vacation ports

[dave leach]

i recently spent a perfect week with my family on holiday in vermont. we enjoyed a bottle of vintage port every night of our vacation. the imbibers were my self, my wife, my 2 brothers, a sister in law, and my 86 year old mom.
while stargazing at night on the deck(which included 2 nights of the persieds meteor showers), in the mountains of vermont, with zero light pollution and a perfectly black sky, we enjoyed a different vp each night. of course, a wide`array of teriffic reds were consumed over dinner each night too. all ports were decanted between 7 and 10 hours.

first night-1980 ferreira vp--lightest of the bunch. clean, light but flavorful, interesting color almost of a cranberry juice, clearer than the others. wonderful cherries and a short finish.

second night-1983 gould campbell vp--still youthful, a smidgeon of alcohol on the nose but not the palate. berries, plums and a nice finish. still very youthful, but coming into its prime

third night--1977 gould campbell vp--one of my favs-a real mouthfull-perfectly balanced with perhaps a shorter finish than i'm used to. all the good berry, currant and brown sugar notes, wish i'd brought another bottle

fourth night--1994 duff gordon vp-surprising good--scored a bunch of this for $20/bottle--my mom's favorite--still very young, but approachable, with all the right flavors, nice nose and good finish.

fifth night-1977 warres vp--gorgeous vp--i love the mature, aged taste and aromas this gives off. chocolate, licorice, and earth notes to go with the fig, cherry, and plum in this one. there is something about this port i truly enjoy, something with how its come together after 30 years, that is quite appealing.

just as all of you know, port made the experience, which was a wonderful one anyway, even more memorable!!!

dave

[Todd Pettinger]

Sounds like an excellent experience Dave.

I have my own vacation coming up - an Ironman competition (Penticton, BC, Canada) and would love to sneak a VP into a small bottle fopr consumption shortly before and as I cross the finish line... (alcohol is forbidden by rule on the course!) We'll see how creative I can get!

Todd

[Ronald Wortel]

Sounds like a wonderful holiday Dave. We only brought one port on holiday, a Warre LBV 1995. But then, we were in Italy, and there were enough local wines to enjoy during the evenings! :)

[Roy Hersh]

David,

Thanks for the great post and Port impressions.

When I think of vacations, I always think of Port. Then again, when I think of Port, I always think of vacations. It is funny how that happens!