For The Love Of Port

Depending on your budget, you could take the train up to Vesúvio and take the organised visit. It’s not cheap, but it’s an amazing experience and means you take the train through the most spectacular parts of the Douro which lie upriver of Pinhão, past the cachão de Valeira where barão Forrester die...

If my memory serves me well, a friend of mine visited Porto about a year ago and was able to taste two different Crusted “vintages” side by side at the Churchill tasting rooms.

It was my daughter’s wedding last Friday. We opened a 6 litre bottle of Quinta do Noval 2000 Colheita to be shared between the 120 guests.

The following Monday I went to a cricket match and took a bottle of Taylor’s Terra Feita 1986.

I can't argue against anything already suggested but I'm going to add a couple of things. (1) You really do need to visit Garrafeira Nacional on Rua das Flores. Although it's never 100% accurate, you can see what they have available by the glass from their website here . I visit when I can because i...

The company that imports Cálem into the UK is mainly a wholesaler and distributor but they recently opened a store on the High Street in Oxford. When I visited today, I loved the complete range of Tawny and White Ports on the shelf — but it was a recently shipped, ex-cellars bottle of Calem 1985 tha...

I opened bottles of Borges 1979 and Malvedos 1979 to go alongside a bottle of Noval Nacional 1979.

It’s not often you have a 1979 Vintage Port horizontal! They were all pretty decent Ports and I was thrilled to have the chance to try a Nacional I’ve never seen before.

Selos are for tax purposes. The lodges buy them but don't have to use them immediately. I doubt most keep track of which lot of selos are used for which bottling run. A few Madeira producers keep track, but their bottling numbers are way, way less. Selo’s are tracked. At least to a bottling time an...

I've just opened a previously unopened case (of 12) of Taylor Vargellas 1965 that I've owned for about 15 years. Of the 12 bottles, 1 had a complete cork failure and was empty. 2 were low shoulder having leaked all over the cardboard sleeves the bottles were packed in. 3 bottles were mid-shoulder wi...

'77 Ferreira. Was watching Ferreira videos on YouTube and had to open something Ferreira at that point! In typical Ferreira fashion, the cork fell into the bottle. The port was sublime though. Any chance of some links to the Ferreira videos? I’ve got a bottle of Ferreira 1963 I plan to open this ye...

I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of one of these visits, which are usually delivered by one of the more experienced members of the team of guides from Bomfim.

The visits are very well curated and are a great experience.

Roy Hersh wrote: ↑Thu Aug 21, 2025 2:30 pmIn the middle of the city and easy to get to. Take a taxi, or Uber/Bolt. Parking would be really difficult, but practically nobody reading this post would be driving, so ...

What’s the nearest metro station? Or bus stop?

An unknown Port, which turned out to be a bottle of Noval 1947.

I was organising some bottles in my cellar this afternoon, taking bottles on this year’s drinking list out of part empty cases. It was a bit of a surprise when I took this out of a case of Vesuvio 1990. I didn’t know I had any of these bottles left. This is probably the bottle of Port that I’ve owne...

I found an odd bottle of Taylor Vargellas 1967 in the cellar. It’s not there any more! A bit spirity and evolved, but still quite pleasant.

Quinta do Noval 2005 Colheita for the virtual tasting that Mike refers to.

Croft 2004 LBV (a half bottle cellar defender - but these are just fabulous).

And today a bottle of Berry Brothers Own Selection 1977 ( by Quarles Harris), which are still so primary.

I can't comment about countries outside the UK, but there is a glut of unsold Port in the warehouses in this country. This is partly due to a change in tax structure on wines in the UK where duty is now based on the alcohol content of each bottle - meaning a very significant increase in the tax need...

I find that as a cellar defender, Blandy 5YO Reserve Doce is a delicious bottle to open. This one is the first from a case of six (50cl) bottles.

Thursday - Cockburn 1912 VP Friday - Devesa 80YO White (which was corked) and Poças Centenary Quinado Saturday — Martinez 1955 VP and Graham 1940 Colheita Sunday - Borges Muito Velho (also corked!) Monday - Croft 1945 Tuesday - Taylor Fladgate 20YO and Dow 2007 Colheita Now I’m on a break until Satu...

Last weekend we opened bottles of Quinta das Lamelas 20YO White (bottled 2018) and Sandeman 2005 LBV (bottled 2009). Both were fabulous. The Sandeman LBV would have passed as VP if I’d served it blind to knowledgable Port friends.

Believe it or not, I’ve just bought a six-pack of Blandy’s 5YO Doce. Very easy to drink but cheap enough not to feel guilty if it gets used in cooking.