Beth Sheligo hosted a "dark dessert wines" tasting last Friday, and my contribution ot the evening was a bottles each of the 2000 Graham's and 2000 Fonseca. vintage port.
The tasting began at 7:30 PM, the Ports were not served until after 9, and I had opened them at about 4:30. I thought about double decanting and should have, but ultimately the results were quite fine (on night two).
On the first night both showed quite spirity, but the Graham's more so than the Fonseca. A few minutes of swirling in the glass helped the Fonseca settle down into that lovely velvet robe of fruit (with the bed of spikes underneath) that I remembered from my last taste 3 years ago. The Graham's was quite spirity until it had 30 minutes in the glass when it took on a more forward, monolithic fruitiness and even bolder tannins. Tons of potential in both but very little pleasure. About 1/3 of each 375 ml was left, so I corked them up and we did not revisit until over 24 hours had passed.
Night two brought a difference that I could not have imagined. Both wines had shed their spiritous nature and settled in to a youthful, but extraordinarily delicious state. The Graham's was spicier, with more of a macerated blackberry fruit character, while the Fonseca had a complex array of dark red and black fruit, sweet herbs and vanilla that reminded me why I originally thought a few years ago that I could drink it with a meal rahter than as a finishing Port. There was absolutely no hint that these wines had been open for nearly 30 hours, and if I had to guess I would say that half bottles need at least 15 more years and fulls at least 30. Majestic and soul satisfying Ports.