For The Love Of Port

I have had this before, but didn't post a TN, so thought I'd do so here. I like this port, and could see this as a staple in the cellar for "daily drinking" as well as to serve in environments where it fits the crowd.

I have a couple of unfiltered LBV's that I haven't opened yet that are a bit younger (Quinta Do Noval 2000, and Quinta do Vale Dona Maria 2001.) This brought a question to mind that I thought I'd pose here..... Is it true that an unfiltered LBV (assuming we're talking about quality ports/producers) will require more aging than a filtered LBV that is designed as more of a "drink now" product? I'd really like to get a taste of these two other LBV's, but I don't want to rob them of the chance to show their best stuff.

Also, for better or worse, my wife actually asked if we had any port open tonight, which seemed like a great opportunity to open a new bottle. I like the fact that she enjoys port (albeit with a lot less - read no - interest in some of the details), and thought I'd see who here prefers to drink port with their spouse (significant other, etc, etc.), or who maybe prefers this hobby as one to enjoy in a more solitary mode????

Cheers to you all.

Rich

Rich,

My wife also enjoys drinking port, but does not enjoy the geeky attention to details that I quite like. For her, she sips, enjoys, sips again and then passes me back my glass. This process will repeat itself several times over the evening until either the glass is empty and I refuse to get out of my seat to refill it or the decanter is empty and we call it a night.

She remains totally uninterested in names or reputations and would not know the implications of me opening a Nacional or a Cruz or a Ruby port.

However, her palate is much better than mine but some of her comments just crack me up. When we did the Virtual Tasting of ruby ports, she and I drank our way through a bottle of Warre's Heritage Reserve over the course of 2-3 days. Wanting something of a contrast, the next day I opened a 1980 Taylor. Her only comment was "This is nicer than that other one we had yesterday."

Price comparison of the two wines - £5 vs £50.

Alex

At least you guys seem to have women who have remained consistent in their appreciation of port.

Jo spent the first few years of our relationship having at least 1 glass out of every bottle I opened. She would sip, make a mmmm sound or screw her face up and that would be that. About 18 months ago Jo decided that after 6 years together she felt close enough to me to admit that she does not and never has liked port. You can imagine my disappointment - just think of all those glasses of great VP I wasted on her

Derek

My girlfriend will drink a little port with me. She actually quite enjoys Madeira and Sherry and hucks me to buy more of that than port.

She can drink Madeira like a real greenhorn...

Rich,
I would have loved to be able to afford to bring back a few more bottles from my California trip. This was one I saw (Beltramo's, right?) and wanted desperately to pick it up, but with the exchange rate my budget really was limited. We don't seem to be getting any of these Niepoort LBVs in Edmonton, so I may have to have you send me one or two! :)

As far as the question about spouses drinking port, my wife is somewhere in between Alex's and Derek's. But not up to the level of interest of your wife Rich. Definitely not concerned with reputations, producers, or geeky details such as I am. Much like Alex's wife, my beloved Lee-Ann would never know the implications of a Nacional vs a Ruby - she only sips and tells me whether she likes it or not. (But believe me, she'd know if it was Nacional when the credit card bill came and then even if she REALLY loved it, there would still be troubles... ;? )

In the matter of whether you NEED to give unfiltered LBVs more aging in bottle than filtered... I think the jury is out still. I believe there is no question as to the fact that the unfiltered LBVs that are meant to bottle age WILL improve with that age, but I believe they probably drink very fine without it. It does come down to the matter of taste, much like the age-old argument (er, discussion) surrounding how long a VP should be left before being consumed. I suppose an unfiltered LBV is similar, there will be a time when it likely shows BEST, but "best" is a matter of personal preference as well.

I think you can drink them and enjoy whenever you want. 50 years for an LBV likely will be a little too ling, however. May be a bit tired by then!

Just my two cents.

Todd

My soon-to-be-wife enjoys a sip (read: barely wetting her lips) whenever I pour a glass. She's a fan of tawny and occasionaly she'll remark about the characteristics of a VP - but in general I end up drinking 99% of each glass poured ....which isn't a bad thing!