For The Love Of Port

I agree that there’s a significant amount of bottle variation Portugal was a desperately poor country in the immediate aftermath of the revolution, and in the years that followed there was little investment and renewal and a lot of cost cutting, which took its toll on quality and consistancy. Thing...

IMG_5896.jpeg Inspired by a friend’s recent experience with this Port, I opened one yesterday. It’s finally starting to mature. It’s damn delicious! I don't think anything from '85 even comes close. As it approaches its fortieth, the 85 vintage is starting to come round very nicely. I had a really ...

Offley 35 Second of a pair. When the first was opened, it had a short replacement cork and only fine sediment. It didn't show well and I realised that these were merchant decanted bottles that should have been drunk decades ago. Second one opened last night to drink through as I see the year out - a...

A vintage I've never sampled, other than as a white port, a Taylor 1971 LBV If you've never tried one, I'll give you a heads up - don't bother! The bottle was in good order with base of neck level and reasonable colour for its age, but the wine itself seemed dilute and was wholly characterless - so ...

Well my 1912's cork was branded S H Day & Co. Vintage 1912 - bottler put his own stamp on it. Drank well however, with characteristics that made us suspect Croft or Sandeman. Bit disappointing it didn't reveal a major shipper's name tho' Not the oldest bottle drunk last night, that was a rather ...

If there is a ready roaring fire available, I'd be inclined to use the tongs on every bottle.

There will be!

and the ceremony has long died off

Not in these parts! Every bottle opened tonight will be decapitated.

So sad to break the necks off very old bottles. Prefer to push the cork in and bag it out in one piece and keep the old bottle intact. Hopefully it shows well. I only preserve empties if they are exceptionally old or have interesting labels. It's bad enough finding space for full bottles without st...

Will be opening a 1912 tomorrow night. One of four bottles bought ten years ago, capsules indicating that they were bottled by Messrs Day of London (about whom I know nothing at all) and the vintage date. Will be knockng the neck off with tongs heated in my pub's fire and it will join a motley colle...

[quote I opened a 375ml of the 94 Warre in Sept 2022 and it was heavenly. In my tasting note I remarked it "almost tasted young." I have a second 375ml in my cellar, might be time to try it again! [/quote] Well, in my book it is still young! The 94s seem to be on a very long maturation cyc...

Friday, we opened an '85 Gould Campbell VP. Basic fresh grape taste on pop and pour. Last night was marvelous. Super long finish and wonderful floral and tangerine nose. Reallyt special port. Has to be one of the best of the vintage. Expecting to finish the bottle today. When we had an 85@30 tastin...

Dow 85

Early release bottling, the one wth opaque glass. Last sampled in 2019

At last! After years of playing the ugly ducklng, this wine is finally blossoming. Still has a little further to go, but developing some real elegance now 8-9

It’s getting time to start drinking these up. They’re maturing at a very quick pace. A lovely fully matured VP at this point. To my mind the 91s are now approaching the bottom of the second cycle of the maturation oscillation. At this point both the 60 and 75 vintages were widely but prematurely ca...

Vesuvio 91 Not corked, but a distinctly woody taste to this bottle, which is a little odd. I find myself looking at the short and seemingly highly compressed cork with a little suspicion. Aside from that a wine that is now maturing nicely. Well past it's first youthful flush but still very dark. Not...

Some recent encounters: Quarles Harris '77 - from a rather evolved case, easy quaff, nothing special Martinez '87 - good dark wine, loads of beef and life left, pity this is so rarely seen Graham '75 - this vintage is mellowing with age to an extent I'd have never predicted two decades ago Dow '70 -...

A.S. Demka wrote: ↑Thu Nov 09, 2023 11:06 am At auction:
2x Noval over 40 yo tawny, bottled in 1975, 3,5cm BC
5x Rocha's over 40 yo tawny, bottled in 1984, 3cm BC or better
Very old bottling, a bit tricky, but at a good price (less than € 50,- per bottle)

I've invariably had good results with long bottle aged Noval tawnies - great find!

I think I am ~25 port mags.

Of port I have:

146 Mags
1 Tappit hen
15 Double mags
7 Imperials
2 Salmanazars
3 Nebuchadnezzars

Another stash arrived today from Portugal Vineyards - a great source for the humbler Portuguese wines - VP and long age tawnies are offered, but at silly prices. Included were 2016 LBVs from three producers I've never owned or tasted in any shape or form: Quinta do Estanho Quinta dos Avidagos Quinta...

Fonseca 80 The second of two cases of this wine that I've had. This one bought at auction and owned for nine years before getting round to opening it a couple of months ago. It was not an encouraging sight. Seven of the bottles had staining on their selos and the levels ranged from BN to VTS. Fearin...

Moses Botbol wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2023 9:47 am

Tom Archer wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2023 8:01 am

had to serve it a glencairn glass

Had to Google to find out what that looked like - perfectly adequate for an old tawny.

I'm surprised you did not know what those are.

I've never encountered one - the company seems better at export than domestic sales!