What is the Ideal Minimum age to Open a VP?

[Richard Henderson]

Robert O ,

Your logic is sound but I dare say as your collection ages you will wait longer to try new vintages. You may post in 2031 that the 2028 vintage at 5 years is far too young to open. In 2031 I will be 80 and I may start drinking them younger myself!

[Alan C.]

Robert O ,

Your logic is sound but I dare say as your collection ages you will wait longer to try new vintages. You may post in 2031 that the 2028 vintage at 5 years is far too young to open. In 2031 I will be 80 and I may start drinking them younger myself!

So there are two lines of maturing going on. The bottle and the drinker!

[Robert O.]

I am sure you are right, Richard. Hopefully, it won't take me until 2028 to learn to not drink young port! But I will have a lot of fun learning it.

[Richard Henderson]

Robert,

My first VP was a Ferreira 77 which I was drinking in 1987. I still have some of that and it is aging just fine,

The port experts began telling me then that 10 years was a minimum for VP and 15-20 was more like it. Then you start computing how long you will live etc. etc.

Madeiras age even longer and need it.
I began collecting 83 and 85 VP's in earnest and now these are in the 20+ category.
Port really is a commitment. You need cases of a particualr vintage and try it from time to time.

Cellar Tracker says I have 280 bottles of VP from 1963 until 2003 and I am making a commitment to double that number in 2 years.

[Luc Gauthier]

Richard , I like your statement : " Port really is a commitment"
Ranks with Freds " Collective Port Wisdom "

[Richard Henderson]

Commitment may be too strong but when you buy a case and lay it down for the long haul, 10-20+ years and you have to store it in a climate controlled place, it ain't no one night stand kind of a beverage!

[Andy Velebil]

it ain't no one night stand kind of a beverage!

But if your lucky, its still around for a second night :twisted:

[Richard Henderson]

My 400th post and all I can say to you Andy is touche!

[Roy Hersh]

Bumped to the top of the heap in order to provide a new FTLOPer the answer to his question.

Feel free to jump back into this topic if you'd like.

[Eric Ifune]

I definitely like age on my Ports, and other wines for that matter. Not that I don't think there is enjoyment in wines before their peak; but I think each bottle is an individual, and with age, each individual will reach their maximum potential. Fortunately for me, I've been cellaring for awhile and have a good stock of mature wines, and have the luxury of being able to wait for the younger wines.

[Roy Hersh]

Looking back a few posts, I like Richard's line ... and may just have to create a new FTLOP hat with:

Port wine ... it ain't no one night stand!

[Andy Velebil]

As I stated earlier in the thread, i like them at all ages. But if I had my choice, I do prefer them with at least 15-20 years of age. Of course that is a sliding scale depending on if a particular bottle is from top bottling from a declared year or a lesser bottling from a not so great year, as they will mature at different rates. But I so love the secondary nuances that develop as they shed their baby fat and become an adult. There is just something that appeals to me more when they get older.

As I think about it I would have to say the younger ones are more of an immediate gratification. I don't care if I power through it in short order. Where as the older ones I prefer to slowly sip and enjoy over time, preferably sharing it with friends who also like older Ports.

[Robert O.]

Interestingly (at least to me), I have a slightly different attitude to opening young ports than I did just 10 months ago when this thread started. As some folks predicted, I am a lot more protective of my young ports. While I still feel justified in opening a young port occasionally to see how it is coming along, I find myself buying a lot more older ports so I keep my hands of the majority of my babies! Still, once every 3-5 years those youngsters are going to get opened until I feel like I really know port at every stage.

Robert

P.S. I am happy to be back at FTLOP after a hiatus of moving and a hot summer where I wasn't in much of a port mood. With the return of cold weather, I am getting excited about Port again!

[Todd Pettinger]

As I think about it I would have to say the younger ones are more of an immediate gratification. I don't care if I power through it in short order. Where as the older ones I prefer to slowly sip and enjoy over time, preferably sharing it with friends who also like older Ports.

This actually strikes a bit of a chord with me Andy... I do not have a slew of "aged VPs" under my belt yet, nor a stable of oldies in the cellar waiting for consumption (yet!) but from those older VPs that I have been proviledged to try (many in fine company!) I have to say I agree - it seems to be a slower night of drinking when I am sipping and analyzing the older ones than when I am quaffing the younger ones.

Todd

[Moses Botbol]

It's not the age of the port that dictates whether to pound it or sip it; it's what's in the bottle. I am sure it is possible to take one's time a newer bottle if it is that interesting. I've seen many old vintages disappear two shakes of a lamb's tail. Usually because it was that good.

After you write a review, start enjoying... If you been to Boston, enjoying means at an accelerated rate

[Carlos Rodriguez]

Of what I've tried yet. I do prefer VP to be opened from 14 years of the harvest on.
But I agree with Robert, that the best think, is to buy enought bottles to be able to open one every few year. And then make your on opinion of when was better. Have a nice try :) .

[Andy Velebil]

It's just that I tend to drink the younger stuff when I am by myself or with friends who aren't wine drinkers and they prefer the younger stuff. usually it ends up being a fast drink pace when that happens. As you know, I have no problem powering through the older stuff to, but I am usually drinking with other Port lovers and the pace seems to be a bit slower most of the time. But just come over and watch Alex R. and I power down some Port and you'll understand I have no problem in that department either

[Roy Hersh]

Carlos and Robert, I think that like many Port enthusiasts, you are on the right path.



Robert O.

it is great to have you back in the family. Two things:

a. Are you considering joining us at the end of Jan? Did you see that thread yet?
b. If you have not done so already, keep an eye on the Marketplace Forum tomorrow. There will be an opportunity presented by noon-ish, (before I leave for Canada) to buy directly (shipped within the USA) a very solid and reasonably priced Port ... by the bottle and even cheaper by the case, which you should consider. Drinking it as a sipper, will allow you to keep your hands off of the Vintage Ports (young ones) this winter!