Messias, Quinta Cachao Vintage Port

Saturated cork, but the bottom 5mm fell apart. Filtered through a non-bleached coffee filter, decanted, and poured back in the bottle. Tasted after 4 hours. Wine was much more ruby on the PnP, but as it got more air it turned to a brickish ruby color. Nose of dark cherries, light tobacco leaf, and spices. It's held on to a decent level of acidity and fully resolved. Dark cherries, tobacco leaf, leather, and a plethora of spices. The long finish …

Lone bottle from a mixed case of port bought at auction years ago. Hot on opening so set aside in the decanter overnight. Nose of cherries, spices, and toffee. On the palate this was a little thin with a bitterness on the finish. Obviously not a top shelf port and seemingly on the decline.

The nose is classic port, a moderate wiff of brandied alcohol. The palate is much heftier than the color suggests. Cherries, licorice, a moderate hit of alcohol with substantive fruit. Not a great vintage house but very enjoyable with some blue cheeses and pears.

Gifted by my son Mark who turned up for a post Christmas meal and surprised me with this '83, recently bought by him and without any provenance. Decanted and drunk immediately, colour was fading and light brown on the edges. There was still some good fruit on the nose. On the palate, very smooth, leathery, hint of chocolate. A really interesting experience to taste.

What a treat. Light red, fresh red fruits. No burn. This could go on for many more years.

Drank this after a steamed-lobster dinner (with which we drank a superb 1984 Tim Adams Semillon), with blue and other cheeses and was amazed at its purity and, despite its loss of color, grip. One of the best ports I've ever drunk, and we had a lot of the 1963s (the Sandeman our wedding dessert wine in 1983) and now have mostly the 1977s (just had a magnum of '77 Warres at end of 2014 pre-xmas meal; maybe with time …

On the simple side for a vintage port. Just as last bottle, color is very light, rose-like. The nose is classic port, a strong wiff of brandied alcohol. The palate is much heftier than the color suggests (showing how useless color can be). Cherries, a bit of licorice, a big hit of alcohol, ending in a long long tingle. On a few sips, a hint of a bitterness under the sweetness, but elusive. It lacks the depth of flavor that …

Remarkably light color -- almost looks like a rose. The nose is a combo of cherry and "brandy". The palate is much darker than the color -- dark cherries, some acidity, somewhat high in alcohol, but not in an obnoxious way. Worked well with stilton and pears.