ThePortForum.com

For me this was the star of the show. Very dark and youthful in appearance although light is now beginning to penetrate the centre. Very smooth and chewy, black cherry and chocolate with just a little heat early on. As the night progressed this got better and better. I was lucky enough to take home ...

Disappointing. The wine was cloudy with a strange taste. There were still
elements of its power, especially in the texture and the finish, but overall it just didn't do it. A shame as this was the first NN for both Conky and KillerB.

1985 Harvey's (Martinez) Definitely the surprise of the night. Alan described the provenance of this bottle as 7 years in a garage and 15 years in a kitchen cupboard. Not ideal and fears of "cooking" were in the forefront of the mind. The first surprise was the colour. Bright red with no ...

This was very dark, young and thick. Tannic and extremely dry. This is one of the few Dow's I have had and made me think I don't really like this particular house. I will be happy to be proved wrong over time!

A lovely thick texture. Quite sweet and drinking beautifully. There is
absolutely nothing wrong with this port right now. Perhaps the best drinking port of the night, definitely the best QPR port by a mile.

Double decanted and T-corked for 10 hours before 1st taste. Decanted very cleanly off lots of thick black crust which did not move from the side of the bottle. Absolutely no crust came through the neck! - Dark, bright ruby with a hint of brown - darkened as the night wore on. Initial taste was overw...

Decanted 3 hours. Lots of thick crust, the type that looks like curled up pieces of grape skin. Quite dark for a 21 yr old 2nd string VP. Nice spicy nose. Silky smooth but slightly hot entry. Good thick texture and lots of black cherry and some tanin kicking around. My intention is to drink this at ...

I remember tasting this at Quinta do Vargellas in October and not being overly impressed. That said, it was up against some fairly stiff competition on that particular occassion. The nose is young and quite spirity. An attractive dark ruby colour with impressive sticky tears on the side of the glass...

3rd bottle from a case of 6 purchased 2 years ago - 1st note I have taken on this wine. Cork broke in half - not even Alex could have saved this one as the bottom half shattered into a million pieces. Decanted very easily off surprisingly little crust. A deep purple colour in the decanter. The nose ...

Taylor. A bottle from Tom's cellar, believed bottled around 30 years ago. Decanted cleanly off lots of sediment, much more than I expected from a filtered wine. The colour is still quite dark red but starting to brown. For me this has quite a typical Taylor's nose. It has nice thick tears on the gla...

This bottle has been to the Far East and back, as evidenced by the neck label. The cork was raised about 3mm inside a lead capsule and slightly leaky. The short cork came out easily in one piece. Decanted cleanly of surprisingly little sediment. Dark, slightly browning, ruby red. Younger appearance ...

Decanted 3 hours. Very dark purple red. Christmas pudding smell. Very, very sweet on entry. Mouthfeel is quite thick at first but quickly weakens. A strange bitter taste emerges just before the tannins take over the show. The finish is very dry. Not nice now but maybe has a chance in a few years if...

1985 Taylor's LBV (Magnum) Opened 4 days ago, this note taken from a 750ml that was re-filled from the Magnum and kept in the fridge. First thing to report about this one is that despite 18 years in the bottle there was not a single trace of sediment on decanting. The wine is still extremely dark, ...

Cork out in one piece. A great fruity smell whilst decanting. Lots of sediment and the clour was lighter and more brown than I was expecting. An initial taste on decanting wasn't pleasant. Extremely hot and a strange bitter taste. +21 Hours No note taken at the time so this bit is from memory. A ver...

A bottle purchased recently from Tom Archer. The cork broke in half and then crumbled. A nice dark colour but the nose and initial taste were very hot and spicy. +21 Hours No note taken so this part is from memory. Now showing some nice fruits and the heat had integrated well. A nice port but not th...

Cork broke - fabulous smell on decanting that filled the room. Quite light in colour and starting to brown. I did not taste this on decanting but now wish I had. +21 Hours Did not take a note at the time so this bit is from memory. Quite light but a very nice drinking port. Nothing spectacular about...

June 2007 A bottle purchased by Alan C in Portugal a few weeks ago. The small cork crumbs floating on the top of the wine were an interesting garnish +24 Hours No note taken so this bit is from memory. Nice weight and texture. Very dark and young looking. In terms of taste all I can really remember ...

I am currently in a Hotel bar in Glasgow enjoying a pint of lager on my own with only my laptop and you guys to keep me company. Sitting 4 yards to my right is a small bald gentleman in his 60's who scored one of the greatest individual goals in the history of the World Cup (always in the top 5 in a...

Harsh? Me? Never

OK - I'll give them another try next time I see one, although I don't think it will be an 82 or a 95

Derek

http://www.uncorked.co.uk had a large consignment of these within the past year at £110 per 6 pack excluding VAT. Great value for a 93 point wine, especially as these were ex-cellars 2006 bottles.

For some reason I can't get on their site but I know they still had some recently.

Derek

Stevie,

I have only had one of these and had exactly the same experience, leaky cork, smelly, weak, not nice. I haven't bought a Churchill's since then as I just wasn't impressed.

Derek

Alan,

Your cat is making me feel sick - when are you planning to shoot it?

Derek

Alan, I am unlikely to open what I class as a "Real" VP without some good reason. I don't have an absolute definition of "Real" but for the sake of argument lets equate it directly to cost and call it anything with a retail value of around £30 or more. I will open bottles in the ...

Here are some options for you to consider, Julian..... New York Cat http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1124/582540439_b09bbdcbb5_o.jpg Computer Cat http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1409/582540447_9e8f1908c8_m.jpg Or, my favourite.... Posh Cat http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1297/582540451_65b8a72832_m.jpg ...

Derek I think Alex has activated a set of parameters in the set-up that allocates a status to each member depending on how many posts they have made. Presumably the original intention was to allow the existence of Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum etc member status, a bit like the idea used by Ebay for...