For The Love Of Port

Ok, so I have begun my collection of port with newer vintages (2000, 2003, 2005), and I feel it's time to buy older vintages, since, of course, I can't or won't drink them until they are more ready. And that is years and years from now.
Problem is, I realise, i have a limited budget, AND I am afraid that the longer I wait the harder it will be to find old port.
So my question is, is this stress I'm feeling something real? How limited, and how temporary, are these vintage port's (see below) in sweden, and also, worldwide?
Will i miss my chance to get a hold of them if I wait, say, half a year? Or will they perhaps be replaced by other good, a bit older, vintages? Do they come and go and come back again in stock at Systembolaget?
I don't have a long enough experience of port to know how these things work.

The port's I have looked at are (including systembolaget's articlenumber):
Sandemans Vintage Port 1997 (nr 84818)
Graham's Vintage Port 1991 (nr 8183)
Graham's Vintage Port 1994 (nr 8034)
Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port 1994 (nr 83555)
Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage Port 1995 (nr 8001)

Also i really want Fonseca Vintage Port 2003 (nr 99668) which is temporary in stock and seems to disappear pretty fast. But i guess I have enough 2003 vintages for now, and perhaps this one is more likely to get a hold of again.

And finally, are all these wonderings unnecessary because it perhaps is much much easier and cheaper than I think to private import through Systembolaget's procedure?

I really feel like a Newbie posting this,
however, it would do me real good to know more about this.
Of course, i should also ask someone working with import at Systembolaget.

Anyway, thank you

I think that the way you will choose your older ports is going to be mostly AVAILABILITY.

You will see a port for sale, check the Tasting Notes here and elsewhere, check any prices you see here, and decide whether to buy.

Unlike people who live where there is a wide choice, or who live where shipping port is easy and legal, we depend on quick reactions to whatever ports happen to be available to us. One day I will figure a way to check the Tasting Notes from a cell phone or other portable device, so I will be able to make a decision right while I am in the store where I see some available port.

As a substitute for instant research, you might make a card you can always keep with you, listing 20 or 30 ports you are interested in, and fair prices for each.

Peter W. Meek wrote:As a substitute for instant research, you might make a card you can always keep with you, listing 20 or 30 ports you are interested in, and fair prices for each.

>Warning: Port Geek Alert<
Ummm, 200-300 I maintain a listing I can print out in booklet form and it has just under 300 VP entries right now. I add to it when I see something I might be interested in. It also includes notes on things I would not want to buy, at any price.

Eric Menchen wrote:

Peter W. Meek wrote:As a substitute for instant research, you might make a card you can always keep with you, listing 20 or 30 ports you are interested in, and fair prices for each.

>Warning: Port Geek Alert<
Ummm, 200-300 I maintain a listing I can print out in booklet form and it has just under 300 VP entries right now. I add to it when I see something I might be interested in. It also includes notes on things I would not want to buy, at any price.

Hmmm, a list like that could be uploaded as a text file to my phone, or even placed as a text file on a website for smart-phone access. I guess I have to get started making my own list.

I'm lucky, I guess. My blackberry will access this site. You know how many people give me weird looks when I"m standing in front of the ports in a liquor store for 20 minutes typing away on my blackberry?

dylan

Dylan Howard wrote:I'm lucky, I guess. My blackberry will access this site. You know how many people give me weird looks when I"m standing in front of the ports in a liquor store for 20 minutes typing away on my blackberry?

dylan

It's a case of doing the research work ahead of time. A local list that contains an entry of Fon63VP$80 (if that's a sensible number) would be faster to check than working your way through the complete tasting notes on a 2" screen via a slow connection. If you then saw it in a store for $90, you could perhaps decide whether to keep looking for a better deal or make the plunge.

Eric Menchen wrote:Ummm, 200-300 I maintain a listing I can print out in booklet form and it has just under 300 VP entries right now. I add to it when I see something I might be interested in. It also includes notes on things I would not want to buy, at any price.

Sean C. and I were keeping good track of every vintage we drank with pictures. The cut off was 1995 and I think he started losing steam with this after 130+ vintages we reviewed... Taking photos is a pain the arse with the light box and tripod.