For The Love Of Port

I've wandered around cruise ships drinking Tawny Port out of an opaque coffee mug. You're not supposed to drink your own alcohol outside of your room, but no one suspects a cup of coffee no matter the time of day.

Inspired by a friend’s recent experience with this Port, I opened one yesterday. It’s finally starting to mature. It’s damn delicious! Yes they're starting to round out nicely at nearly 40 years old. :lol: I do still see some bottle variation, which I suspect is what Moses is seeing. Some bottles a...

It is a superb VP. I think that I also scored it 96 during the last "vertical" that I held. It's a huge monster of a Port and it's only going to get better over the decades, but it is surprisingly approachable right now. $125 is a great price, and these will easily out-live all of us. I've...

A nice article in World of Fine Wine. https://worldoffinewine.com/tasting-notes/grahams-stone-terraces-2021-vintage-port Even after all these years, I get a jolt of excitement whenever my scores match those of a professional. I've had the opportunity to taste with Roy on many occasions, but I'm stil...

Yeah the uptick in Madeira prices definitely started before 2017. I can still recall when the 1875 D'Oliveiras Malvasia Family Reserve was $300 and I thought that was crazy expensive. That would have been circa 2010, and even then Roy would tell me how they used to be $175. By the time I finally gav...

Glenn, The neck shape doesn't have anything to do with a traditional TH. It's the very top of it. That large overgrown rounded bulb. Also, the old ones were handmade and were not always exactly the same volume. They ranged from about 2L to 2.3L, if memory serves me. Ah... right, I knew that but got...

Andy Velebil wrote: ↑Fri Jan 05, 2024 8:25 am I've had this one and the VV with several hours of decanting and it was stunning. So I don't think you would go wrong with a few hours of air.

I agree with Andy. Anything wood-aged Port that's been in bottle that long needs some decant time, so a couple of hours (or a few) will be beneficial.

I have to agree with Moses on this, but for a slightly different reason. If the IVDP tasting panel has approved a Port to be labeled as a 30 year old, I don't really care how old it is. For me, that's a quality standard. If they can manage to produce a Port that good in 10 years... more power to the...

These days, a tregnum is 3 x 75cl bottles. Magnum = 2, Tregnum = 3. Ergo, 2.25 liters. Some of the old(er) squat bottles were 2.1 liters, not 2.25. This probably derives from the fact that England - at least for a while - used bottles that were 70 cl, not 75 cl. 3 x 70 cl bottles is 2.1 liters. (I t...

Yeah, you need to use a Durand or Ah-So for any wine cork from the latter 1990’s to the early 2000’s. Otherwise be prepared for a million tiny pieces. No clue what the cork industry did to them back then. They seal fine. But getting them out is messy. I haven't experienced this problem with any pro...

Hey, that looks like my New Year's Bottle!

Unfortunately the winesearcher "average price" is generally not even close to accurate. Winesearcher contains every listing that it can find on the internet, and that includes many listings for what we call "trophy bottles". The stores have no intention of selling those bottles. ...

DR 30 year old tawny Port

A.S. Demka wrote:My last bottle of DR white colheita 2008. Elisabete Almeida told me that they’ve run out of 2008 stock now. Luckily there’s plenty of 2010!

I bought 2 cases of this and still have 8 left. I'll probably have another one at some point over the holidays. It's a fantastic Port!

I've never been much of a fan of Nacional - even blind I rarely rate any of them above 92 or 93 points, and a lot of them are in the upper 80s for me. They're just not my style. That said, this is not one of the good ones. For me, at least, $50 would probably be the limit and that would only be so t...

Well that was fast... sorry but they're already sold out.

Eric Menchen wrote: ↑Thu Dec 14, 2023 3:53 pm I have tasted Pez candy, but have no recollection of what it tastes like. Might you dispense some descriptors for that?

Bright, fruity disappointment.



But seriously, it's a sugary, sweet, vaguely fruity flavor with some artificial citrus-like acidity.

There's also a 1988 d'Yquem at this link.

https://www.wtso.com/premium-selection

Another magnum of 1977 Gould Campbell for a Christmas Party. Only 10 left!

I'd go a little longer than Frederick... maybe 3-4 hours. I suspect that the Ports will show best between 4 and 6 hours after opening.

Neither 1998 nor 2001 is a classic vintage, but they're still pretty young so I think they still need a pretty decent decant.