Port in Magnums

[Derek T.]

Is there any proof of this theory that VP ages slower in larger formats? Are the storage conditions not infinately more important than the size of the bottle?

I quite like Tom's spectacular send-off idea but I suspect he really wants to keep this one for himself as he has all of that gunpowder sitting around in his garage - OK, so a corpse in a bottle at the side of the Douro isn't a pleasant thought but think of all that extra tourist income for the visitors centres in VNG - I'm only trying to do my bit for the trade

Derek

[Tom Archer]

as he has all of that gunpowder sitting around in his garage

I only have about 60Kg of actual gunpowder - it lives in a purpose built steel magazine, surrounded by earth mounds and 260m from the nearest house.

Now if this was the USA, I wouldn't think twice about storing it in the garage...

We digress...

Tom

[Gilles Séguin]

Hi everyone,

Finally my first post.

I have only one port magnum (1985 Warre's) in my cellar. I bought it years ago (10 to 12 I think). I keep it for a special occasion, but you know, you wait and wait... But the magnums can live for a long time in your cellar. If my budget was bigger I certainly buy more magnums.

Most of my port bottles are 750ml, I do buy 375ml bottles from time to time. I have about a case of red wine magnums. Most of them are for my nieces and nephews when they turn 18 or 20 yo.

I think every wine tasting group should have port magnums in their cellar for tasting, its a way to keep bottles for a very long time and assure wine bottles for future members to enjoy !

[Roy Hersh]

Gilles,

Glad to have you with us and congrats on finally posting after reading here for quite awhile. We look forward to your pearls of wisdom and it will be nice to have another Canadian posting besides just Frederick.

To the point:

There is no scientific proof that bottles age slower in Mag vs. 750 yet there are tons of testimonials from wine journalists, enologists etc., re: their own personal experience. There have been un-scientific side-by-side comparisons in blind tastings etc.

All of the "opinions" have led to the belief that Mags do age slower due to the volume of wine that the oxygen must penetrate in a larger format bottle. There are probably a lot of articles written on this topic if you search for it.

I had a '94 Dow in 375 within the past six months and it was fabulous. Mature? Of course not, but with 8 hours of decanting, it was delicious.

[Eddie]

I have two mag's of '85 Graham, that's it. Sadly, no mag's of Fonseca. I have several mag's of Bordeaux and Burgundy.

Thinking about it, for me, I think mag's of Port almost make more sense than mag's of any other wine. With other wines I'm usually keen on comparing multiple bottles. Port is something I want to relax with and savor, preferably with a few friends.

[Julian old_ac Wiseman]

Decanting a magnum is much more of a performance, and generally requires a switch from one decanter to another without righting the bottle

Buy a magnum decanter. I have two: one was given to me a gift by a guest at a port tasting; the other is actually a 2-litre decanter costing me a mere £50 (IIRC at a kitchenware shop on the Fulham Road, near Sloane Square in London). Magnum decanters have the disadvantage of being heavier in the hand, but the advantage of holding twice as much. Both the disadvantage and the advantage diminish as the evening progresses.

Is there any proof of this theory that VP ages slower in larger formats? Are the storage conditions not infinately more important than the size of the bottle?

I have tried magnum versus single a few times. Sometimes the magnum has tasted younger (though not a lot), sometimes older (only once by much, Noval 1955). Typically there isn't a lot in it.

[Roy Hersh]

Another blast from the past.

Today I was discussing Portuguese fortified wines, with a friend who is going for his MW. We centered on Port and Madeira magnums. This was the thread that came up to share and I thought I might as well play it forward.

In a recent count, between Vintage Port, Douro wines and Madeira, there are between 60-70 magnums in my cellar, in addition to other wines. Only 1 bottle is larger, which is a 3 liter. The oldest of the fortified mags is from 1920.

[Glenn E.]

I have several magnums. I haven't really gone out of my way to collect them because they're harder to store, but every once in a while I see a deal that I can't pass up and so another one joins my collection.

Right now I have a G85, a G94, 2 x T94, a Crasto '95, and 5 x G03. I had two of the Crastos, but opened one for a company party a couple of years ago and it was great!

