Decanting
Vintage Port forms a natural deposit in the bottle and should be decanted. Stand the bottle upright a few hours before decanting to allow the sediment to fall to the bottom of the bottle.
Select Year
1997
Storage
Continues to improve for decades after bottling. The bottle should be kept lain down in a cool place, ideally at a temperature below 16ºC.
Serving temperature
Serve at 16ºC to 18ºC. Vintage Port is best drunk one to two days after opening.
Pairing suggestions
Walnuts, blue veined and other richly flavoured cheeses are excellent accompaniments to Vintage Port; so too are dried fruits such as apricots or figs.
Select Year
About the Wine
After the snowfalls on the 7th January, the Winter and the Spring of the year 1997 were warm and dry. The higher than normal temperatures brought on early bud burst and the berry set for all the vineyards was good. From flowering up to September there were frequent rain showers which meant that the initial advance to the season was lost to a more gradual ripening period.
The weather during the harvest was extremely hot, as a result the fermentation temperatures were high and an extra effort was required to prolong the fermentations. The high quality was evident in the Port wines from the start, with the intensity of the must, good integration of the spirit and powerful, attractive aromas.
Tasting Notes
Black purple; opaque. Dense, tight, rich full fruit nose. Cedar and dark berry aromas. A big, full bodied wine with great finesse and style. Great character and potential.
Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate