US Based advice required for an NC based port fan

[Ben Read]

I am posting this request here in the knowledge the FTLOP is well represented across the US and members better placed than I to advice on buying port in the states. A friend of mine, based in North Carolina, has asked for some advice. The original question was:

"Ben. My wife is a port gal now. Looking for a $100-$200 bottle for a gift. Any easy recommendations?"

In response to my question "wood or bottle aged?" I received this response:

"Probably bottle aged. Or maybe one of each"

My immediate reaction, without knowing cost or availability in the US was a Quevedo 40 year old tawny. I shall point him at this topic and hope someone US based can either confirm cost and availability or provide some alternatives for him and ultimately her!

Thank you.

[Jeff G.]

http://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/ ... 42.99.aspx

i have no relation to them and will not be making anything with this suggestion

but the 92' colheita is a fine treat too

[Glenn E.]

You should be able to find a mid-80s VP for around $80. F85 and G85 both show up online pretty regularly at that price.

In the $150 range you can probably find a Taylor or Fonseca from 1970.

Presidential 40-yr old (which is Dalva's brand name in the US) can be found for ~$90 in New Jersey.

So I'd get a Presidential 40 and a 1985 Graham or Fonseca.

[Andy Velebil]

Been to NC a few times and I'm thinking where the best/easiest place to find a nice bottle would be.

Probably a Total Wine and More would probably be the easiest. You can also look on their online wine list and help them chose something from the store closest to them. As you can search inventory by individual store.

[Moses Botbol]

I'd steer you towards a colheita as you'll have more consistent results; a safer purchase. Saw '57 Barros Colheita for like $130 recently and that should be an incredible bottle for the price! Much safer purchase than a vintage and should last longer once open than a vintage.

NC is an easy state to ship, isn't it?

[Josh Worsham]

Thanks all. Yes shipping is great to NC.

I will post here once I have purchased. Will get two as our anniversary and Christmas are close together.

Thanks!

[Andy Velebil]

Didn't know shipping was allowed there. That makes it SO much easier.

There is a host of Vintage Port stuff from the 1977 vintage and most of the 1980's which would fit the bill and be under the $100 price limit. Gould Campbell, Smith Woodhouse, Dow's, Graham's, Taylor, Fonseca, Warre's, Ferreira, etc.

[Josh Worsham]

Do you gents have any preferred sites for buying port?

[Eric Menchen]

Preferred? Here are my opinions based on my buying. Your mileage may vary.

1. FTLOP buys

For retail, my favorites:
- TCWC
- Blicker Pierce Wagner
Both have provided great customer service. BPW has $9 shipping for a case. Once I had a broken bottle in shipment from them, and they quickly shipped a replacement. Both will store purchases for a while to avoid shipping when the weather is bad. TCWC gets in new vintages and has good prices for most labels. BPW doesn't carry new releases, but sometimes has great prices on more obscure offerings.

Other retail places I have purchased from:
- European Wine Resource - Usually doesn't have great prices, but on occasion does
- Internet Wine & Spirits - Not a big selection, but has had some older colheitas in the past at good prices
- JJ Buckley - Sends a lot of e-mails, but has a lot of stuff, not just Port. They own WineCommune--see below.
- Cabrini - Big NY store. Port isn't a focus, but they have some good prices on occasion for lesser names, e.g. Burmester
- CellarRaiders - Poor bottle condition. Don't plan to buy from them again.
- Knightsbridge - Some good prices on middle-aged bottles
- thewinestop.com - Don't exactly remember, but I think they weren't too responsive to e-mail, and had a bad listing once, e.g. actual bottle was an LBV, not a VP as listed. Price was LBV level, so I didn't pursue the issue further.
- Wine eXchange - Good prices in recent VPs.
- Solano Cellars - Similar to above.
- Flickinger - Not great prices in general, but they stock Quevedo and it is priced reasonably as I recall.
- WineChateau (NJ) - Not really a Port place, but occasionally has some, and other Portuguese wines. Annoying level of e-mails.
- Gary's (NJ) - Bought some 2011s from them with good prices.
- Hi-Time Wine Cellars - Bought some 2011s from them with good prices.
- WTSO - Not primarily a Port place, but when one comes up the price is usually great.
- Wine Library/Cindarella Wine - Not primarily a Port place, but some good prices as well on occasion, usually for lesser known names.
- Spec's (TX) - Has a bunch of colheita. Some now appears as in-store-only.
- UltraLuxe Wine (Missouri) - No longer appears to be a web vendor
- Salut! Wine Co. (Washington) - Not sure they are still in business
- Ziefel - Will only ship in Switzerland, but once had the best price in the world for 1952 Dalva Golden White, so I purchased it from them and had it shipped to a friend in Switzerland. That Dalva isn't common, so it wasn't like i just bought it from them to save a few Swiss Francs.

Auction places:
- TCWC - Best condition bottles in my experience. No premium. Convenient storage and shipping. Bidding isn't easy - only pre-bids and live in-person.
- Christie's - O.k. bottle condition. ~22% premium. The live auctions require pre-submit bids unless you are there. The online-only auctions have some good prices, but storage is a pain in this case and shipping seems overly expensive. I don't recall the live auction shipping being unusual.
- Zachy's - O.k. bottle condition. ~22% premium. You can pre-bid for the live auctions, and online bid in them as well. The online-only auctions have some good prices, and I prefer their customer service and shipping over Christie's.
- Winebid - Bottle condition varies, but nearly every lot has a photo. 15% premium and insurance. Reasonable good service and shipping. They don't like to store too much, but will during extreme heat and cold.
- WineCommune - Bottles usually pictured. Prices seem to approach or exceed retail. I once purchased a bottle that was listed from JJ Buckley, and it mysteriously couldn't be found when it came time to ship it too me. I was bummed on that and boycotted them and JJ Buckley for about a year, until a great priced offer came up. I still tend to ignore them.
- Acker Merril Condit - Worst bottle condition overall in my experience, but I've purchased a lot of things for really cheap and never felt I overpaid. Some of my 1983 SW 375s have been really good, some mediocre; but for $8 each, I'll take them. They run online-only auctions and live auctions that you can bid on online as well. ~22% premium.

Don't quote me on the premiums. I put a '~' on those because they are all in the same ballpark around that. One might be 21.5%, another 23%. And some auction houses even use a sliding scale where the premium goes down as the hammer price goes up, although I'm not sure that is the case for wine.

[Josh Worsham]

Excellent!

I have ordered an '85 Graham

[Glenn E.]

Excellent!

I have ordered an '85 Graham

That's a great choice! I hope she loves it, it's one of my favorites.

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