Seattle area tasting, 7/31/2010

[Roy Hersh]

I must say that without mentioning the specific vintages and wines that are going to be at this event, it rivals the best of all that we enjoyed at the 2009 Port gala. Just a couple of seats left. Those truly serious about great and old Port, should reconsider whether they want to join in this tasting which is shaping up to be an epic event.

[Glenn E.]

He's not kidding! The average age of the 5 bottles that I know about so far is 73 years old...

If you haven't emailed/PM'd me your bottle, please do so that I can make placemats for the tasting.

[Roy Hersh]

No more hints!

[Melanie R.]

I wish there was a crying emoticon to demonstrate my feelings here...can't believe I'm going to miss it! I will have to see if I can find any wine bars in Vegas to enjoy some Port while I'm there, so I don't feel TOO deprived...

[Andy Velebil]

I'm crying too. No getting off work so I won't be able to make it I will miss seeing everyone the most, but at least I'll be able to see some of you in September on the other side of the globe. have a great tasting and raise a toast to those of us who couldn't make it.

[Roy Hersh]

I am not complaining in the least, but I have been working really hard on the next newsletter and it is a really fine issue if I do say so myself.

I will get it done, just in time for Stewart to put it in the mail so those coming up have something to read on the airplane if they print out the .pdf.

Anyway, I am going to be SOOOOOOO ready to drink Port. It has been awhile, god knows why. Heck, I am going to open a bottle tonight for while I am typing TNs.

I can't wait to see friends who I've not seen in a long time (Eric I. the longest!)and meet others who've not been here before. Should be a great time.

See you soon, on the other side of the newsletter!

[Glenn E.]

What an epic tasting! It will take me a while to get my tasting notes posted, and when I do I'll come back and provide links here, but for now here's the lineup from last night's event:

1900 Niepoort Colheita
1904 Sandeman Vintage Port
1934 Fonseca Vintage Port
1935 Cockburn Vintage Port
1937 Noval Colheita
1940 Kopke Colheita
1944 Niepoort Colheita
1947 Kopke Colheita
1950 Niepoort Garrafeira
1950 Sandeman Vintage Port
1952 Dalva Golden White Colheita
1957 Kopke Colheita
1957 Sandeman Vintage Port
1967 Dalva Colheita

Average year: 1941 - or 69 years old!

Thanks to everyone who attended and brought these fabulous bottles. There wasn't a bad bottle in the entire tasting which is a little bit lucky with an assortment this old, and a couple of bottles showed as well as anyone had ever seen. (Especially the 1952 Golden White Colheita... amazing!)

[Roy Hersh]

Now that was one heck of a tasting, one of the three most memorable single lineups in the past 8 years for me. Thanks Glenn for organizing the event and I believe that every person in attendance will remember this one for age. A stellar showing of all of these Ports.

I plan to do a feature article on this event in the newsletter next month, I hope you won't mind waiting for a short while.

The afterglow has not yet worn off and today there is a smaller gathering to celebrate David Spriggs' 50th birthday.

[Al B.]

That is a fantastic line-up and I really look forward to reading the article and a couple of the tasting notes.

I'm also very pleased to see that you have taken the opportunity to balance out the "too much focus on vintage"

[Andy Velebil]

A great line up for sure and I can't wait to read about

[Roy Hersh]

The following day was a small group to celebrate David S. 50th bd. Lots of white and red wine and a fun BBQ followed by:

1935 Taylor VP
1977 Taylor VP
1977 Fonseca VP
1895 Barros Verdelho Madeira

Lots of fun and fortunately the weather was perfect too.

[David Spriggs]

I just want to thank everyone involved. It was a great tasting and a super crew to taste with. It was really quite special. I certainly want to thank Glenn who made the arrangements. Thanks for putting this together!!
-Dave-

[Roy Hersh]

Is Jay going to come and join us here on the Forum?

[Eric Ifune]

It was fantastic! And kudos to Roy for manning the grill!

[David Spriggs]

Is Jay going to come and join us here on the Forum?

Well.... that's up to him He did ask me for the URL and expressed interest in next year's Harvest Tour

[Markus D.]

