Search found 41 matches

by bman
21:01 Sat 28 Nov 2009
Forum: Introductions
Topic: Hello from the great white north .... need some advice
Replies: 5
Views: 5493

Re: Hello from the great white north .... need some advice

My goodness, isn't the internet a wonderful thing. Not only do I get to re-connect with my old pal KillerB, but I get to be helpful to a fellow long-suffering Ontario wine drinker. Oh, wait a minute, forgot that 'long-suffering" is no more needed in front of "Ontario wine drinker" tha...
by bman
20:16 Sun 25 Jan 2009
Forum: Organising Tastings and Get-togethers
Topic: Sat 18 Apr 2009, New York: Classic years of T, F, W
Replies: 179
Views: 146724

Re: Sat 18 Apr 2009, New York: Classic years of T, F, W

Sadly, my son will still have a week of his co-op work term left so will not be available (he likes NYC though, as do we all). It seems unlikely that we could attend but one never knows - what is the deadline for putting our names in?

I've sent you a private email in any case.
by bman
18:59 Fri 23 Jan 2009
Forum: Organising Tastings and Get-togethers
Topic: Sat 18 Apr 2009, New York: Classic years of T, F, W
Replies: 179
Views: 146724

Re: Sat 18 Apr 2009, New York: Classic years of T, F, W

Ronnie just flagged this offline to me over on the WS forums (thanks Ronnie! 88) ) and my wife and I would love to attend but I doubt that we'll be able to do so due to family commitments. Still, we will immediately increase the number of lottery tickets we buy each week in the hopes of cashing in b...
by bman
20:18 Mon 24 Mar 2008
Forum: Port Tasting Notes
Topic: 1983 Quarles Harris
Replies: 0
Views: 2874

1983 Quarles Harris

These TNs are from 36 hours after opening, of which the first 12 were spent in an open decanter after which it was stoppered. Medium full bodied, medium sweet. Lots of alcohol on the nose even after so much air but not overly alcoholic in the mouth. Just the beginning of the pale rim at the edge of ...
by bman
20:11 Mon 24 Mar 2008
Forum: Port Tasting Notes
Topic: 1983 Gould Campbell
Replies: 0
Views: 2858

1983 Gould Campbell

Medium full bodied, smooth and medium sweet. Very very dark in the glass, colour right to the edge of the rim suggests it could age much more, though it seemed mature.

I tasted black cherry, coffee, bittersweet chocolate, cola, Sambuca, and sweet BBQ sauce.

I score this 91 points.
by bman
20:03 Mon 24 Mar 2008
Forum: Port Tasting Notes
Topic: 1983 Dow
Replies: 0
Views: 2930

Tasted over Christmas. Decanted only one hour. My notes below should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt as I had a stuffy nose, the beginning of a cold, when tasted. Drier than most vintage ports, typically Dow. I tasted currants, fig, some cherry, menthol and some smokiness. I should have d...
by bman
00:53 Fri 25 Jan 2008
Forum: Organising Tastings and Get-togethers
Topic: date - POLL : LONDON - offline with Tsunami
Replies: 13
Views: 8223

Hey tsunami, it's been a while! :lol:

You are long overdue for a North American offline. Ottawa is lovely in the summer, BTW, Toronto and Montreal can be nice too....
by bman
15:45 Sun 23 Dec 2007
Forum: Port Tasting Notes
Topic: 1988 Fonseca Guimaraens
Replies: 3
Views: 4934

I can't add any further notes as there was none left the next day :cry:

I will say though that I think that the roughness is due to its youth, and I expect this to be really nice some years in the future. That said, I'm only going to get a couple more.
by bman
22:23 Mon 17 Dec 2007
Forum: Port Tasting Notes
Topic: 1980 Smith Woodhouse
Replies: 1
Views: 3681

Tasted last week, from a half bottle. After a mere 3 hours in the decanter, medium body, medium sweet. Colour a little lighter than expected, though the wine was still rich and classier, more so than I recalled from my only previous bottles about 6 years ago. I tasted dark chocolate, alcohol-infused...
by bman
21:59 Mon 17 Dec 2007
Forum: Port Tasting Notes
Topic: 1988 Fonseca Guimaraens
Replies: 3
Views: 4934

1988 Fonseca Guimaraens

From a half bottle. Just opened and decanted a couple of hours ago. A little dusty but nicely sweet and rich, though still a bit hot. Perhaps this will dissipate which more time in the decanter? The colour goes right to the rim, suggesting that it is not fully mature, which is borne out on the tasti...
by bman
01:16 Sat 14 Jul 2007
Forum: Port Conversations
Topic: Optimum decanting time for Warre's 1985 VP
Replies: 26
Views: 15560

