For The Love Of Port

Thanks, Andy. I guess I am wondering if any vintage has had ratings like this say 30 years out. I understand that these ratings may not hold, but if they did...

Question that is slightly off topic. I saw that Suckling rated Taylor Fladgate's Vinha Velhas the highest in his tastings. I was always under the impression that in declared years, SQVP's were not released. But obviously they were this year. Is this typical? I haven't tasted any barrel tasting, but ...

I only order tawnies. I was at a restaurant recently that had about five different VPs open. They were good vintages but I asked the bartender how long they had been open, and he told me "months". I have a hard time ordering port at a restaurant knowing that I can buy a whole bottle at auc...

I haven't seen the '95 version but I'll have to keep my eye out for it

Cork fell apart upon opening but decanted through cheese cloth so it was fine. Lots of fruit on the nose: cherries and apple. Licorice. No noticeable sediment. +1.5 hours -- lots of fruit, mostly cherry, a hint of chocolate. Smooth, no noticeable alcohol. +3.25 hours -- lots of red fruit, long finis...

I feel like I need to find a better bottle of this now so I can form an opinion about this controversial wine

Cork came out easily. Heat, red fruits and bark on the nose. Decanted at room temperature. +1 hour -- cherry and chocolate, like a piece of chocolate with a cherry liquor center, a hint of raisins, nice acidic finish that makes the mouth water. +3.5 hours -- lots of chocolate, carmel, round, smooth ...

You could be right, Roy. I haven't had vintage port in a while but I am right now enjoying a 1991 Warre's. The difference is startling, so much so that I do suspect that there might have been a storage problem. It's hard to tell what you are getting when you buy wine at auction, but it's the only wa...

Drank from 375ml bottle bought at online auction. Very tawny in appearance upon decanting, a dark rose/ruby color. I was a little worried... +1.25 hours -- red fruits mostly cherry, some heat. Very round tannins, velvety in the mouth. +2.25 -- this starting to get very nice. Thick on the tongue, che...

I like Smith Woodhouse and have a number of vintages, including the '85. I have been reluctant to open the '85 because I have heard that many bottles suffer from VA. Glad to hear yours didn't. Maybe I'll have to try mine.

Bottled in 2007 Amber color, very little heat on the nose. Caramel, cherries, acts like it is going get a bit medicinal on the finish but instead fades into a nice, long 20 second nutty finish. Zero heat. Very nice, indeed. I am going to give this a 91 . This is the first port I've had in about 6 mo...

Interestingly (at least to me), I have a slightly different attitude to opening young ports than I did just 10 months ago when this thread started. As some folks predicted, I am a lot more protective of my young ports. While I still feel justified in opening a young port occasionally to see how it i...

Thanks for the info. Given that people aren't blown away with this, I am going to open up one bottle over the next week or so. If it is decent, I'll go back and buy more. At $16, it will have to be fairly unimpressive for me not to buy at least a couple of bottles...

Has anyone tried this? I have found it selling for about $16 a bottle. Unless it is a real dog or has consistent flaws, I figure at that price I really can't go wrong. But I thought I'd throw it out to the group before I go buy a case...

The only port I have found in the 500mL format is the Warre Otima 10 yr. tawny. I agree that 500ml might be the perfect size

+ 5.5 hours decanting A bit closed, dark berry flavors. +14 hours decanting Cherry flavors and a lot of acidity that creates a really long finish. Not a ton of complexity to this port at this point, but could turn out to be quite nice. But wouldn't touch this again for an other 3-5 years. Still qui...

Todd, I agree completely. Half-bottles let me try out of lot of VPs that I ordinarily would have to pass on because of cost.

I have to say I actually favor half bottles over 750mL bottles. I've managed to find them regularly at close to half the 750mL price. With larger bottles, I find that since I am often the only one drinking, I end up wasting a fair amount. And while I can always store half the bottle for later drinki...

Exact same experience for me. Enjoyable, but too much heat.

I had a little of this left over a week later. Unsurprisingly, it had seriously deteriorated. Just a decent ruby now.