At the end of this month-ish, provided the IRS doesn't trace the monies laundered from my math manufacturing operations, I get a nice refund.* I would like to set aside about $300 (US) to buy a nice bottle for drinking now or in the next year or so. I'm drawn to a '63, but that may be because I lack imagination. I hear '66 was very good in places, and it was my birth year.
What should I get? Combinations (2 bottles) are okay as long as they're a) nicely drinkable now, and b) not over my price limit.
Thank you for any ideas!--Mike
*By the way, shouldn't we be entitled to interest earned on our refunds, since our Uncle's been holding the overage he's collected throughout the year...? Ha ha.
I smell a refund...
Moderators: Glenn E., Roy Hersh, Andy Velebil
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Derek T.
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Mike,
If 66 is your birth year then 66 it should be. Your £300 will almost buy you 1 bottle each of Fonseca and Warre's 1966. Both great wines that I have tasted recently. Taylor's and Dow's from the same year would also fit the bill.
1963 carries a premium price but IMHO does not represent good value compared to the 1966 stablemates.
Derek
If 66 is your birth year then 66 it should be. Your £300 will almost buy you 1 bottle each of Fonseca and Warre's 1966. Both great wines that I have tasted recently. Taylor's and Dow's from the same year would also fit the bill.
1963 carries a premium price but IMHO does not represent good value compared to the 1966 stablemates.
Derek
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dave leach
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i smell a refund
hey mike,
derek is right, you've got to do a couple from your birth year, and 66 is a good value and a wonderful vintage. but derek, he has $300, not 300 british pounds, quite a differance. i'd throw down maybe slightly more and get a taylors and a fonseca, i think you'd get em both for around $350. aside from nacional, which is more than your budget, they are truly the top 2. if you wanted an alternative to derek's savvy suggestions, perhaps the 66 grahams would also fit the bill.
what's a refund?
derek is right, you've got to do a couple from your birth year, and 66 is a good value and a wonderful vintage. but derek, he has $300, not 300 british pounds, quite a differance. i'd throw down maybe slightly more and get a taylors and a fonseca, i think you'd get em both for around $350. aside from nacional, which is more than your budget, they are truly the top 2. if you wanted an alternative to derek's savvy suggestions, perhaps the 66 grahams would also fit the bill.
what's a refund?
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Tom Archer
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Thank you gentlemen both--!
I'll try to get a '66 here. I've never seen any advertised so it might be a bit of a treasure hunt though.
So:
1966 Fonseca
1966 Taylor, or else
1966 Warre's
1966 Dows
...and if I play the lottery enough, maybe the Nacional. Yes?
Dave, the government deducts taxes from our paychecks throughout the year. We have a say in how much. Then, at tax time, we dig through the arcana to calculate how much tax we "should" have paid. The difference is either refunded to us (yay!), or we write a check to the government. In my case, my refund is biggish, which reflects the wretched and thin year I've had.
Uncle T., does HRM really pay you interest...?
I'll try to get a '66 here. I've never seen any advertised so it might be a bit of a treasure hunt though.
So:
1966 Fonseca
1966 Taylor, or else
1966 Warre's
1966 Dows
...and if I play the lottery enough, maybe the Nacional. Yes?
Dave, the government deducts taxes from our paychecks throughout the year. We have a say in how much. Then, at tax time, we dig through the arcana to calculate how much tax we "should" have paid. The difference is either refunded to us (yay!), or we write a check to the government. In my case, my refund is biggish, which reflects the wretched and thin year I've had.
Uncle T., does HRM really pay you interest...?
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Andy Velebil
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Mike,
use Weinsearcher.com to track down those bottles. If your still having some problems locating let us know. Between all of us we can usually track anything down.
use Weinsearcher.com to track down those bottles. If your still having some problems locating let us know. Between all of us we can usually track anything down.
Andy Velebil Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used. William Shakespeare http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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Derek T.
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Mike,
Your pairings do not fit your budget. To get closest to $300 you would need to pair Fonseca _ Warre's or Taylor's and Dow's.
To get under $300 (if very lucky) you would have to go for Dow's and Warre's - but then you would miss out on the 2 best wines of the vintage IMO.
If you feel like blowing your budget - buy all 4 8)
Derek
Your pairings do not fit your budget. To get closest to $300 you would need to pair Fonseca _ Warre's or Taylor's and Dow's.
To get under $300 (if very lucky) you would have to go for Dow's and Warre's - but then you would miss out on the 2 best wines of the vintage IMO.
If you feel like blowing your budget - buy all 4 8)
Derek
Mike,
I'm late into this thread but I would echo the comments so far. If '66 is your birth year then that is most certainly the year you should go for. There is something extra special about drinking a wine from the year of your birth .... unless you were born in 1965 (when Jancis Robinson says you should lie about your birth year!).
I would most certainly recommend the Fonseca '66. This is a fabulous wine and one of my top 10 all time wines. If you have problems finding one within your budget and you ever travel over to the UK then post a note here and we will see if we can track one down for you for you to pick up on your next visit. After that, just buy the best you can with the money you have left. The list you've been suggested so far is excellent, but I would also add the Offley Boa Vista from '66 which is a wine I've had on a couple of occasions and been very pleased with.
Good luck hunting. Great way to cheer yourself up after a "thin year".
Alex
I'm late into this thread but I would echo the comments so far. If '66 is your birth year then that is most certainly the year you should go for. There is something extra special about drinking a wine from the year of your birth .... unless you were born in 1965 (when Jancis Robinson says you should lie about your birth year!).
I would most certainly recommend the Fonseca '66. This is a fabulous wine and one of my top 10 all time wines. If you have problems finding one within your budget and you ever travel over to the UK then post a note here and we will see if we can track one down for you for you to pick up on your next visit. After that, just buy the best you can with the money you have left. The list you've been suggested so far is excellent, but I would also add the Offley Boa Vista from '66 which is a wine I've had on a couple of occasions and been very pleased with.
Good luck hunting. Great way to cheer yourself up after a "thin year".
Alex
Last edited by Al B. on Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I also enjoy the '66 Offley which I have had many times and owned a considerable amount of during the last decade. As tasty as it was, every bottle I've ever had, always showed a lot of spirit on the nose, palate and finish. Only if you can get past it, will you enjoy that Port. I could and did, but friends of mine thought I was nuts for tolerating that.
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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Tom Archer
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- Location: Near Saffron Walden, England
As I've said before... 
Offley is a house that frequently holds it's own in the top flight, yet sells for much less in the market place..
..that said, wines from the last twenty years are conspicuous by their absence in the UK..
- What is it with Sogrape??
We don't get any Ferreira VP either now..
Tom
Offley is a house that frequently holds it's own in the top flight, yet sells for much less in the market place..
..that said, wines from the last twenty years are conspicuous by their absence in the UK..
- What is it with Sogrape??
We don't get any Ferreira VP either now..
Tom
Wow--thanks again all. Derek, I didn't mean to show the choices paired that way; I agree it would be one from the top group and one from the bottom one. Today's Winesearcher is pessimistic about doing that as it's got some of the Warre's in the UK for $170+shipping, and they go up from there.
But now I can go and start learning about Offley, a wholly new name for me. And so thanks for the tip on that, Alex, and the inside info Roy! And also Alex thanks for your kindness.
But now I can go and start learning about Offley, a wholly new name for me. And so thanks for the tip on that, Alex, and the inside info Roy! And also Alex thanks for your kindness.