For The Love Of Port

Everyone here should participate in this thread!

Picking just one top Port of your drinking year would probably be too difficult for most to decide on. Choosing your 3 favorite Ports that you had this year should take some time, but probably won't be as challenging. They can include Ports from any category, recognized by the IVDP or not.

So let's see your short list and this should make for a very interesting read for all!

The first two are easy for me, it's the third one that gets tough. But it only took a little thought to make sure I had the right one.

1. 1906 Brunheda Colheita - they don't make words to describe it
2. 1952 Dalva Golden White Colheita - I only had a tasting glass (at Vinologia), but wow!
3. 1963 Fonseca Vintage Port - served to my family at Thanksgiving

I had a couple of significant honorable mentions this year, too.

Noval's 40-yr Old Tawny Port is an amazing juice, and it can even be found for around $100/bottle. I'm going to have to get a couple of those just to have around because I really enjoyed the glass I had at the Pestana Porto.

I got to try the 1970 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port courtesy of Roy, too. That was my first really good, mature vintage Port and is really what triggered my buying. Until then I just wasn't sure that I wanted to accumulate vintage ports because I wasn't sure I liked them enough to bother... aged tawnies can be purchased spur-of-the-moment and I tend to like them better anyway. But this Port showed me that I do like VPs also... they just have to be good ones and they need to be mature (or close to mature).

Not sure if they were the best, but probably the combo of emotion and taste would bring me to choose:

1966 Fonseca : A fantastic bottle from my cellar shared with Dirk Niepoort stating it was a perfect bottle.
1970 Qta de Roriz : Poured directly from their cellar, this Port was never commercialy released and was showing amazing depth and complexity
1970 Niepoort : One of the rare VP that Dirk's dare to crack to commemorate my passage to Napoles

I can't just pick 3, I have to include the great genorosity of Sean and Moses that did crack the 1950 Graham's when I went to Boston, it was simply perfect maturity Port.

The only ports I have had this year are the Hardy Whiskers Blake Tawny, which was very good, and the Sandemans Ruby, which was not - but I hope to taste a lot more port in 2009. I have always liked it, but this has not been a banner year for wine consumption in general here. :)

1. 1977 Fonseca
2. 1970 Taylor
3. 1977 Taylor

I also had a 1966 Fonseca, which was very good but doesn't make the list.

For me:
63 Grahams
70 Fonseca
52 Dalva White Colheita

My 3 top picks for 2008:

1. 1963 Fonseca (had an opportunity to try a couple of times in 2008.)
2. 1970 Grahams (had my 2nd bottle in 2008, first in 2007)
3. 1983 Grahams (had my 1st bottle in 2008, and plan to have another next week.)

In addition to the quality of the port, the company was great which always enhances the experience.

While there were a number of Colheitas vying for 3rd place, the top vintage ports always seem to edge them out.

-- Gary

I've only drank about 6-7 ports this year, most of them back in Jan/Feb. Top 3 would be as follows:
1) 1991 Croft
2) 1985 Burmester
3) 1997 Smith Woodhouse

A bottle of 1970 Warre's was badly heat damaged, I suspect a sound bottle would have made the list.

My picks:

1. 1974 Quinta das Aranhas - Colheita
2. 2006 Quinta do Portal - Vintage
3. 2003 Taylor - Vintage

Without trawling my notes, I will recall from memory three VP's that proved much better than expected:

Dow 1960 - a previous bottle from the same case, drunk a couple of years ago, had left me with the impression that this wine was effectively dead in the water. However, this bottle was probably my best of the year.

Warre 1958 - recently acquired, and vastly better than a Noval '58 drunk earlier in the year.

Smith Woodhouse 1947 - a badly ullaged and physically cracked bottle that nevertheless managed to win the day at a recent offline, despite tough competition from excellent bottles going back to 1900.

Tom

oscarquevedo wrote:My picks:

1. 1974 Quinta das Aranhas - Colheita

Hey Oscar, I never herd of this Quinta, can you tell a bit more about the wine? It intrigue me!

1945 Niepoort Vintage
1963 Noval Nacional Vintage
1927 Niepoort (Handwritten by Dirk's Grandfather)

Frederick Blais wrote:
Hey Oscar, I never herd of this Quinta, can you tell a bit more about the wine? It intrigue me!

Hi Frederick,

Quinta das Aranhas is located in Ervedosa do Douro, on the right bank of the Torto River (between Douro and Torto), close to Quinta da Soalheira from Borges. It's currently owned by two brothers, Sebastiao and Augusto Mesquita. Sebastiao was, until last Summer, the head of the winemaking team in Quinta do Ventozelo. Now he is just focused on their project.

I tasted this Colheita 1974 a couple of months ago. It was made by their father, Manuel. They bottled some of this wine, but very few bottles.

My favorites are:

Kopke colheita 1977, bottled in 2008.
Delaforce vintage 1970.
Dalva vintage 1994.

My 3 standout Ports for 2008; tasted in this order:

1994 Taylor VP - with Andy in LA
1906 Brunheda Colheita - with Stewart and then Glenn
1912 Cockburn's VP - at the Cockburn's vertical in London

_________________________________________________________________

Honorable mention goes to the 1927 Fonseca VP which Uncle Tom generously opened blind for me and friends at The Bell near Cambridge. It was the last entry on my "holy grail" list of VPs. and I had never even seen a bottle of it before.

I was very close with my blind guess of 1975 Ferreira VP, which I had tasted just a week earlier.
I was happy to amuse the group and was "only" off by 48 years and I swear it looked and tasted just like that Ferreira. :help:

My inexperience and lack of tasting anything vintage (maybe had a 1997, but if so it wasn't noteworthy) gives these two:
- Quinta do Javali 30 Year Tawny
- Calem 10 Year Tawny
But 2008 isn't over yet
-Eric

This is pretty dang early -- we've got a few days left!
A couple of Colheitas will probably be making my list . . . after 2008 is over.

1970 Fonseca
1977 Gould Campbell
1952 Dalva Golden Port (white colheita)

I'm probably missing something special... but this is what I can remember.

last night confirmed my #1, and i don't think anything will change between now and the 31st, altho i do have a bday on the 30th....

1977 Fonseca Porto Vintage
1977 Taylor Fladgate Porto Vintage
1970 Fonseca Porto Vintage

Always tough to narrow it down to just three, but I'll do my best.

1940 Niepoort Garrafiera - Opened at the last minute by Sean before the massive Croft tasting in Boston.

1948 Taylor Vintage Port - Also consumed before the Croft tasting in Boston.

1912 Cockburn's Vintage Port - At the Cockburn offline at the Crusting Pipe in London.

Honorable mention does go to the 1927 Fonseca VP. While not the best, a very rare treat to be able to try that wine. As it seems to be even more rare than the '31 Noval's.