1994 Quinta do Vesuvio

[jdaw1]

At the suggestion of AHB, on Monday 19th November 2012 we tested an alternative venue, the Hix Oyster & Chop House, 36-37 Greenhill Rents, Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6BN, tel +44 20 7017 1930.

Links:

• Review of the evening as a whole;
• 1977 Sandeman;
• 1985 Churchill;
• 1994 Vesuvio;
• 1980 Taylor;
• 1963 Cockburn;
• Placemats;
• Organisation and planning.

[jdaw1]

V94, decanted 17:00 the previous day, bottle #24694. Nearly 100% opaque. Big purple fruit, with lots of heat and lots of pepper. This will be wonderful, but needs a lot of time.

[Alex Bridgeman]

Bottle 24,694. Deep opaque red centre, bright and vivid with a firm red rim. Fresh blueberry on the nose, lively and with a touch of spearmint. Thick red tears stick to the edge of the glass. Surprisingly subdued on the palate, but comes with a delightful medium bodied texture. Rich and powerful tannins, with a huge volume of flower perfumed fruit, velvety and intense. There is a huge explosion of flavours on the aftertaste and then an enormous length as the flavours slowly fade away. This is a massive port, just soft enough to drink now and will be better in 10 years. 95/100.