I guess I can get the tasting notes for this event started off!

First of all, thank you Glenn and Roy for putting together such an epic tasting, these wines were much, much older than what I've tried before and it was a real treat. A great way to celebrate the 5th anniversary of

First Flight

1900 Nieport Colheita
Bottled in 1972

This port had a great colour, diluted "cola" brown with a bright yellow rim. A swirl in the glass showed heavy tears, which I later checked and saw that it's at 22% alc. The aromas to me reminded me of coffee with a sprinkle of cinnamon. The first sip of this was quite sharp (again the high alcohol) but that gave way to a very nice high acidity with toffee and citrus notes. It also had a bit of jammyness in the background which I liked. It had a long finish, a great balance and was very Madeira like. An impressive tawny for the amount of time its been in the bottle for. 95+ points

1904 Sandeman VP
Bottle from an auction and was labelled "believed Sandeman". The cork read 1904 vintage but no indication of the port house.

This port was a light brown/tawnyish colour, though it did have a bit of ruby left, and was cloudy. Tilting the glass gave way to a rim clear as water. On the nose, it smelled smokey, of "hickory sticks and BBQ chips" (to borrow others words) and could be all related to a bit of bottle stink. Once it aired out a bit, I had a lot more cedar on the nose. It tasted of toasted spices, hickory (which faded as the port aired out) and a hint of jam was still left that felt like it was just about to fade. It was an interesting bottle but felt past its time (drink now). 88 points

1934 Fonseca VP

This port was slightly darker than the 1904 Sandeman, and was more tawny and clearer than the 1935 Cockburn. The aromas were a nicely balanced dark fruit blended with cinnamon and had an almost matured tawny like nose. It has a very crisp acidity, had an almost root beer and vanilla flavour and was a little smokey in the background. Overall, I quite liked this bottle, however it was beginning to show its age and should probably be drank now. 94 points

1935 Cockburn VP

The Cockburn was a dark brown with a clear rim and a little cloudy. The nose was a combination of spices and mint. It had some dark fruit on the palate, cherry notably, and a bit of heat. This port was definitely changing over the night and tasted a little different every time. It was interesting to try split declaration VPs ('34/'35) but this time I preferred the '34. Overall, it was very good, but not quite great. 91 points.

1937 Quinta do Noval Colheita
Bottled in 2008

This tawny was a dark brown with a yellow/lime rim (less yellow than the 1900). It had a wonderful bouquet of toasted pecan and almonds, with the pecan aroma developing as the wine aired out. It had quite high acidity and very Madeira like flavours. One of my favourites of the night. 96 points.

1940 Kopke Colheita
Bottled in 1988

The Kopke was a dark brown with a light brown / lime rim (noticeably less yellow than the '37 Noval). There was quite a bit of bottle stink on the nose that was hard to get past but I picked up on some cinnamon and apple. It tasted of pecan pie and as others described, also had some rhubarb in it. I was a little disappointed with the bottle, it was good but I was hoping it'd be in the 90s, though it may be a few points higher with a better bottle. 88 points

1944 Nieport Colheita
Bottled 1974

The second of the "WWII Colheitas", the tawny was a similar colour as the '40 Kopke (dark brown with a light brown / lime rim). The aromatics were lighter than expected and I couldn't get much off of it. The palate was full of spices and caramel but was one dimensional. I suspect it has to do with the 36 years its been sitting in the bottle for, this could be much better with a newer bottling. 89 points

Winner of the first flight: Very difficult, both the 1900 Nieport and '37 Noval were wonderful.

I'll get to typing up the next batch of notes shortly

[Andy Velebil]

Markus,

I'm drooling reading your notes....

[Gary Banker]

Markus,

I'm drooling reading your notes....

I hope you're not on duty in uniform.

[Eric Menchen]

Markus, I'm drooling reading your notes....

I hope you're not on duty in uniform.

I hope he is

[Andy Velebil]

Markus, I'm drooling reading your notes....

I hope you're not on duty in uniform.

I hope he is

I've been in uniform for almost 80 hours the past 7 days, that's how busy I've been with all the drama going on here. I assure you drool on my uniform at the moment is the least of my worries at this point