For The Love Of Port

To add to Fred's list, I find the Taylor 10 and 20 yrs show much better after a decade in bottle, and still show well after thirty years, but my encounters with aged Graham tawnies have been disappointing. Have also had the odd good encounter with old Cockburn 10yrs.

If I see a bottle of 20 YO Tawny at auction and there is a significant amount of sediment showing in the pictured neck, is that something best avoided? I thought tawnies weren't really supposed to leave a sediment. I regard that as a very good sign - not a bad one. The main killer of tawnies is exc...

A raft of 2016s went under the hammer in the UK yesterday, I picked up a six pack each of Fonseca and Croft.

Not good news for the vendors - after taking off the sale commission from the auction house, they will have lost roughly half their original investment - more if you add in the storage cost.

I see the 2016's and 2017's are 100 bucks a bottle about, is that an indication that vintage is really great, whereas a 1975-1980 VP is only 50 dollars a bottle or so. Any idvice would be great. There's a massive disconnect between release prices and secondary market prices, especially in the UK. I...

What's are the best '82s you have enjoyed? (Can be a Colheita too I suppose) 1982 was Churchill's debut vintage and has consistently good notes. Some people enthuse about the Ramos Pinto, but I can't recall personally trying it. Niepoort has good reportage and I've personally had good results from ...

I would disagree mainly with the rise of 1982 ranking. From some recent experiences, it is a vintage that should be downgraded. If you have them, drink them in the near term. The choice was between '82, '72 or '64. There were far more '82s declared than the other two years, and a couple of them are...

Trafalgar day 2022 My initial assessment of the 2020 port vintage, its inclusion in my rolling evaluation of the sixty most recent vintages, and my updated full vintage rankings. This year we say goodbye to the 1960 vintage, a vintage that was quite widely declared, yet was overshadowed in its earl...

Could it be that they're trying to hook consumers at the low price point to incent them to move up the price chain later? Whilst getting your brand name 'out there' is important, how you do so is also important. Both companies are approaching generational handover points and both have UK agents who...

Lucas, LBVs are a bit of a minefield, it's hard to give generic answers about serving them. Some are sold as unfiltered, some are not sold as unfiltered yet age very well; some have T stoppers, some have driven corks. As a general rule, bottles supplied with driven corks are expected by the producer...

The 97 and 03 I find the murkyness again There is an unpleasant trait I first noticed over a decade ago on the Noval '91 and have since also noted on other '91s and also on an N97, which alarmed me because I'd never noted it on older vintages. This was a murky nature and a very 'earthy' palate, and...

Where did the idea of pairing Port and Stilton come from? Cheap young slimy Stilton is horrid with port IMO - but the drier aged ones can work to a degree with less expensive ports. The only thing that seems to really pair well with old vintage ports is a fine fillet steak, although smoked salmon ca...

The Offley Boa Vista Ports are not usually highly rated

Only amongst those who don't know them..

Aside from drinking to a standard that often puts them on a par with Taylor, the quality of bottling is usually better than most, with good levels.

Trafalgar day 2021 My initial assessment of the 2019 port vintage, its inclusion in my rolling evaluation of the sixty most recent vintages, and my updated full vintage rankings. When I first attempted a relative scoring system for vintages, over a decade ago now, I was hampered by the scarcity of ...

1 x 1963 Feuerheerd VP

A bit of an oddity, this vintage of Feuerheerd was quite well marketed in the UK, but prior and subsequent vintages are rarely seen.

I last opened one three years ago - very light, but pleasant.

Noval '75 Bit pale on decanting, darkening soon after. Had good composure at D+6hrs, but at D+24 it was an absolute stunner! - perfect nose, and perfectly refined and mature on the palate. My best bottle of the year to date, and worthy of the perfect 10. Will it now fade? Hopefully not, but I'll sco...

1 x Graham's SH76 - "only" available on Emirates 1st class flights

The number of times I have had to explain to aircrew not to serve port in shot glasses..

- And no aircraft with me on board lands with a half empty bottle left over - let alone a full one..

1985 Calem

A wine I have nine notes on - seven with VA, one corked, one good.

This bottle had only traces of VA, to be fair, but the underlying wine is no great superstar - one to avoid..

Malveos '86 - indecently young, rich and immature - demands a blind to back to back with G85 to see which is better..

Taylor '66 My last Oporto bottled bottle - not the best corks used, so have gradually drunk through this stash in preference to my EB stocks. Still tannic and a beast that won't lie down, but getting a tad hollow behind that - the brutal Taylor signature displacing any fine nuances. A good wine stil...

Churchill 92 LBV (unfiltered)

Horrible smell of VA as I decanted. Mostly blew away, but at every sip a hint to remind me.

Otherwise a solid offering. Another bottle from this stash opened last year was clean.

Rare to get VA on a '92, so disappointing..