What have you opened this week?

[Andy Velebil]

2007 Dows Colheita. I’ve now opened a few dozen as my house Port. Pretty good stuff if I must say so.

[Glenn E.]

DR 30 Year Old White Port

In contrast to S. Leonardo 20 Year Old White Port on June 12th, this DR 30W is surprisingly light in color. There's very little chance that you'd guess it was a 30W just by looking at it, because it's a very pale yellow and very clear. Flavor is appropriate for a 30W... it's just very light in color.

[Al B.]

2011 Warre LBV. Terrific LBV with a ton of life in it. Good VP replacement without breaking the bank.

I’ve just got to add my impression to this. This is an amazing Port that has all the qualities of VP at a fraction of the price - and which is drinking really well today and probably will continue to do so for the next 10-30 years.

[Al B.]

Kopke 50YO white in half, bottled in 2023. These are glorious bottles that balance the high levels of RS with just the right levels of bitterness and acidity.

[Glenn E.]

For the FTLOP Anniversary Tasting this past weekend, I opened:

1964 Noval Nacional VP
1970 Graham VP
DR L70 Very Old Tawny Port
2016 Graham's The Stone Terraces VP (tregnum - 2.25 liters, aka a Tappit Hen)

Saturday was Vintage Ports, Sunday was wood-aged Ports, and the tregnum of GST was for dinner both nights.

[Moses Botbol]

1977 Grahams. Nothing special.

[Glenn E.]

1977 Grahams. Nothing special.

These have had a lot of ups and downs, it seems. For a while about 10-15 years ago there were a lot of complaints about VA. Then they seemed to be pretty great, though not spectacular. Now they're back down again.

Do you think this was bottle variation, or is the Port in general in a dull spot? Or is it just not as good as you'd expect from the year and producer?

[John M.]

For the FTLOP Anniversary Tasting this past weekend, I opened:

1964 Noval Nacional VP
1970 Graham VP
DR L70 Very Old Tawny Port
2016 Graham's The Stone Terraces VP (tregnum - 2.25 liters, aka a Tappit Hen)

Saturday was Vintage Ports, Sunday was wood-aged Ports, and the tregnum of GST was for dinner both nights.

I opened

2 x Quinta do Vallado 50 Year
1 x 1966 Fonseca VP
1 x Barros Very Old Dry White Port

[Moses Botbol]

1977 Grahams. Nothing special.

These have had a lot of ups and downs, it seems. For a while about 10-15 years ago there were a lot of complaints about VA. Then they seemed to be pretty great, though not spectacular. Now they're back down again.

Do you think this was bottle variation, or is the Port in general in a dull spot? Or is it just not as good as you'd expect from the year and producer?

The bottle looked fine. Great color, no cork issues, and no hint of VA. Was just simple and unexciting. Some heat on the finish and nothing upfront.

[Mike J. W.]

For the FTLOP Anniversary Tasting this past weekend, I opened:

1964 Noval Nacional VP
1970 Graham VP
DR L70 Very Old Tawny Port
2016 Graham's The Stone Terraces VP (tregnum - 2.25 liters, aka a Tappit Hen)

Saturday was Vintage Ports, Sunday was wood-aged Ports, and the tregnum of GST was for dinner both nights.

I opened

2 x Quinta do Vallado 50 Year
1 x 1966 Fonseca VP
1 x Barros Very Old Dry White Port

I opened a 1966 Quinta do Noval VP and a 1937 Barros Colheita (bot. 2008). Both were excellent, but there were even more amazing bottles at the tasting.
Edit: I also opened a 1980 Andresen Colheita later Saturday night. I believe it was bottled in 2023.

[Jonathan S]

2011 Smith Woodhouse VP (7/30/26)

Anniversary Wine

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[Jonathan S]

6/4/26 - 30 yo Graham Tawny
6/21/26 - 20 yo Graham Tawny

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[Mike J. W.]

1994 Quinta do Noval LBV (Unfiltered). Nice, easy drinking LBV. It still has a lot of life left in it.

[Bradley Bogdan]

1994 Quinta do Noval LBV (Unfiltered). Nice, easy drinking LBV. It still has a lot of life left in it.

I do really like those with age. Glad it was showing well!


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[Mike J. W.]

1994 Quinta do Noval LBV (Unfiltered). Nice, easy drinking LBV. It still has a lot of life left in it.

I do really like those with age. Glad it was showing well!


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It improved considerably after 24 hours in the decanter. This is probably now my second favorite LBV after the 1995 Andresen (although the 1995 Smith Woodhouse LBV comes damn close as well).

[Jonathan S]

2016 Quinta do Noval LBV (8/7/26)

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[Andy Velebil]

1983 Niepoort VP (corked sadly)
Confraria 40 yr tawny
NV Presidente tawny Meio Seco (a ~20 yr bottled by Niepoort in the mid 1970’s)
1977 Smith Woodhouse VP
1980 Warres VP

[Mike J. W.]

Quinta das Carvalhas 20 y.o. Tawny (bottled 2025). It's an average 20 y.o.. Nothing sets it apart, but it's perfectly drinkable.

[Bradley Bogdan]

Quinta das Carvalhas 20 y.o. Tawny (bottled 2025). It's an average 20 y.o.. Nothing sets it apart, but it's perfectly drinkable.

I've seen Carvalhas stuff basically exclusively at Total Wine in Texas. Its always pretty reasonably priced, but it never seems to wow me either.

[Glenn E.]

1977 Gould Campbell
1980 Gould Campbell
1983 Gould Campbell
1985 Gould Campbell

Then, for dessert...

Pocas Bonificador Tawny Port (~25 years old)
DR L70 Very Old Tawny Port

The GC77 was corked, unfortunately, but very nice behind the TCA. It might have been good enough to surpass the GC80 had it not been tainted.