#2: What is your favorite vintage of Sandeman VP?

[Moses Botbol]

I've never tried a Sandeman yet, but there are some 2000, and very few bottles of the 1963 avalable here, plus the 2000 Vau Vintage. I'll see if I can get some.

Take a look for 1980 or 1994 vintages. I know prices are high in Norway. Either of those two vintages are winners and shouldn't break the bank. The '94 takes a couple of days open to really show well. The '80 is just great and the last great Sandeman until 1994.

[Symon B]

hi it was the 1951 0re 1950 cant remember which one
interesting some like the 55 to but the 51/50 was one of the best ports iv ever had like 98 points good it was as great as a spot on level in neck fon 70 for me and sheila

[Espen S.]

I've never tried a Sandeman yet, but there are some 2000, and very few bottles of the 1963 avalable here, plus the 2000 Vau Vintage. I'll see if I can get some.

Take a look for 1980 or 1994 vintages. I know prices are high in Norway. Either of those two vintages are winners and shouldn't break the bank. The '94 takes a couple of days open to really show well. The '80 is just great and the last great Sandeman until 1994.

I would, but there are only two vintages available. I would have to import it myself.

[Moses Botbol]

I would, but there are only two vintages available. I would have to import it myself.

It's worth it to import either if not too costly. How much do you think a case of either would end up costing?

[Roy Hersh]

Refresh!

[Tom D.]

I'm hoping it will be the 1945. I just bought a bottle from HDH at what seems a very nice price -- still not in my usual price range, but I temporarily have some cash in my pocket from a few bottles I've been selling. Roy, I know you've posted favorable notes on this one, as have others, so we'll see if I got a good bottle. We're planning to open it some time this year, maybe my 50th birthday.

In the meantime, Sandeman is one VP I have virtually no experience with. Can anyone recommend a vintage or two that I should try, in a bit lower price range, just to get a feel for the house style?

[Moses Botbol]

In the meantime, Sandeman is one VP I have virtually no experience with. Can anyone recommend a vintage or two that I should try, in a bit lower price range, just to get a feel for the house style?

1963, 1970, 1977, 1980, and 1994 are all good Sandeman vintages.

[Espen S.]

I would, but there are only two vintages available. I would have to import it myself.

It's worth it to import either if not too costly. How much do you think a case of either would end up costing?

A case of 2000 would be 947$, and the 1963 would be 3254$ in Norway (assuming it's cases of 12 of course).
Now I saw both are unavailable, only a few bottles here and there, no way to order a case.
I have never imported wine before and have no idea what the final price would be with all VAT, taxes and all that may apply, but I'll assume there's some money to save there?

[Andy Velebil]

Espen,
I'm not familiar with your laws so if I were you I'd look into if a retailer can ship small amounts to you directly from someplace like the UK. If so, then you could probably find some good deals in the UK.

[Derek T.]

Espen,

I know a very helpful wine merchant in the UK who could perhaps help you with some advice on importing Port from the UK to Norway. Let me know by PM if you want to ask for their advice and I will introduce you to them.

Derek

[Symon B]

1950 in neck 98 pt i got a huge shock of the quality it was truly great in the top 3 iv ever had in 25 years rare symonb

[Al B.]

My favourite Sandeman is still that bottle of Berry bottled 1963 that Derek and I shared one evening. However, seeing all of the comments on the Sandeman 1935, I shall have to try one of these sooner or later and see if I rate it higher than the '63.

[Roy Hersh]

On Page 1 here, I told the first part of my purchase about these two amazing cases of 1935 that I bought in OWC each wrapped in a straw sewn sheath. Now, my wife was not thrilled at the time I bought those cases, because at the same time I had bought the entire dessert wine contents of this guys cellar (old Sauternes, some Tokaji from 1929/'30 and a rare pair of bottles of Tokaji from 1837, wild VPs and Colheitas from off years like 1905 and 1926 my dad's birth year etc., and then the crazy old Madeiras too). The contingency was that I had to buy it all in its entirety and clean the cellar they were stashed in, which took me a full week. But the haul was incredible and the prices on all bottles came to just $7 per, for everything mentioned, except the 1935 Sandeman which this old man's father had moved from Chicago in 1940 and it had laid in this passive root cellar underneath his home until 2001, after he had passed away. Originally he wanted to give me all the bottles, for cleaning this heinously filthy cobwebbed cellar that was dirty beyond description and had literally never been cleaned before, but they were going to sell that old large home on the lakefront. Those two cases of Sandeman cost me $40/bottle or $960 for two cases. Still quite a steal as they were never touched and well into the neck,I insisted on paying something as I did not feel right taking them for nothing. The owner's son let me pay for one bottle up front to see if I wanted all others + the rest of the stash. I pried the case open with a screw driver to get it out and could not believe what I was seeing. I brought it home to share with a friend in the wine trade and my wife ... and we could not believe the color and provenance of these bottles. Perfect and young, nearly purplish.

Sadly, I knew my job was two months from ending (the owner had also just died at the company I worked for) and my wife was not too happy about me taking a couple of thousand dollars to pay for all that wine, LOTS of it. I was so bummed. She knew how great the Sandeman was and at the time, I had never sold a bottle of wine or Port in my life and I'd been collecting for 18 years by that time. So I made the "devil's promise." If she would allow me to buy all of the wine, I'd sell one of the two cases of 1935. I wound up drinking these with friends and my brother at various tastings over the next few years. In 2005, I brought two bottles with me for the very first Port Harvest Tour and opened one after dinner with George Sandeman and his wife (along with Mario, David Spriggs and one other guest) and the bottle was phenomenal. I gave the other one to the Sandeman's as a gift. This was several months after this website began and I had "quit working" except for the Fall Fair gig I do every year. In those days there were no subscriptions.

Finally, my wife came to me ... now four years later and said, "we really could use that money" ... we now had a daughter who was going to turn 3 years old and knew that I had to keep my promise. I emailed two collectors and told them to check winesearcher and that the average price was $650-700 a bottle and that no one in the USA had bottles in this kind of amazing condition where the bottles had not moved for 60 years, in OWC. Both jumped on it making an offer. I took the higher bid of $6,500. begrudgingly, because I knew my wife would never let me reverse my promise no matter what. Yes, it was an amazing profit and helped pay for lots at the time, but oh how I wish I had never made that promise, as I always regret not having that extra dozen bottles now. The last one I owned was opened for the first FTLOP Gala, as I could not think of any better way to share in the 11th and final bottle that I got to enjoy. A bittersweet memory now, I kept that last one (empty) for my collection, and it will remind me of a foolhardy promise I made in order to buy a ton of great bottles.

And that ... is the rest of the story.

[Eric Ifune]

Roy, I managed to secure another bottle of the 35 Sandeman at auction. Who knows, maybe it's from your inital stash! Anyways, I 'll open it with you one of these days.

[Symon B]

roy what did you mark the 35 sandeman
ps was it as nice as 45 sandeman ore just diferent

[Roy Hersh]

Symon,

Unfortunately, I never had them side by side, although I can dream that someday that may happen. So comparing them years apart and only in hindsight, is not something I feel good about doing. For scores, please check the TNDB, to which you have total access.

[John Trombley]

The '55 was a real beauty, and one of the best ports I ever had.

Amen.