For The Love Of Port

The '70 Quinta Do Noval had a strong alcohol nose which was not evident on the palate. The primary taste was of fruit, mostly cranberry and pomegranate with a mildly tart finish lasting at least 11 seconds. Several hours after decanting most of the alcohol had dissipated and the nose was mainly mapl...

The 1970 Graham smelled like grape jelly and tobacco and had a medium thickness in the glass. The color was a rich and dark reddish purple. It had the wonderful flavor of cherry fountain soda syrup with a hint of strawberry and pear. A perfectly balanced Port and one of the best of the 1970 vintage ...

The 1908 Graham was a cloudy pink and plum color in the glass and fairly dark for it's age. The nose was of sugar, toffee, raspberries, and pineapple.. very fresh and sweet smelling. It was soft and smooth on the palate and tasted strongly of raspberries and grapes with floral undertones. The 100 ye...

I had four 1970 Ports last weekend in a mini horizontal and one bottle the week before.. all of them were excellent.. I have never yet had a '70 that was bad. Thirty Eight to forty two years may be the best age for Vintage Port as the '66's are drinking very well now too! I think right now the 1970 ...

The most expensive is probably the 1931 Noval Nacional..the rarest however is probably not the most expensive ...To me the rarest would have to be any 1815 vintage because this is the oldest known and confirmed Port to exist in the world currently. I have only heard stories of older Port existing.. ...

blogs are for people without real websites..
..a blog with the amount of posts on FTLOP would be a mess!

Whichever the case, I will not stop at the 1985 Dow's but will trudge ahead and try a few others. It may be that I will never love port as much as I love madeira (incidentally, I am not a fan of "sweet" so much as a rich complex madeira), but I expect I will eventually come to have a fine...

I like the 1970 Dow the best from what I can remember but I ned to revisit a bottle! My second choice would be the 1980.. I know I've had 1983's, '77's and '85's that were good as well. I'm not a fan of the 1963 at all and I've had it several times.
Maybe I'll drink some Dow this weekend!

My favorite is the 1963 Croft with the '70 magnum I had recently in second place.. I have only had '63, '70,'75, '77, and 1985
Hopefully I can add a new favorite to the line up soon!

The '75 Grahams is pretty good and the best of the few '75's I've had ...Croft is in second place for me. Although both were very light they drink well now ..I just don't think they will last another 20 years!

I haven't had many ..they are impossible to find in the US!
The only Niepoort vintages I have ever had were in Portugal at Niepoort!

The 1795 Barbeito Terrantez lived up to the excitement of opening an 18th century bottle. Immediately after uncorking the scents of burnt sugar, vanilla, caramel flan, and maple permeated the room. The color in the glass was dark amber ruby and brown, very youthful looking for it's age. On the init...

Sean, You and Moses hopefully can come and help me drink up some of the old bottles some time! I'm about an hour North of Boston. Sounds good to me..or if you want to come to MA.. any weekend! We just had a 1963 Sandeman and a 1966 Graham last night and both were excellent. Let me know and we can p...

Never heard of it and I haven't found a reference to "Kings Port" in any of my old Port books.
A picture would be helpful.

Ronald Wortel wrote:

SEAN C. wrote:I own but have not yet tried the '34, '63, '77, and '85

I tried the '34 not too long ago, and it was showing surprisingly well.

Good to know..thanks!
My bottle looks to be in excellent condition ..but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed!

Nice lineup Ted! I would get rid of all the 1970's and '77's they are just too old and probably no good.. Moses B. and I are close to NH and can probably help get rid of them for you.. we normally only charge a small "bottle disposal" fee of .27 per unit but I would be willing to just get ...

What would you recommend for decanting times on each of the following bottles? All are CROFT

1. 1896
2. 1912
3. 1917
4. 1920
5. 1924
6. 1927
7. 1933
8. 1935
9. 1945
10. 1950
11. 1955
12. 1960
13. 1963
14. 1966
15.1970 (magnum)

..updated to include complete list

My favorite Sandeman is probably the 1980, although I also liked the 1966 and 1945.
I have also tried a 1927 but it was oxidized
I own but have not yet tried the '34, '63, '77, and '85

I had a 1970 magnum of Croft, a 1908 Graham and a 1970 Graham.
All were excellent!

The 1795 Barbeito Terrantez lived up to the excitement of opening an 18th century bottle. Immediately after uncorking the scents of burnt sugar, vanilla, caramel flan, and maple permeated the room. The color in the glass was dark amber ruby and brown, very youthful looking for it's age. On the initi...