The cork had broken in half at some point, general view was most likely on the travel up or when tonging. The bottle had very thick glass, once the cork was pushed out there was nothing on it.
This was a very odd port for me, darker in colour to the rest of the 19th century ports, I high hopes on first sip, rich fruit, but no balance and a short finish, must come back to this, after 20 minutes it had got worst and fallen apart. Poor
1884 Taylor, opened at 18.30 and decanted 2 hours later. Tasted ½ hour after decanting. Dark mature red colour, with a wide rim. Initially a little bottle stink on the nose but this mostly blew off quite quickly although the wine remained a bit dirty, or perhaps with a hint of petrol on the nose. Sweet and slightly raisined fruit on the palate, a slight burnt tone and with some dark, black treacle elements in the bramble fruit. Burnt rhubarb on the long finish. The profile is unlike any of the Taylor wines either side of it leaving me to wonder if it is genuine. Drinkable, but definitely wrong. 81/100.
Top Ports in 2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
2025: Quevedo 1972 Colheita, b.2024. Just as good as Niepoort 1900!