[Moses Botbol]

I love magnum bottles of port. If you want to do it, do it big time I say! The oldest I have are from 1970- Croft, Warre and Sandeman.

[Todd Pettinger]

I have but one lonely magnum, from my first trip to Boston and meeting and drinking with Moses and Sean... What a night that was! One of my trophies ended up being a magnum of Grahams 97.

I almost had a couple of twins join the collection: two 1997 Taylor VPs... Which would have been good to compare the Grahams and Taylor from 97 in large format. Unfortunately, that deal fell through when upon further inspection, both turned out to have very leaky corks... Unfortunate because the price was really quite good for a magnum of Taylor (for Canadian prices...)

[Moses Botbol]

I have but one lonely magnum, from my first trip to Boston and meeting and drinking with Moses and Sean... What a night that was! One of my trophies ended up being a magnum of Grahams 97.

Did you also buy 1980 Graham? I picked up 2003 Dow Magnums at the same place for $100 (I think around that price).

[Monique Heinemans.]

I prefer 0,75L bottles, simply because I'm the only one in our family and amongst our friends who drinks wine and VP on a regular base..... They almost all prefer (Belgian) beer....
So I think for me it's not wise to buy magnums. The only ones I owe are 3 magnums Fonseca VP 2000, mainly because I could trade them very advantageously agains some of my clarets. Maybe something to open in 25 year, on our 50th weddinganniversary...

Regards, Monique.

[Derek T.]

This was a fun read and I still think my idea of spending my days at rest on the banks of the Douro has some merit

I will be very interested to read the thoughts of Tom and Alex when they return to this thread. Knowing what I know about their port-buying habits in recent years I suspect they might have slightly different views to those expressed in 2006

[Marc J.]

I do have a number of magnums from more recent vintages and I do find that they are a great treat for a large group. In addition I have also picked up some double mags, although I'm not quite sure when I'm going to open up those bad boys...

[Todd Pettinger]

I do have a number of magnums from more recent vintages and I do find that they are a great treat for a large group. In addition I have also picked up some double mags, although I'm not quite sure when I'm going to open up those bad boys...

When I come over Marc! we'll put those babies down!!

[Todd Pettinger]

I have but one lonely magnum, from my first trip to Boston and meeting and drinking with Moses and Sean... What a night that was! One of my trophies ended up being a magnum of Grahams 97.

Did you also buy 1980 Graham? I picked up 2003 Dow Magnums at the same place for $100 (I think around that price).

I did not. I think I was on a somewhat limited budget that year and believe me... Overload of choices. I do remember they had some form of Taylor mags, although they were pricey for my limited means then. I was also extremely nervous about heading back cross border with too many bottles... I didn't know what to expect as far as duty/taxes were concerned.
I would easily take a couple of 2003 Dow magnums though... Any '03 is near and dear to my heart as it is my son's birth yea and what really got me started on this Port journey.

[Al B.]

My views haven't changed much since my first post in 2006 in that I still like to buy bottles and half bottles - I recently bought a case of 12 halves of Skeffington 2009 to have some easy drinking fruit bombs. I like halves as they serve very nicely for an evening's drinking on a work night.

However, I was amazed to find that I have over 70 magnums in my cellar. Most of these are from the 1977 and 2006 vintages. So far, I've only opened 5 magnums from my cellar - maths says that I need to open about 2 per year from now on. I'm also going to keep my eyes open for some older (1970+) magnums as I quite like the idea of having some mature magnums to open on the odd occasion.

[Moses Botbol]

I would easily take a couple of 2003 Dow magnums though... Any '03 is near and dear to my heart as it is my son's birth yea and what really got me started on this Port journey.

Any time you want to trade 80 Grahams for 03 Dow, let me know

[Roy Hersh]

The only problem I have with magnums of Port is that all of my magnum racking is filled. I need to start drinking some more of my larger format bottles in the coming years. One can never have enough magnums, I open at least six a year ... although that typically only includes one VP/year. in fact, I just opened a 3 liter of PN on Sat. night. But that doesn't count.

[Eric Ifune]

Roy,
Magnums of Madeira?!