For The Love Of Port

Eric Menchen wrote:

Glenn E. wrote:The crazy continues...
3 x 1976 Krohn Coheita
3 x 1964 Krohn Coheita Branco
6 x 1968 Krohn Coheita

You are evil. I ordered 2x 1968 Krohn Colheita from a place I don't even like these days, with this note:

Ship these in the fall when you have my 6x 2011 Dow Vintage Port that I paid for with my order from 1/27/2014, order# 0000xxxxxx, which I'm still waiting for. I might have ordered more, but I don't want to tie up $500 for another two years.

I don't buy anything pre-arrival from them anymore. I am sure you will get your wines, though it may be another year or two. But you really aren't going to drink those this young anyways, LOL.

I bought (well placed an order hopefully I get it), 6-1968 Krohn's Colheita. At that price I had to.....

Yeah that's a crazy price for a nearly 50-yr old Colheita!

1 x Niepoort Colheita 1968 and 3 x Taylor single harvest 1965


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Greetings fellow port lovers. First post and back into Port after a decades long hiatus. After doing some research while sipping a SW 10yo Tawny we placed an order arriving a couple of days ago. Not a bad start but a long ways to go...as they say getting to your destination is half the fun! All of these from K&L, whom I have dealt with since the '70's.

1994 Dow's VP.
2000 Dow's VP
2000 Warre's VP
2003 Croft VP
2008 Fonseca LBV

Heitz Ink grade.

Next week should be fun as well. happy hunting.

Andy Velebil wrote:

Malachi W wrote:He warre's was not bad. I did notice a purple stain on top of the cork under the foil. I was not sure if this was from leakage or the bottle being over heated. The cork fell apart when I tried to remove it and was completely dry. I did not see any streaking in the cork that would make me think it spent a lot of time in heat.

The flavor was still very fruity and tight. I did taste a bit of nuttyness on the finish. It may turn out to be very good down the road. I bough this at a local store and hey had ordered it in for me. My assumption was that as a corked wine not a T top it would be stored on its side but as dry and brittle as the cork was I would assume the warehouse had stored it standing up.

Hard to say on the standing up part. A cork can also dry out like that even on it's side. I suspect it was in a very non-humid environment for a long time, or a bad cork. Most likely the previous.

I would buy more of the Warre LVB. Maybe from a different source.

Tom Archer wrote:

I did notice a purple stain on top of the cork under the foil

Bottling lines sometimes get messy - probably a splash of port that found its way onto the top of the cork during bottling..

Very possible, I thought I read somewhere that after bottled some of
The corks were splashed with wine. Of course I read way to much and can't remember where I read that.

I've read that as well, but never in connection with Port


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1 x 1985 Ferreira
1 x 1994 Smith Woodhouse
1 x 1995 Quinta do Crasto
1 x 1995 Quinta do Vale Da Mina (Never heard of this one before--but only $25 so why not?)

John M. wrote: 1 x 1995 Quinta do Vale Da Mina (Never heard of this one before--but only $25 so why not?)

IIRC it was what Cristiano Van Zellar bought after his family sold Noval. I don't think he owns it anymore, but I could be wrong.

When I started to update my knowledge and learn of the vintages I knew not ,I was pleasantly surprised that not only have there been several great vintages but that the prices were so low. Compared to new releases of Bordeaux or even the "big" California cabs, Port is serious value. I guess Port is not popular enough in China yet to push up the prices. This meant I could afford good start on some seriously fine Port. After my first purchase at K&L is was hoping to find better pricing and wider selection. I found Winebid and they are located 30 minutes from my house. I had not yet read the "delima" thread, so now I understand why I was able to bid on so many uncontested Ports. When the hammer fell my wallet was $888 lighter and soon my cellar will have these 12 bottles of VP. I can't tell you how much help this site has been in helping guide me with tasting notes.

1x 1977 Graham
2x 1985 Fonseca
1x 1985 Taylor-Fladgate
2x 1985 Dow
1x 1994 Smith Woodhouse
2x 1994 Quinta do Vesuvio
1x 1997 Fonseca
2x 2000 Fonseca

Edward J wrote:When I started to update my knowledge and learn of the vintages I knew not ,I was pleasantly surprised that not only have there been several great vintages but that the prices were so low. Compared to new releases of Bordeaux or even the "big" California cabs, Port is serious value. I guess Port is not popular enough in China yet to push up the prices.

Yes! And please don't tell them.

My humble opinions:
1x 1977 Graham - Tasty good.
2x 1985 Fonseca - Excellent!
1x 1985 Taylor-Fladgate - Meh.
2x 1985 Dow - Probably good, but I don't exactly remember.
1x 1994 Smith Woodhouse - I love this one, but might be in a minority here.
2x 1994 Quinta do Vesuvio - I love this one, and a lot of other people around here do to. But it has been more closed up lately, so you might want to wait a while.
1x 1997 Fonseca - Not so sure on this one. I don't think I've had it, but I own one.
2x 2000 Fonseca - 2000 is kind of an unsung vintage, but Roy likes it a lot so I bought a few; haven't tasted them yet.

