ThePortForum.com

On Tuesday 26th March 2024, at The Boot & flogger, we tasted 1994s.

• Review of the evening as a whole;
  • 1994 Croft;
  • 1994 Taylor;
  • 1994 Fonseca;
  • 1994 Tesco;
  • 1994 Martinez;
  • 1994 Warre;
  • 1994 Dow;
  • 1994 Graham;
  • 1994 Quinta do Vesuvio;
  • 1994 Cockburn;
  • 1994 Kopke;
  • 1994 Quinta do Noval;
  • 1994 Burmester;
  • 1994 Cálem;
  • 1994 Royal Oporto;
• Planning and arrangements;
• Placemats;
• Food order.

V94: dark red, 70% opaque. The Business. Soft black berry fruit, hint of fragrant perfume, full and large and present and soft and just all-round delicious. Three points from a dozen of us; two points from two of us: the huge score was totally fair.

And, bliss it was in that evening to be alive, a magnum.

Thank you to ACMS for bringing.

Sounds glorious. And from a magnum!

60%, but red, no brown. Nose quite closed. Palate more open - some bitterness, but good fruit. Excellent, 6/7, 3pts.

1994 Quinta do Vesuvio. Opened at 19.00, decanted at 09.00. Dark Red and still opaque. Wonderfully perfumed nose, rich black cherry adorned by lavender and lilac. Pretty but also packed with fruit. The texture on the palate is divine, like melting chocolate sliding over the tongue. There is so much fruit in this wine yet the balance is perfect. The tannins dance around in the sweet cherry fruit, subtly spiced with a dusting of All Spice. But the aftertaste and finish are astonishing, the fruit is constant, but the undertone skips from a beat of menthol, to a counter-beat of aniseed before settling into a life-affirming rhythm of sweet and spiced cherry. Cherry doesn’t do the fruit justice - there is sweetness, yet it’s not jammy. There is freshness yet there is depth. Every time I taste this wine I am reminded that this will be a legendary wine for my children and grandchildren, which they will talk about in the same way as we talk about Croft 1945 and Fonseca 1966. 98/100.

My wine of the night. Opened at 19.00 the night before the tasting, Decanted at 09.00 and returned to the bottle at 13.00. 98/100.

65% opacity, deep red. Fragrant nose with black fruit in the background. Lovely chewy mouthfeel, full, powerful, hint of spice. Really good.