For The Love Of Port

3 x 2011 Niepoort Bioma Vinha Velha won at auction for $45 each. One to John M. Incredible pickup. Congrats. With the way Niepoort is going, that's the Port equivalent of buying Bitcoin 15 years ago. Great house, great year and special vineyard, even in the unlikely event the Port isn't the best, i...

One question, should I keep this in the refrigerator now? I worry about how fast something like this will degrade once opened?

The importer label is the only label on the back. Thanks Mike. I had guessed very early 90s, so that's really incredible. I assume that because they were bottled young around 7-10 y.o. and by a good shipper, and presumably well stored, is why they have managed to survive that much bottle age without...

For sure, it was absolutely worth the gamble. I bought the lot thinking I would use them as gifts for the unitiated, but because they are so old, I'm not so sure about that anymore. I may just have to make the sacrifice of drinking them myself.

I got 10 of these basic tawnies at auction for only $6.30 each all-in. There were no pictures, and for whatever reason, I believed they would be young, but oh no they are not. Luckily, they are still drinking perfectly fine. Somewhat simple smooth caramel, reminiscent of a young Portal White actuall...

When I hear reports like this, it makes me question the whole "bottles should be stored on their side" custom all over again.

I wonder if you had stored them standing, one or two may have been oxidized due to overly shrunk corks, but you'd have no leaks or seepages.

Wow you guys are on an absolute tear this week.

QVDM Reserva, Lote 14 - I enjoy the Port of this house, they are not world beaters by any means but I find that they have a high floor.

This Port glut/low demand ratio will not last. As I said last year when they cut to 90K, they want to redouble their efforts in improving global distribution, not cut supply. And if a pipa is only 1K euro, then they need to get bottling & processing costs down to get that cheap port out there. C...

2015 Niepoort VP Young I know, but I wanted to know whether to pick more of these up. Yes, I will need gallons of this.... Lovely, massive red bouquet with citrus. And with what I'm learning is a NIepoort-style spicyness. Good as pnp for maximum lush fruit aromas, more winelike later in the day, 2nd...

I am pretty sure that if you were buying on release today, the best LBVs being sold, will in 20+ years give you a much higher ROI than the average VP. Simply because you can acquire them at a quarter of the price and, well, few people actually currently invest in cases of LBVs judging by their relat...

2014 Noble & Murat LBV

A solidly above average LBV, bodes very well for this new reborn brand.

88 Churchill Crusted Interesting port, cherry candy note with some citrus but a bit "watered." Has some other complexity that I can't quite pin down. It's ready, a bit hot though. Hasn't really improved overnight, I'd probably pop n' pour the next one. Bottom half of the cork shattered, I ...

2014 Romaneira LBV A "vodka-like" Port. Not because it was particularly hot and spirity, which it really isn't, but because it didn't taste like much of anything at all! Especially the first day. Perhaps a "dumb" phase? Tannin support is ok, concentration not an issue, acidity is...

2014 Noval LBV. Unfiltered but the deposit came up short of expectations. Needed plenty of air. A decent enough Port, with adequate tannic support but a bit thin, and with a very dark almost "evil" flavor with noticeable spirit - save this one for a Halloween. The 2014 Sandeman LBV I had r...

What about the whole idea that '87 should perhaps have been more widely declared?

I know Glenn really likes the Vargellas from that year. But is there anything else of note there, that is perhaps on par with the better '83s?

Crusteds, and unusual unfiltered LBVs and VPs. Magnums and Half bottles are also interesting because they can be hard to come by. If they're aged, found in some dusty cellar over there in Gaia or the Douro, even better! I'm sure aged ones would sell better to the older crowd. A Quinado Port would al...

Am letting the new vintages take some depreciation first.

I''ve been picking up the occasional 2015-17 on bids if the price is right.

The very first Port I tasted I couldn't possibly recall because I was around 8-9 years old and my grandmother would give me a teaspoon on rare occasion. I'm pretty confident it was a tawny though, and this was in Brazil around 1999, and my grandmother lived on a pension, so it was probably some Ramo...

Borges Reserve Ruby

Totally muted upon opening, not one for Pop n'Pour. Next day better but prickly, bloody, and uninteresting, not worth it, they should spend less putting the bottle in a tube and more on the winemaking. So far, Sandeman FR remains the best easily obtainable RR atm.

Even now in other forums (such as reddit) people seem to overrate '85 vs '83 because of Graham and Fonseca. The top end VPs definitely have a lot of weight because it is only they which "survive" the ages. I would posit that in the future everyone will have access to more information (as i...