For The Love Of Port

6 (50cl) bottles of Andresen 10YO White and 2 of Andresen 40YO White to replace stocks drunk over the summer. I took a bottle of the 10YO with me on vacation to Sicily and shared it with a few of the sommeliers we met. They were really interested and, in turn, shared some really interesting stuff wi...

What’s the news from the Valley on the amount of grapes grown and unsold? Are we hearing stories of grape farmers with no-one wanting to buy their grapes?

I’ve only ever tasted a perfect Port four times. All of the perfect four I’ve tasted more than once but bottle variation or mood variation meant only once did I award the wine a perfect score. Perfection has been seen in bottles of: Quinta do Noval 1931 in January 2013 Quinta do Noval Nacional 1931 ...

This thread popped up in my Google search when I was looking for the price of a bottle of NN31 which sold in spring 2024. It sold for £22,950 which would have been about $28,950 at the exchange rate at the time. We've also had the sale of 2 of the Niepoort 1863 Lalique magnum decanters. The most rec...

Kopke 50YO white in half, bottled in 2023. These are glorious bottles that balance the high levels of RS with just the right levels of bitterness and acidity.

2011 Warre LBV. Terrific LBV with a ton of life in it. Good VP replacement without breaking the bank. I’ve just got to add my impression to this. This is an amazing Port that has all the qualities of VP at a fraction of the price - and which is drinking really well today and probably will continue ...

18 bottles of Poças 2015 White Colheita over the last 4 weeks. It’s dangerous stuff, only 9 bottles left…

Personally, I’ve broken a couple of Speigelau white wine glasses (the really thin ones), one Riedel Sommelier Port glass, probably 3 or 4 Riedel Vinum Port glasses and a couple of Riedel Vinum Bordeaux glasses. I’ve broken a dozen or so bottles over the years, all Port and many of them 100+ year old...

I was working at a wine show a couple of years ago when one of the logistics staff was delivering glasses. He had a stack of about 6 racks of glasses on a sack trolley - so 6x48≈300 glasses. He was an arrogant man in his mid-twenties and wouldn’t listen to the advice he was offered — or the instruct...

This was much tougher than I thought it was going to be, but I came up with a list quite consistent with other people. My list is:

Niepoort 1987
Ramos Pinto 1982
Feuerheerd 1983
Niepoort 1983
Offley 1980

And maybe I'd try to squeeze Martinez 1985 in my list.

Ramos Pinto 1983 I've had frequently since they used to serve it by the glass in the tasting room - every time I was in Gaia I'd call in and have a glass. It's delicious. A great call. I actually prefer the 1982 (which was the by-the-glass offer in the tasting room when I was there last year). Both ...

There are a lot of Ports being suggested that I've not tasted very often - I think I've had Niepoort 1980 twice, it impressed me once and had TCA the other time. Cockburn 1983 I'd never recommend to someone, probably the opposite. I've given up opening bottles of this now, I'm 3 for 6 but even the o...

In a handful of posts on the recent drinking thread there was an exchange of posts about Vintage Ports in the 1980s. One question which was asked was why is there so much focus on what was made by the Symingtons and the Fladgate Partnership. That led me to thinking - if someone asked me to recommend...

It’s summer (this week) in the UK so it’s White Port season. Bottles of Quevedo 2012 White Colheita and Lamelas 10YO White have been opened and drunk! What Producer makes your favorite White Colheitas and what makes them stand out? That’s a very interesting question. I love Kopke’s White Colheitas....

It’s summer (this week) in the UK so it’s White Port season. Bottles of Quevedo 2012 White Colheita and Lamelas 10YO White have been opened and drunk!

Andy Velebil wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2026 8:11 pm

Al B. wrote:I’ve caved and I’ve bought 12 halves of Fonseca 2024 to drink over the next 2-3 years.

Drink em young!! Hahaha

Well, I’m guessing I won’t be drinking them old and mature…

I’ve caved and I’ve bought 12 halves of Fonseca 2024 to drink over the next 2-3 years.

If your budget stretches to it, the ultimate private tour bespoke to fit your wishes, are probably Quinta do Vesuvio way upriver (but accessible by train, and it is one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world) and the Niepoort Lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia.

This week I’ve opened bottles of Poças 2015 White Colheita (really very good), Croft 2010 Colheita and Quinta da Prelada 30YO White. In a couple of days I’ll be opening a tappit hen of Graham 1975.

I opened a half bottle of Skeffington 2011 for the virtual tasting on Thursday (and a bottle of Quady Starboard Vintage 1994on Wednesday) last week.

The Skeffington was hard to resist!