How must a Vintage Port be handled before serving due to its maturation process?
Answer
It must be gently decanted hours in advance due to the formation of thick sediment
Vintage Port is bottled unfiltered after only two years in wood, which means that during its subsequent decades of bottle aging, a thick, heavy sediment forms at the bottom of the bottle. This sediment is comprised of precipitated tannins and pigments and is undesirable in the glass. Therefore, Vintage Port requires careful handling; it must be gently decanted, often several hours prior to consumption—sometimes up to four hours for very old bottles—to separate the clear wine from this sediment. Furthermore, after decanting, the wine should be kept away from direct light to allow it time to breathe and soften without accelerating undesirable oxidation.
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