[quote="uncle tom"]I've been working my way slowly through a Rebello Valente '70 /quote]

See my TNs for this wine here:


viewtopic.php?t=318
by bman
00:43 Mon 09 Jul 2007
Forum: Port Conversations
Topic: Optimum decanting time for Warre's 1985 VP
Replies: 26
Views: 15560

Nor a Canadian backlash, though I will say that I have had a single vintage port young, that I enjoyed, namely the 97 Sandeman Vau. for whatever reason, both times I've tried this (first about 3 or 4 years ago, then again a couple of years ago), I've enjoyed it even though it should have been WWWAAA...
by bman
17:43 Sun 08 Jul 2007
Forum: Other Wines
Topic: Campbell's Isabella Tokay
Replies: 1
Views: 2964

Are you developing a taste for Aussie dessert wines KB? Once you're ensnared, there's no going back, you know....
by bman
17:35 Sun 08 Jul 2007
Forum: Reviews
Topic: Cockburn 1908, 27, 55, 60, 63, 70, 85; Taylor 08, 27, 50, 85
Replies: 10
Views: 25478

Wow, what a line-up. One of these days I wanna try a really really old port, preferably in more comfy clothing.... :wink:
by bman
17:26 Sun 08 Jul 2007
Forum: Port Tasting Notes
Topic: 1994 Tesco
Replies: 7
Views: 6993

I wonder if this is where all the Berry Brothers 94 Own Label vintage port has gone. I liked it a lot the one time I tried it, but it's been gone for a while. :(
by bman
17:23 Sun 08 Jul 2007
Forum: Port Conversations
Topic: Good books on port
Replies: 59
Views: 29908

Hallelujah, I'm no longer "cheap ruby"!

Not sure I'm much better off, though.... :?
by bman
17:22 Sun 08 Jul 2007
Forum: Port Conversations
Topic: Good books on port
Replies: 59
Views: 29908

Suckling seems to have lost interest in ports, judging by the dearth of stories and general reviews he's done in WS over the past few years. Still, when asked, he's always signalled an intention to update his book (one of these days), and to publish TNs on some older vintages, again, "one of th...
by bman
17:17 Sun 08 Jul 2007
Forum: Port Conversations
Topic: Identification of BOB's
Replies: 13
Views: 8638

Nevermind - I thought this thread was about me.... :roll:
by bman
17:16 Sun 08 Jul 2007
Forum: Port Conversations
Topic: Optimum decanting time for Warre's 1985 VP
Replies: 26
Views: 15560

My experience over the past few years with anything from 77 or the 80s is that it's better the next day, even when decanted in the morning and tasted in the evening. That said, I've put a stopper in the decanter overnight, but still enjoyed those ports more the second evening that the day I decanted...
by bman
17:12 Sun 08 Jul 2007
Forum: Port Conversations
Topic: Pick a year
Replies: 29
Views: 20715

Had a 1970 Rebello Valente last week that was definitely mature - TNs in that forum.
by bman
16:23 Sun 01 Jul 2007
Forum: Port Tasting Notes
Topic: 1983 Smith Woodhouse
Replies: 0
Views: 3222

1983 Smith Woodhouse

Tasted from a half bottle, tragically it was much less enjoyable than when last tasted a y ear and a half ago. Medium sweet and body, I tasted honey, nougat, blueberry and candied fruit. Short finish. A good port but much less than it was when tasted above, possibly due to the fact that I'm sufferin...
by bman
16:07 Sun 01 Jul 2007
Forum: Port Tasting Notes
Topic: 1970 Rebello Valente
Replies: 0
Views: 3438

1970 Rebello Valente

Very light, in colour and body, almost like a beaujolais or valpolicella - you can see right through it in the glass. Nicely pale-pink halo around the rim in the glass. Medium-sweet and quite alcoholic, even after several hours in the decanter. Raspberry, bitter orange, quince, cinnamon, with some m...
by bman
23:46 Sun 24 Jun 2007
Forum: Port Conversations
Topic: Do you have to have a reason to drink good port?
Replies: 30
Views: 18885

[quote="KillerB"]I forgot

21. Biennial meeting with bman.[/quote]

We gotta make those more frequent, and on this side of the pond, one of these days....
by bman
23:26 Sun 24 Jun 2007
Forum: Introductions
Topic: bman here
Replies: 23
Views: 17266

Indeed. I'm from Windsor where the same thing happened. All the major downtown streets are in French, as are many of the surnames, but it's only spoken in some towns outside of Windsor :cry:
by bman
23:24 Sun 24 Jun 2007
Forum: Port Conversations
Topic: Decanting through a filter: an experiment
Replies: 14
Views: 10975

(insert graemlin with big, beamin Canadian smile here.....)