Eric Menchen wrote:
My humble opinions:
1x 1977 Graham - Tasty good.
2x 1985 Fonseca - Excellent!
1x 1985 Taylor-Fladgate - Meh.
2x 1985 Dow - Probably good, but I don't exactly remember.
1x 1994 Smith Woodhouse - I love this one, but might be in a minority here.
2x 1994 Quinta do Vesuvio - I love this one, and a lot of other people around here do to. But it has been more closed up lately, so you might want to wait a while.
1x 1997 Fonseca - Not so sure on this one. I don't think I've had it, but I own one.
2x 2000 Fonseca - 2000 is kind of an unsung vintage, but Roy likes it a lot so I bought a few; haven't tasted them yet.

Thanks for your thoughts, I haven't given too much thought to when to open. I'm 58 so 2011 are not on my radar at this time. I'll be looking to fill things in and add a few special bottles as well. So I am focusing on 2003 and earlier. I have lots of patience so no worries. Any other reasonably priced sources I should look into?

Eric Menchen wrote:

Edward J wrote:When I started to update my knowledge and learn of the vintages I knew not ,I was pleasantly surprised that not only have there been several great vintages but that the prices were so low. Compared to new releases of Bordeaux or even the "big" California cabs, Port is serious value. I guess Port is not popular enough in China yet to push up the prices.

Yes! And please don't tell them.

My humble opinions:
1x 1977 Graham - Tasty good. (Agreed, but typically has more spirit showing than any other Graham VP)
2x 1985 Fonseca - Excellent! (Here here)
1x 1985 Taylor-Fladgate - Meh. (Drink up while waiting for the Fonseca to mature. Overpriced due to the name)
2x 1985 Dow - Probably good, but I don't exactly remember. (Some bottle variation, but a very good bottle)
1x 1994 Smith Woodhouse - I love this one, but might be in a minority here. (Love this as well)
2x 1994 Quinta do Vesuvio - I love this one, and a lot of other people around here do to. But it has been more closed up lately, so you might want to wait a while. (One of the top of the vintage, along with the usual suspects)
1x 1997 Fonseca - Not so sure on this one. I don't think I've had it, but I own one.(Been a while, but very good though not great)
2x 2000 Fonseca - 2000 is kind of an unsung vintage, but Roy likes it a lot so I bought a few; haven't tasted them yet.(Awesome)

I'll add to Eric's comments (above in bold).

Edward J wrote: I guess Port is not popular enough in China yet to push up the prices. This meant I could afford good start on some seriously fine Port.

Many trend setting Asian cities are in quite warm locales and Port is just not that popular. Singapore (for instance), it is difficult to find vintage port, yet their dry wine selection is quite mature & expansive. Similar situation in Melbourne or Hong Kong; port is not as popular as it is in N. America and Europe. China does have a diverse climate region, so maybe it will gain pocketed popularity?

Thanks for your comments! While buying older wine can be risky, the guidance given here has helped me to know how to manage that. We just got back from a vacation in Calaveras county. It is Zinfindel country for sure and the soil in the foothills also lends itself for the production of traditional Port varieties. So we headed to Murphy's where 22 wineries have tasting rooms on the main street. There was something for everyone, but we were there to try port styled wines. Several made Zinfindel Port, but only one stood out and we purchased
Milliaire 2009 Clockwork Zinfindel Port , the same wine-maker uses traditional varieties at Black Sheep Winery and their 2009 Fortissimo was the WOTD for me. Both will go into the "open next" rotation.

As nice as these wines are, they are not Port and since I've been given an generous allowance to acquire a small but well rounded (I hope) collection of port for our golden years.
So added this week
Graham 10YO Tawny, Costco
1x 1977 Warre's VP
2x 1985 Warre's VP
1x 1983 Offley Boa Vista VP
2x 1994 Quinta do Crasto Late Bottled Vintage Port
2x 1995 Graham's Malvedos

I'm pretty sure after this lot I'm going to slow down considerably

2x 1963 Warre's
2x 1970 Fonseca
2x 1970 Dow's

thanks for all the help

Edward J wrote:I'm pretty sure after this lot I'm going to slow down considerably

2x 1963 Warre's
2x 1970 Fonseca
2x 1970 Dow's

thanks for all the help

Those are 6 lovely ports. Nice parcel.

Al B. wrote:

Edward J wrote:I'm pretty sure after this lot I'm going to slow down considerably

2x 1963 Warre's
2x 1970 Fonseca
2x 1970 Dow's

thanks for all the help

Those are 6 lovely ports. Nice parcel.

Yes they are!

Yeah!

Nice box, a flat Vesuvio style.

Ordered 6 more Krohn 30. At that price stupid not to. Got a full case now. Looks like my new house aged tawny this winter will be a 30 year old