For The Love Of Port

This sale will end tomorrow. Premier Cru in CA has about 35 bottles of 1970 Taylor VP for sale @ $120 which is FANTASTIC price for today. It is a Bristol bottling and the price goes away tomorrow. I will leave this here tonight and move it to MARKETPLACE in the a.m.

HURRY seriously ... they are only open to 5 p.m. PST. You might be able to catch them first thing in the a.m. if you miss them tonight. 510 655-6691

Inside information here: They will also have another 7 cases available, being shipped over for a later delivery. I am not positive that they'll honor the same price, but if you miss the other 35 bottles which ARE currently in stock, ask them about the rest that they have on order. Don't mention my name or else! me ---> <---- you

So, who bought some?

They are closed now, so I will have to try back in the am...


BTW, did you see the great price they had on the 2003 Fonseca Magnums..I picked up 2 of those today

I purchased online--hope there are some left when they open!! Great way to celebrate one year of FTLOP!!!

Orderd some online and will call them first thing tomorrow to confirm. I have had great service and wine from them in the past. And the nice thing is, they are right across the Bay Bridge from me so I don't have to ship.

Jay

Call as soon as they open to get your bottles! Don't trust their online ordering system, it is their weakest link IMO. Call to confirm ... it is a sound idea!

Many thanks --again--Roy!!!

Well, I should be saving my $$ but, you twisted my arm Roy

I bought 2.

Andy,

Wise purchase, even if painful. You'll save these for a momentous occasion like the celebration of your favorite football team winning the Super Bowl some day, or a special birthday or anniversary. Great juice when the bottles are right.

Odds are, you won't see prices like this for such fine bottlings and pretty much guaranteed provenance. The last thing in the world I need is more Taylor 1970, but I grabbed a half, as one can never have too much of this stuff. Hide the CC bills, YIKES!

Roy, Thanks for pointing out this fantastic deal. I have been able to succesfully avoid ordering anything from Premier Cru until now... I placed an order for a half case late last night and received an invoice for all six this afternoon even though I was slow to pull the trigger.

I managed a half case as well, and will probably pick it up tomorrow.

Jay

I am in. Bought it when I saw their email.
Feel even better about the purchace now!

I picked mine up Saturday, superb condition, at least by appearence. High fills, no signs of seepage, Bristol bottling. I was talking to one of the employees there and they had bought some as well (and were very excited about it). I brought them home in a cooler, which it ended being cool enough that I probably did not need it, even in the 40 minute wait in traffic to get back across the bay bridge.

I'll wait a couple of weeks and open one up and report back.

Jay

This prompts a couple of related questions, please.

When one buys older VPs, is there a preferred, or set of preferred bottling locations?

Is it reasonable to expect the major US retailers to be able to answer the question "Where was this Port bottled"?

As always thanks so much!

Hey Roy,

I noticed there are no more in stock but they have more on pre-arrival for $140... do you know if this is from the same stock?

Marco,

The employee I spoke to believed it was from a different stock, but same bottler as the last. I got 2 from the earlier and 3 that are pre-arrival.

Don't forget that prior to the 1975 vintage, Ports were allowed to be shipped in cask and bottled anywhere. There are some bottlers over the course of the past 2 centuries that have gained a favorable reputation for doing so. There are some that were not as scrupulous with their methods or hygiene. I'll leave it to the Brits on this board to suggest who they believe did the best job.

From 1975-1985, all Vintage Port was bottled in Vila Nova de Gaia (a stone's throw across the Douro from Oporto). In 1986, Port Wine Institute regulations changed which enabled for the first time ... marketing, bottling and shipping efforts to take place directly from the Quintas up river in the Douro.

Unfortunately, few had the temperature controls in place and the early efforts resulted in wines that were problematic given the heat and were said to have "Douro bake." Quinta do Noval was one of the very first Shippers and definitely the first Single Quinta that I am aware of, that moved all production/bottling/shipping from their Douro base. Since those early days 20 years ago, there have been many changes to make the Quintas more amenable to the extreme temperatures of winter and summer.

Those coming along on the Harvest Tour, will get to understand this dynamic ... up close and personal.

Ok, so who has popped open one of their new '70 beauties?

Sorry, its going to be a while before I can have them shipped. It's just to darn hot down here.

I'll probably have to wait until october to have my order shipped due to the high heat. I will however be opening up a bottle of 1970 Taylor that I acquired a few months ago for my 30th b-day in 12 days. I'll be sure to post a taste note.