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
1988
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.
About the Wine
A warm wet winter was followed by a dry period in the early Spring. No rain fell at all in the Upper Douro in March, and the average temperature was 20ºC, which was unseasonably high for the time of year. No rain fell in August, and the second half of this month and the first week of September were extremely hot, the average temperature for these two months being just under 27ºC.
Weather conditions were ideal for the vintage with warm, sunny days and cool nights, and no rain fell at all during the harvest. Due to the very hot weather prior to the Vintage, there was considerable dehydration of the juice which resulted in more concentrated musts with good flavour and colour.
Tasting Notes
Pungent, ripe fruit with rich jammy nose. Smooth, velvety wine with nice volume and balance. Fruit is full, luscious and delightfully fresh still. Lots of plum jam, prune and liquorice. Perfect drinking now.
Neal Martin