A:

Hi Marino, What a lovely gift to have received!   1988 was a difficult year in the Douro - see our 1988 Vintage Overview.  Generally these wines are not considered likely to be very long lived - so at 20 odd years of age, this would certainly be a candidate for opening when next you have family or friends around with whom to share it.  You needn't rush, but you needn't plan on cellaring it many more years, either.  You might be interested in our article about how Vintage Port ages in bottle, and the change in flavour profile over the lifetime of the wine.  As you will see, Charles thinks wines from the 80s and very early 90's are generally drinking well now.  Enjoy!