The 1989 Late Bottled Vintage Port is a blend of 45% Tinta Barroca, 5% Touriga Nacional and a field blend of undetermined percentages but mostly, I'm told, consisting of Tinta Barroca and Tinta Amarela. Bottled in October 1992, it comes in at 91.6 grams per liter of residual sugar. Since the new 2014 is here, it's not a bad time to demonstrate how Ramos Pinto's Traditional LBVs age. This is a better vintage, though. It needs some 45 minutes of air to wake up, as older wines do. (Are you ready to roll at maximum capacity a few minutes after you wake up? Neither are they.) Then, it's lovely. Time has softened this, but it still is relatively fresh, vibrant and lively. The tannins are moderate, but there is still firmness on the finish. The fruit is tasty as well as complex. The mid-palate still has reasonable concentration. Then, the sunny demeanor of this Port and its juicy finish make this a big winner, even at age 30, when most LBVs have given up the ghost.
How much longer? Who can say, as long as the cork remains sound (this cork came out a little too easily, but the wine was still fine—this time). It was still very good a couple of days later. It won't get better, but this has prime life left. Let's take it in stages and just advance the drinking window a bit in the interests of caution. But it should last longer.