For The Love Of Port

Due to the crazy high cost of true VP in my area (I am shocked at some of the prices I am understanding are being paid at UK auctions - I can see how Tom keeps his cellar so full!) I am constantly on the look-out for quality, low-cost daily sippers to make due between bottles of VP or older Tawnies/Colheitas.

I have recently discovered Grahams LBV 2000 (filtered), which is nearly perfect after a day being opened... the alcohol which was strong and prominent the first few hours after opening has integrated perfectly and there are some notes that I have seen in a lot of the Vintage Ports I have tried - dark cherries, blackberries, boysenberries, just a tad of wood and perhaps some nutty tastes. Very tasty.

It is a bit on the pricey side for an LBV and definitely over the cost of a "daily-sipper" but I can see myself being happy if I had this wine 300 of 365 days in a year.

It led me to think:
What would you say your top 3 daily sippers are?

Todd

For a daily drinker that is usually open at any given time at the house are

Graham's six grapes
Ramos Pinto Collector
Ferriera 10 year tawny

For port only:

1999 Niepoort LBV
Sandeman 20 year tawny

Breaks down after that and hard to say.

Jay

Living in the UK and not in the wilds of the frozen north, I am happy to confirm all your stereotypes and to say that my top three daily sippers are probably:

1) Earl Grey tea
2) Peppermint tea
3) Whatever happens to be open at the time.

The truth is that we almost always have two bottles open at any time, normally one of white wine and one of red wine or port. Currently we have open a bottle of German Riesling but no red (there is a 1987 Fonseca Guimaraens waiting next on Death Row, I just need time to open and decant it before going to work one morning). Last week it was a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne and a bottle of Vargellas 1987.

Alex

1. Porttonic
2. Otima 10YOT
3. Javali Ruby or LBV (I import this stuff, and usually, there is a bottle open of either.)

Well I'm currently drinking a cup of tea - Typhoo with a little skimmed milk.

Last night we had a Nicholas Feuillatte vintage champagne, 1999 Millesime Blancs de Blancs because I became an uncle again.

On Monday it was some M&S Reserve Cava.

I frequently have a bottle or two of Grolsch.

Oh Port - errmmm.. Otima 10yo, graduating to 20yo because I can get it.
Whichever cooking Port I've got on the go at the time. None open at the moment but Croft Platinum recently and I have a Warre's Heritage ready for the off to see if I should pick up more at a fiver a bottle.

My tastes are wide and varied. I do like the Otima 10yr old, and often re-visit that.
My 3 current bottles of ordinary Port I'm ploughing through are

1. Warres Otima 10yr
2. Marks & Spencer 2000 LBV
3. Marks & Spencer Extra Dry White Port.

And that sums me up. I popped into a Tesco's last week (Otima), and I was dragged to Marksy's a few days ago with the Mrs.

I think I'm developing a liking for late night Tumblers full of crushed ice and white port! Its more an alcoholic thing than a thing of taste and finess.

KillerB wrote:Last night we had a Nicholas Feuillatte vintage champagne, 1999 Millesime Blancs de Blancs because I became an uncle again.

Congratulations! :)

Todd

bridgema wrote: 1) Earl Grey tea

Alex

Alex,

Not being a big coffee drinker, this is my drink of choice while working the graveyard shift.

KillerB wrote: Last night we had a Nicholas Feuillatte vintage champagne, 1999 Millesime Blancs de Blancs because I became an uncle again.

Congratulations

In the olden days, when I lived in the UK:

• Timothy Taylor Landlord;
• Fuller’s London pride;
• Harvey Sussex.

jdaw1 wrote:In the olden days, when I lived in the UK:

• Timothy Taylor Landlord;
• Fuller’s London pride;
• Harvey Sussex.

Don't know Harvey Sussex but I can concur with the first two.

I've been on a chai making craze since no restaurants/cafes make it like India.

Been drinking a lot of Euro Pinot Noir, not exclusive to Burgundy though.

The most recent ports I have had were my 85's that I posted about, a Cockburn LBV that was avergage and Warre's LBV that was quite nice with 24 hour decant.

I drink a lot of Poland Springs water, from the heart of Maine.

My choices: Graham's Six Grapes
Quinta da Ervamoira 10 yrs
Pocas LBV 1999
But I would add some teas too (It's probably easier to drink tea when you're 29 and you live in UK... people seems to don't understand here why someone under 70 drink tea...)

In my early Port addiction I used to always have a bottle of Colheita open on the table next to my computer. What started as a 1-2 glass per day was often ending in a half bottle per day. These where often Barros and Dow's colheita widely available at the moment.

Recently I've been opening a few LBV's from Noval and Niepoort and when I have a taste for Tawny, I mostly go for Noval 10 yr old.

Alan C wrote: 2. Marks & Spencer 2000 LBV
3. Marks & Spencer Extra Dry White Port.

And that sums me up. I popped into a Tesco's last week (Otima), and I was dragged to Marksy's a few days ago with the Mrs.

Alan,

Tell me if I'm getting the hang of the re-labeling thing in the UK.

Tesco's is a chain (supermarket?) that sells a "house bottled" port, which appears to be a rebranded Otima?

If that is the case, do you know who the M&S LBV and White Port come from?
(We have nothing like that here - rebranding or bottling for a major chain. In fact, our super markets are not allowed to sell anything above 0.5% Alcohol, so licensed liquor stores are our only source. Specialty wine stores have to have the same "liquor license" that the cold beer/hard liquor stores have.)

Tod

Andy V. wrote:

bridgema wrote: 1) Earl Grey tea

Alex

Alex,

Not being a big coffee drinker, this is my drink of choice while working the graveyard shift.

I do drink coffee, but also enjoy tea (must be the English roots! )
Earl Grey and Peppermint are my favourites. I tend to drink a lot of green tea for the anti-oxidants, but I typically will brew it with a peppermint bag thrown in for flavour because 8 minutes of steeping green tea (optimal extraction point for the antioxidants in green tea) produces a really horrid-tasting swill.

Todd

jdaw1 wrote:In the olden days, when I lived in the UK:

• Timothy Taylor Landlord;
• Fuller’s London pride;
• Harvey Sussex.

Julian,

I enjoy the London Pride, but prefer the ESB. Both are very good though!
The Harvey Sussex looks good. Anything dark and bitter! :)
Timothy Taylor I have not heard of. I will check around to see if it is available here. The Dark Mild and even better sounding, the Ran Tan look right up my alley!

What about your ports?

Todd
Edited for stupidity (or spelling - you choose)

tpettinger wrote:

jdaw1 wrote:In the olden days, when I lived in the UK:

• Timothy Taylor Landlord;
• Fuller’s London pride;
• Harvey Sussex.

… What about your ports?

Forgot to mention

• Shepherd Neame’s Spitfire;
• Well’s Bombardier.

Daily sipping ports I don’t do. Generally, if I’m drinking port I’m drinking something worth drinking.

Oh no no no no no. Not the Spitfire, if you are going to have a Shepherd Neame thou shalt have the Bishop's Finger. Never been a fan of Wells beers but Bombardier is OK.