1982 Taylor LBV

[winesecretary]

A magnum which I noticed yesterday was starting to seep so has this evening been put on the chopping block. Stopper cork which broke on opening.

Pop and decant and pour.

Nice and clear despite three hours on trains today. A deep rose colour.

Violets on the nose.

Dairy Milk on the palate and then some dried cranberry.

This is really rather decent, if a little one-dimensional. Certainly more than 'still alive'.

Six for dinner tonight and I am not going expecting it to last the evening out. So a Wine Society Crusted bottled 2013 has been decanted as well.

[winesecretary]

Plus 24 hours

A little survived from yesterday. Has acquired a rather attractive black strap character which I would not have suspected was possible.

[Mike J. W.]

I assume this was filtered like their late versions? I've recently had their 1992 and 1994 LBV's and although they were filtered, they were both very good all things considered. The other thing I find with LBV's that have about 25 or more years on them is they to me they seem to "break down" in the sense that they are not structured Port per se, but they are still quite good. Did you find something similar with the '82?

[winesecretary]

Mike, good to hear from you.

I would assume it had been at least sieved but not finely filtered as this definitely had some sediment, but not to the extent you would expect in a vintage port of the same age. The back label explained that, if left, it may develop sediment and, if so, it should be decanted.

Could you elaborate on what you mean by 'structured Port'?

[Mike J. W.]

When I was referring to structured Port I'm really talking about any typical Ruby style Port that is drinkable. What I've found with LBV's that have a lot of age to them is that they seem to have lost their structure and yet they're still good. They've pretty much have lost their tannins and although they are usually good, they taste different than what a typical Ruby would taste like. It's almost like they're unknit, but not in a bad way. My explanation probably doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense, but I don't know how else to describe it.