A lovely polished red colour, glowing and attractive; 30% opaque. Vibrant and focused on the nose, with red cherry and fresh basil. Sour cherry on the palate, but powerful and with a big streak of acidity giving a sharp focus. No shortage of fruit and air releases a little bit of floral perfume. A surprisingly big mouthful. Some heat on the aftertaste from the acidity before a huge finish of aniseed and peppery basil takes over for 2 minutes. Delicious, but a little monolithic. Hopefully more time in the glass will allow this to fill out and develop some more complexity.
2 hours later, this was the tasting note:
Now much sweeter onthe nose with rose hips and redcurrant; a slight tingle of alcohol and perhaps some higher alcohols. Also sweeter on the palate with the acidity being more gentle plus some tannins showing under the dusty cherries. A hint of lavender appears on the late palate and leads into the aftertaste, followed by a long and slightly sticky finish of aniseed and cracked black pepper. 89/100. Decanted 3 hours.
Top Ports in 2022: Quinta do Noval Nacional 1931. I have never drunk such a wonderful bottle of Port. I cried with joy.
2023: Fonseca 1966. There are not many better Ports.
