A few questions for a tasting

[Philippe S.]

Hello, I'm hosting a tasting on October 17th. I have some problems !

First, It's the first time I host something like that and I'm a bit confused about... everything ! I know 2 things for sure :

- There will be 7 persons, including me
- One will bring the Mackenzie white Old Reserve (around 30 yr old I think)

I will offer the other bottles, that's what I wanted because the cellar is getting full and the 2007 VPs will become available here in Quebec in the next weeks/months.

I don't have very old VPs, and I didn't planned opening Tawnies or Colheitas. Here is a list of potential Ports I have and I could open.

Warre 77
S-Woodhouse 85
Offley 87
Dow Bomfim 88
Taylor Terra Feita 88
Taylor Vergellas 88
S-Woodhouse 94
Warre 94
Rozes 95
Noval Silval 98
Taylor Vergellas 98
Grahams Malvedos 98
Ferreira 00
Warre 00
S-Woodhouse 00
Offley 00
Offley 03
S-Woodhouse 03

Also some interesting LBVs that could be included :

Infantado 01-04
S-Woodhouse 95

I thought it could be interesting to do a semi-blind tasting (not sure at all of the expression in english), I mean we have the list of wines, but don't know what one is in which glass.

I just don't know how many I need, and what to take. It could be a kind of vertical of S-Woodhouse including the LBV, or just different producers of different years. Also, I don't know what to do with the white Mackenzie. If it's a blind tasting, I guess it will be easy to spot this one ! Should I serve it before the VPs tasting ? What do I include to eat ? Cheese, nuts, chocolate and bread will be ok ?

I need your help !!

Thank you all,
Phil

[Eric Menchen]

1. You should search this forum for others that have posted similar questions, like this one that I started: http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... f=7&t=6876 I also know that one of the Seattle-area members hosted a tasting in the last year, and there's a thread for that one too.
2. I would open at most 7 bottles. I might go for 4-6, but I know some others around here will disagree with that.
3. Personally, I would save the 2000 and 2003s for another day, unless you decided to go with the S-W vertical.
4. You've got some real nice stuff there to choose from. How do I get invited?

[Glenn E.]

Hi Phil,

Since it is the first time you have ever hosted a tasting, I'll ask some basic questions that you might not have thought about yet.

1. Do you have enough decanters for all of the bottles of Port that you plan to open?

The bottles you have are all fairly young and will need several hours of time in a decanter in order to reach their full potential. You can use just about any container as a decanter - a water pitcher, a large flower vase, even an old (and thoroughly washed and rinsed) plastic milk jug will work. But you will need one container for each bottle in order to make sure that they are all ready for drinking at the same time.

2. Do you have enough stemware for 7 guests x the number of bottles you wish to open?

If not, a restaurant supply store will happily rent you glasses for a reasonable price.

3. Do you know how much Port your guests will be able to drink?

Port contains more alcohol than wine - 20% compared to 12%-15%. With only 7 people drinking, each person's share of each bottle is actually quite a lot of alcohol. You should choose the number of bottles that you wish to open based in part on how much you think your guests will actually be able to drink during the evening. Our British friends think that 1 bottle per person is a light tasting, but personally I have difficultly with that much Port unless the tasting lasts at least 6 hours. If you plan to serve any food and wine also, then 5 bottles is probably sufficient for 7 drinkers.

If your friends are regular Port drinkers, then a blind tasting might be fun. I would probably serve the 5 bottles from the late 80s if you want to have that type of tasting, but you could also serve the Smith Woodhouse mini-vertical blind too. I would also include the LBV in that tasting to give you 5 bottles. I suspect that the Smith Woodhouse mini-vertical would surprise people, because the 1985 and 1994 are both still very young Ports. My bet would be that people would pick the LBV as the oldest instead of the 1985.

If your friends are relatively new to Port, I'd just serve a variety of bottles so that they can try different styles. Perhaps the 1977 Warre for something relatively older (though still not fully mature), the 1988 Dow's Bomfim for something on the dryer side of Port, the 1998 Graham's Malvedos for something on the sweeter side of Port, the 1988 Taylor's Vargellas for something a bit "spicy" in nature, and then the 2003 Smith Woodhouse for something entirely too young and powerful.

Another option would be to serve the 6 Single Quinta Ports - the 1988 Bomfim, the 1988 Terra Feita, the 1988 Vargellas, the 1998 Vargellas, the 1998 Malvedos, and the 1998 Silval (though that is technically a second label and not a Single Quinta VP). Three older and three younger gives nice variety.

In any case, I would probably serve the Mackenzie White as an aperitif because it doesn't really fit into a Vintage Port tasting. I'm sure it will be really good, but I think it would be best served separately and enjoyed on its own.

[Philippe S.]

Thank you for both answers.

I think 1 bottle per person is way too much. The thing is that I don't have any problem opening 5-6-7 bottles and drink the remaining port 1-2 days after the tasting. I just want to have a good mix of bottles to have an interesting tasting. I'll keep thinking about it and I'll let you know how it turns.

Thanks again,
Phil

[Eric Menchen]

I understand your feelings on that Philippe. I had about ten people for my tasting and opened six full bottles and two halves. I asked some of the couples what their favorites were, and gave them the leftover VP (which wasn't going to last long) to take home. I kept the rest and drank it over the following few weeks with my wife and some friends that couldn't make it to the tasting.

[Andy Velebil]

Phillipe,

Sorry for the delay responding, but have been in Portugal. Others have given some good advice already.

I'f it were me, I'd do all the 1988's and 1998's side by side so people could see how different vineyards do in the same year. And that also shows people how 10 years of age makes a difference. Serve them in flights of 3....so do the 1988's first then the 1998's after. All side by side. That way people can easily compare each against each other.

based on what bottles you have, I would not open the White Port as it will be much different than the others. Probably best to save that one for another time.

Whatever you decide, please do let us know how things go.

[Marc J.]

Hey Andy, that's exactly what I had recommended Philippe do as well. I do believe that such an arrangement would offer an interesting comparison. So you survived Portugal??? But did you liver survive the trip as well????

Marc

[Andy Velebil]

Hey Andy, that's exactly what I had recommended Philippe do as well. I do believe that such an arrangement would offer an interesting comparison. So you survived Portugal??? But did you liver survive the trip as well????

Marc

Great minds think alike Yes I survived, the liver is at the dry cleaner as we speak. It was a great time and I'll share more when we meet up for some Port...which we need to do sometime soon. Email me and remind me later this week, as I head back to work tomorrow and will find out my schedule in the next couple of days.

[Moses Botbol]

Unless they are noted big drinkers or arranged ride home, I would do N -1 for the total bottles. Save the tawnies for last minute drinking should you polish off what was planned.

As for which ones, don't know what to suggest. Depends on ports the others have had.