I'm considering buying a bottle of Calem 1994 VP, as it is one the few '94 VPs I can get a hold of. Unfortunately I can't seem to find any TNs or experiences with this wine. It's a bit pricey, even for Norwegian standards, at USD 118 per btl. If any of you have tasted this VP, would you recommend it? The reason for the purchase is to include it as a '94 contribution to a Port tasting I'm holding later this month.
Any feedback is appreciated! :)
Update: Evidently Wine Spectator gave this 79 points in a 1997 tasting. That doesen't bode well, now I'm really unsure as to whether I should buy it or not. :?
Calem vintage 1994
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Inge Carlén
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2008 4:38 pm
- Location: Oslo, Norway
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Tom Archer
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- Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Near Saffron Walden, England
It's a bit pricey, even for Norwegian standards, at USD 118 per btl.
More than a bit!
If I wasn't escaping the European winter in Thailand I'd mail you a bottle of something decent from my cellar. However, I won't be back in the UK until next month.
Even with the postage, I could let you have a classic like the Vesuvio '94 for around $85.
My UK trade price database has the Calem '94 valued at GBP 15 ($30) - I don't have any though.
Tom
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Inge Carlén
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2008 4:38 pm
- Location: Oslo, Norway
Yikes, if it's going at GBP 15 in the UK it's seriously overpriced here. Even factoring in Norwegian sales tax (25%) and alcohol taxes ($10 per btl.), it's quite expensive.
Thank you for the reply and the offer Tom, I really appreciate it. Unfortunately it's illegal to import or buy alcohol for individuals in Norway. If you want to buy wine or spirits you must do so through the government-run retail monopoly. However, a recent judgment in the EU against the Swedish ban on private alcohol imports seem to signal the end of that restriction here as well. According to a recent newspaper article the EEA Authority has given Norway a deadline for removal of the import ban, and that deadline was supposedly this week. But the wheels of eurocracy/bureaucracy turns slowly, so I won't even dare a guess as to when things actually will change.
But for the most part, the taxes and freight would make ordering wines from other countries almost as expensive as buying them here, as the retail monopoly has a low profit restriction. However, when it comes to port the selection is good but not stellar, and if the ban is lifted I'd be able to get a hold of almost any port i wished - and that's a great improvement in itself. And some VPs, like the Calem, are severely overpriced. I recently got a deal on a special order of 6 bottles of Fonseca 1994 VP, and it came to $360 per btl. That's a lot of money (I split the order with several friends, so only two bottles are mine)!
Well, there you have it. I didn't mean to give you information overload on Norwegian conditions, but at least now you can revel in you free market VP access knowing that some of us are quite a lot less fortunate!
Thank you for the reply and the offer Tom, I really appreciate it. Unfortunately it's illegal to import or buy alcohol for individuals in Norway. If you want to buy wine or spirits you must do so through the government-run retail monopoly. However, a recent judgment in the EU against the Swedish ban on private alcohol imports seem to signal the end of that restriction here as well. According to a recent newspaper article the EEA Authority has given Norway a deadline for removal of the import ban, and that deadline was supposedly this week. But the wheels of eurocracy/bureaucracy turns slowly, so I won't even dare a guess as to when things actually will change.
But for the most part, the taxes and freight would make ordering wines from other countries almost as expensive as buying them here, as the retail monopoly has a low profit restriction. However, when it comes to port the selection is good but not stellar, and if the ban is lifted I'd be able to get a hold of almost any port i wished - and that's a great improvement in itself. And some VPs, like the Calem, are severely overpriced. I recently got a deal on a special order of 6 bottles of Fonseca 1994 VP, and it came to $360 per btl. That's a lot of money (I split the order with several friends, so only two bottles are mine)!
Well, there you have it. I didn't mean to give you information overload on Norwegian conditions, but at least now you can revel in you free market VP access knowing that some of us are quite a lot less fortunate!
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Tom Archer
- Posts: 2790
- Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Near Saffron Walden, England
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Tom Archer
- Posts: 2790
- Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Near Saffron Walden, England
I just googled this and found some info:
There is some discrepancy - one tourist site says you can only bring one litre into the country, but what appears to be a Norwegian government site states that a person travelling to Norway can bring four bottles (3L) of port (wine not stronger than 22%) duty free, and can bring in total up to 3 cases (27L) if they pay duty of 90Kr/litre.
- Maybe the law has already been relaxed??
I can't get a definite answer to the issue of mailing bottles - you will need to trawl the Norwegian language sites - but given the limits that apply to travellers, it would be surprising if a lone bottle could not be mailed.
Tom
PS: Cost of packing and mailing a bottle from the UK is about $20
There is some discrepancy - one tourist site says you can only bring one litre into the country, but what appears to be a Norwegian government site states that a person travelling to Norway can bring four bottles (3L) of port (wine not stronger than 22%) duty free, and can bring in total up to 3 cases (27L) if they pay duty of 90Kr/litre.
- Maybe the law has already been relaxed??
I can't get a definite answer to the issue of mailing bottles - you will need to trawl the Norwegian language sites - but given the limits that apply to travellers, it would be surprising if a lone bottle could not be mailed.
Tom
PS: Cost of packing and mailing a bottle from the UK is about $20