When to uncork an 82-year-old port

A reader wrote to inquire about a 1924 Spanish sherry that had been a gift from her late father. Would it keep until 2024, she wondered, which would be his 100th birthday?

I wrote back to ask for more details and upon looking more closely at the bottle the reader, to her surprise, found that the "sherry" was actually a 1924 Taylor Fladgate Port from Berry Bros. & Co. in London!

I turned to my friend Roy Hersh, an authority on all things to do with port, to see what he could tell me about this bottle. Hersh (www.fortheloveofport.com) had this to say:

"As best I can tell from your description this is a 1924 Taylor's vintage port," he wrote. "This was an excellent vintage when young and sold well in an 'up' market in Europe. Small quantities were produced as there were three significant heat waves with extreme temperatures, early in the ripening season."

When he tasted it a few years ago, Hersh continued, "the 1924 Taylor had a graceful garnet hue and held its color very well, with an orangish tinge on the rim. It was incredibly lively given its age and held up well in the glass.

"The bottle was opened a few hours prior to the tasting but was not decanted. I felt that the 1924 had more grip and complexity than did the '27. It showed some dusty plum flavors and roasted chestnuts with a sweetness on the finish that reminded me of homemade toffee."

As to its value, Hersh found the same wine selling today at auction for $450. Two U.S. retailers currently have bottles priced at $700 and $850.

"If I were to buy a bottle of the 1924 in top condition," he concludes, "I would expect to pay $600-$750."

Will it keep another 18 years? I'm not sure I would wait to find out! In any event it should be treated very delicately and opened very carefully, by someone who knows how to extract old corks.

You, dear reader, have a true treasure on your hands.

He can be reached by e-mail

at wine@seattletimes.com.