What have you opened this week?

[Mike J. W.]

Here is the official count for Glenn's birthday tour.
On the tour, 111 Ports, 40 table wines.
Including the visits to Bacchus Vini, Kopke, Quinta da Bom Dia, and Burmester before the tour; 141 Ports, 40 table wines, and one Madeira. I didn't keep track of the table wines before the tour.

I definitely have 113 tasting notes from the tour visits. I'll have to coordinate with you to figure out why we're off by 2!

I found the descripency. You are correct. Maria at Bacchus Vini served us several Ports blind and my format for those notes was off.

It's all a blur.

[Mike J. W.]

DR 2010 White Colheita. Young but tasty, especially on a warm day.

[Glenn E.]

Here is the official count for Glenn's birthday tour.
On the tour, 111 Ports, 40 table wines.
Including the visits to Bacchus Vini, Kopke, Quinta da Bom Dia, and Burmester before the tour; 141 Ports, 40 table wines, and one Madeira. I didn't keep track of the table wines before the tour.

I definitely have 113 tasting notes from the tour visits. I'll have to coordinate with you to figure out why we're off by 2!

I found the descripency. You are correct. Maria at Bacchus Vini served us several Ports blind and my format for those notes was off.

Hmm... I wasn't counting Baccus Vini because that was before the tour officially started. Here's a summary of what I have:

Pre tour:

Friday dinner (me only at Sagardi): 1 port (Graham's 20 Year Old Tawny from 4.5l)
Bacchus Vini: 5 ports + 1 madeira
Kopke: 14 ports (13 + the 1934 that no one else got)
Bom Dia: 4 ports
Burmester: 7 ports

30 total (+ 1 madeira) on the pre-tour

Official tour:

Vasques de Carvalho: 6 ports + 1 at dinner at Taberninha do Manel
Pocas: 8 ports
Graham: 10 ports
Andresen: 8 ports
Brunheda: 10 ports
Panascal: 10 ports
Enologo: 11 ports
Murganheira: 1 port (and 9 bubblies! but they don't count)
Bomfim: 9 ports
Vallegre: 11 ports
Wine & Soul: 11 ports
dinner at DOC: 3 ports
DR: 9 ports
end of tour dinner: 5 ports

113 total on the official tour
143 ports + 1 madeira grand total

(plus 38 more ports in London!)

[Eric Menchen]

Panascal: 10 ports

Did that include two with lunch? I only have TNs for 8, and I don't think I skipped any during the tasting. But it is possible.
1963, 1970, 1977, 1985, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2003

[Glenn E.]

Panascal: 10 ports

Did that include two with lunch? I only have TNs for 8, and I don't think I skipped any during the tasting. But it is possible.
1963, 1970, 1977, 1985, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2003

Yep. We also had a 2018 LBV and a 20 Year Old Tawny Port.

[Andy Velebil]

Panascal: 10 ports

Did that include two with lunch? I only have TNs for 8, and I don't think I skipped any during the tasting. But it is possible.
1963, 1970, 1977, 1985, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2003

Yep. We also had a 2018 LBV and a 20 Year Old Tawny Port.

Perhaps it’s reached time to move this discussion to your own thread?

[Eric Ifune]

Hmmm, I'm going to have to get together with you in Seattle to reconcile our notes.

[Al B.]

Croft Roeda 1980. This is now a nice, mature mid-weight Port that is showing a nice balance between dried cherry fruit and secondary spices.

[Mike J. W.]

Croft Roeda 1980. This is now a nice, mature mid-weight Port that is showing a nice balance between dried cherry fruit and secondary spices.

That's great to hear. I had bought one on a lark a few years ago, but haven't opened it partly because the reviews have been pretty bad. Maybe I'll open it in 2030 (god willing) when I do a 1980 retrospective.

[Moses Botbol]

1970 Grahams Vintage. Decanted the night before and left it cork off until the next day. Fantastic showing!

[Andy Velebil]

1977 Smith Woodhouse VP.

[Mike J. W.]

2007 Vista Alegre White Colheita (bottled almost exactly 1 month ago).

[Eric Menchen]

1985 Kopke VP
1985 Kopke Colheita (bottled 2020)

[Glenn E.]

Blackett 30 Year Old Tawny Port
1996 Krohn Colheita (b. 2018)

The former was carried home from my birthday celebration trip and surprised most of us at Port club by taking home Port of the Night. It's a very nice 30 Year Old, and at least in my opinion has improved quite a bit since it was introduced. I haven't been tracking it closely over the years, but this bottle was noticeably better than what my memory told me to expect.

The latter was opened because Lisa brought the same Port to Port club, but hers was bottled in 2011. So hers was a Krohn bottling while mine was a Taylor bottling (but still labeled as Krohn... same style label and everything).

The shocker of the night was that the 2011 bottling was corked, and I was the first person to notice. Corked tawny Ports are pretty rare so it's not like most people have had much experience with them, but now that I've been taught how to smell TCA I was able to pick it up pretty quickly. Why? Because TCA smells like normal minerality to me - which is why I can't detect it in Vintage Port, which often has minerality notes of its own - and do you know how weird it smells to detect minerality in a tawny Port?

It wasn't badly corked and there was some discussion about whether or not it even was corked, but by later in the evening it was showing enough for everyone to detect it. By then we'd basically finished the bottle, though, so it didn't really matter.

[Moses Botbol]

2011 Crasto LBV. Good in a pinch. Getting better than it was like 4-5 years ago.

[Roy Hersh]

All that tour noise. Quantity on that trip didn't really matter. The level of stuff poured throughout the week was off the charts compared to any Gaia/Douro tour we've done in recent memory.

I opened a bottle of 2011 JH Andresen Vintage Port. Next, I likely will open a 2002, at home.

I have a couple from Denmark here in a few days and may open something unique for them, not sure yet if it will be Port or Madeira.

Then comes the Confraria dinner and Sao Joao festival FTLOP event, which may see some fun juice opened too. Not sure if I am going to participate in the Regatta, may just take it easy a week from today when that takes place. I have plenty of opportunities to open bottles and be amongst Port crowds nowadays.

The longer I am living here, (and not including Tours of course, I am typically preferring the events with 2-6 people than the larger ones. Usually better bottles are opened, conversations are easier and pours are better.

[Moses Botbol]

1963 Fonseca VP. Shouldn't let the wife pick them out; she misses the LBV's every time.

[Mike J. W.]

1963 Fonseca VP. Shouldn't let the wife pick them out; she misses the LBV's every time.

So you're saying you choked it down?

[Lindsay E.]

Pure bliss...maple syrup, herbal honey, white flowers, peanut M&M's. I really must thank Glenn for this wine. I wouldn't have bought this wine without his strong encouragement. In fact, I technically have to thank Glenn for every white port that I purchased prior to 2024 for the same reason.

[Glenn E.]

Pure bliss...maple syrup, herbal honey, white flowers, peanut M&M's. I really must thank Glenn for this wine. I wouldn't have bought this wine without his strong encouragement. In fact, I technically have to thank Glenn for every white port that I purchased prior to 2024 for the same reason.