. There's some one dimensional dark fruit, but that's about it. Hopefully the decanting can bring more out of it.

I'll come back to this as things develop.