For The Love Of Port

Another couple of 2022's have been declared: 2022 Quinta do Vesúvio (SRP $120) and 2022 Additionally, only the 5th release of Capela da Quinta do Vesúvio (SRP $400), a single vineyard Vintage Port will also be declared. Warre's news follows: The following three Vintage Ports will be released en prim...

Also found recently some 2000 Quinta de la Rosa Tinto Reserve, and 1994 Quinta da Passadouro (bottled for Niepoort) Tinto. This is one of the benefits of living here. Now with five shops that call me when they obtain well stored, older bottles of table wine. Not Port, unfortunately. But I am drinkin...

24 bottles of Quinta de la Rosa Reserva from 2004. The price at 35 Euros each was impossible to resist.

2 bottle of Justino's 50 year old Terrantez. One can never have enough of these. Also the price keeps going up, so dollar cost averaging helps.

With an old-in-bottle Port like this, it will need time in decanter for the minor particulate that has precipitated out, also to clean up the aromatics after 5+ decades in bottle. I'd rather err on the side of caution and leave it in an open decanter for 3-4 hours at most. The VV bottling is a sturd...

Burmester 1952 Colheita Kopke 1966 Colheita 150 Year Old "Vinho Generoso" - producer unknown. This bottle was brought to my table last night and a glass each poured for us. No clue as to producer, specifics of the age or where the bottling took place. There was a facsimile label, but no ba...

True. Solely based on "QPR" there's no question that the Quevedo is the winner. I thought the Nacional was quite good. I did not like it as much as other recent releases of Nacional. But, few here are in the market for Nacional given the price point. Some of the ratings for the Nacional we...

Eric, Good photos. Yes, I agree with you that Portal remains one of the most modern facilities in Douro, along with Napoles of Niepoort fame. But while equipment at Portal is way more modern than the vast majority of the Douro producers, the layout offers lots of flexibility ... the design was brill...

Did you love the 1983 GC?

I brought a group of Oxford students to the Douro for their first time and truly enjoyed watching their amazement and enthusiasm when coming from the other side of the Mourao mountains by train and seeing the vineyards in all their glory. Being a single day trip, there was only one place for them to...

Both sound fabulous!

Yeah, but we've all heard him say (for decades) "We will NEVER produce table wines."

Never say never.

Over the past few weeks, I've opened a 1971 D'Oliveiras Terrantez. 1940 JVH Sercial and a Justino's 50 year old Terrantez. I loved all 3 and plan to keep these open and not finish them for the next couple of months.

Knowing Niklas, it is interesting to hear that he just gave up on his old passion, Madeira. Interesting character, I hope he has found something great to occupy his time!

They are also scouting out properties in Pico Island of the Azores. In fact, they have taken on the distribution rights of Tito's wines there and will be sell them on the mainland and possibly far beyond. But I believe they not only see the distinct quality potential there, but I've been told them w...

10-20-30-40-50 year old Whites and Tawnies from my friend Torben Mandrup and Joana Duarte, (former winemaker at Bulas).

Also a fresh and killer bottle of DR L70.

Like Alex, I don't purchase many bottles of Port anymore. But in addition to a couple of Van Zeller 20 and 30 year old Tawnies two weeks ago, I found a stellar bottle owned by a friend in Porto, selling off some of his oldest wines and he gave me a good deal on a pristine 1955 Sandeman. Anyway, I lo...

Yes, I received a call on Sunday letting me know of this big news. All 53 hectares, and all. But while it was not official until last night, when the final pieces of the negotiations were signed off on. There is a Frenchman who is the consulting oenologist for Portal, provides insight for Paulo Cout...

I was with Cristiano van Zeller last week and he told me that he had talked Jose and Iolanda into allowing him to bottle a limited edition lote of the 1896s and the 1863 as well. I had no idea he had been directly involved in that project. I assume it was before the Taylor bottling in 2014, that Ale...

A duff bottle, no. But I can remember a 15-20 minute struggle with a 1966 Fonseca VP. Screw driver didn't work, so I carefully tried to cut through the rubber with an exacto-blade and was happy I left with both hands and fingers attached!