For The Love Of Port

I've been drinking lots of the Bin 27 recenty as it was discounted to C$11 and we've been drinking it like water i would, too! i wish i could find it for that cheap! i would always have a bottle in my bag and become the Port fairy! Unfortunately that will be the last of it. Initially I bought two b...

Hi Roy, I bought a pair of them recently, here in Edmonton. I have since seen it elsewhere in town at double the price. I have no idea about the age of the bottles I bought, whether it was older stock or not. Most alarming was what was written on the back label: " Perfect served on the rocks wi...

Casa dos Vinhos, Fine Old Madeira, 5 Years Old 19% Opened a bottle on the weekend at the end of a dinner and wine evening among friends and it was well received. The colour is a quite light, brown core with a tawny rim and a fair degree of viscosity and legs. The nose is nicely delineated, basicall...

I think it's quite okay for port firms to choose when to bottle their LBVs, at either 4, 5, or 6 years of age. After all, LBVs are meant to be drunk when young, and vintage variatiation will affect the winemakers decision on when it should be bottled. All I want is that they put the bottling date on...

I've neither had the 2011 ports nor do I intend on buying any - I've stopped at the 2000/2003 vintages - however if I was to choose between the two I would opt for the Fonseca over the Taylor's. As for the Quinta do Noval LBV all I can say is that I recently found a bottle of the 2007 for almost the...

Massandra definitely was Russian, then it became Ukrainian, and now it is Russian again. I don't think you can say that for any other winery.

Mahmoud.

The Smith Woodhouse is probably the best '77 I've had along with the Fonseca.

Mahmoud.

Fred, That's a fine looking retro bottle but, like you, I could find nothing about it. Clearly it is an older branding that likely hasn't been made for quite some time. Blandy is an old and reputable company and one would hope that they would boottle decent enough Madeira into a brand named after a ...

Thanks for the information Niklas. It's interesting to know that Casa dos Vinhos is associated with Henriques & Henriques, certainly no bad thing. Using your information I see that Casa dos Vinhos is on the Henriques website and that it was founded in 1932. So, a sweeter style, good to know. I w...

Has anyone tried this 5 year-old Madeira from Casa dos Vinhos? I found a couple of these for what appeared to be a fair price (C$15.75) and thought it worth a shot. There doesn't seem to be much information about this producer but it does seem to be something that is available acroiss Canada. Casado...

Good call H-Port-er on stocking up. Sometimes an LBV, whether filtered or not, hits the sweet spot. I did that with the '03 vintage.

Mahmoud.

I don't doubt that filtering takes something away from an LBV (or a wine for that matter) but surely filtering itself does not disqualify a port from being able to age if, after filtration, it still has power, depth, and structure. One of my favourite LBVs, the 1994 Noval LBV doesn't say anything ab...

They're filtered, and pretty heavily as near as I can tell, so they're getting a little old at this point. I've been meaning to drink my last one but haven't had a good excuse, so drinking it with an '11 will provide that. Agreed, Taylor's LBVs are filtered but wouldn't you say that structure, bala...

2011 is right back up there, though I have not yet decided which I like better. (2011 or 2003) I do actually still have one 2003 left to open, and I think it's going to have to be side-by-side with a 2011! I will have to try an '11 Taylor's. I went out hunting for the '03 and so have a few bottles ...

Interesting that your bottle of LBV has a bottling date whereas mine doesn't. It suggests that the producer thinks that the bottling date is not important in the Canadian market. I've been noticing an absence of bottling dates on some of the LBVs here, in particular the Dow, Cockburn, and Graham, an...

An '11 bottled in '15 means the minimum four years so it's no wonder it has a tannic finish and some potential. I quite like the firmer LBVs.

I haven't had the 2011 but among the early '00s I thought the '03 was brilliant, head and shoulders better than the '01, '02' 04, and '05. The '03 had a bottling date (2009) and I was wondering if the '11 had one.

Mahmoud.

I very much liked the 2006 Crasto LBV, it was delicious and, like yours, showed potential. Not having the bottle on hand I cannot say whether it had a bottling date and would like to know if the 2011 has one.

Mahmoud

I just bought a bottle of this LBV and though it says unfiltered there was no mention of when it was bottled. What about yours?

Mahmoud.

Smith Woodhouse is a "traditional" LBV so it is usually unfiltered and probably bottled four years after the vintage. Did the label have a bottling date and was there any mention of it being unfiltered?

Mahmoud.