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That also means that we are, again, a bottle short. Would people object strongly if a mature vintage were repeated? If not, this problem might be rescued. There is a fleeting outside chance that if a bid at Bonhams tomorrow is successful, and they can dispatch said case in short order, then a bottl...

Decanted 6 hours. 60% opacity, cloudy red. Dirty stewey nose. Very little body or substance, balanced but thin. Faulty some way or other.

80% opacity, dark red. Not much on the nose, or at least, few notes taken. In the mouth, simple, some fruit, dry and tannic finish.

75% opacity, dark red. Lively, fresh, strawberry nose. Fruit in the mouth, full, tannic finish, but smooth. Not a shabby port in any way.

Mmm. Those pictures of the Club Room suggest that 14 in there will not be feasible, though 10 yes easily, 12 probably OK. So it would seem that St James might be a place for 6,8,10,12 sittings. Woolgate can handle sittings of 10/12 and importantly 14 in the Brasserie, as well as 6 or 8 in the Boardr...

Decanted 6 hours. 80% opacity dark red. No notes on the nose. In the mouth, thin and light compared to the 80/82/83. But some chocolate in there and it has good balance. Perfectly nice port to drink and I'm sure it will develop further. Look forward to another bottle in a few years.

Decanted 6 hours. 70% opacity, slightly cloudy dark red. Nose a little stewey. In the mouth, maybe a hint of VA, a little acidic. Short to the finish. Despite these seemingly negative notes, I really liked this port. It weaved back and forward with the 1982 as to which of them I preferred. Plenty go...

Decanted 5½ hours. 70% opacity, slightly cloudy dark red. Very full chocolate nose. Lovely soft chocolate and toffee in the mouth. Finish was quite tannic. I likely this a lot. Thought I preferred it to the 1983, but changed my mind on that later in the evening. Feels like this port could still deve...

Decanted 5½ hours. 80% opacity, dark red, purple rim. Fresh nose, but slightly vegetal. In the mouth, fruit, slightly light given the deep colour, short, tannic finish - a little simple. Perfectly nice port, but could it improve? Probably. And it doesn't feel like it will fade for a long time yet.

Decanted 1¾ hours. 30% opacity, red brown. Strange sharp nose with vegetable. Mild heat and acidity, sweet and syrupy. Good fruit and acidity just in balance. Pleasant, but not a blockbuster.

Decanted 2½ hours. 25% opacity, warm orange-red, rim clear pale yellow. Not much on the nose for me. Maybe faint menthol. Smooth entry, elegant, nice balance, fruit a bit lacking, mild acidity on the finish with heat.

Decanted 2 hours. 20% opacity misty cloudy amber, like cloudy cider. Very odd nose, like a colheita almost, quite lively and an orangey edge. In the mouth, marmalade orange, sweet and sticky, massive long finish. massively syrupy. Not right as a VP, but interesting to drink nonetheless, and not disa...

Decanted 45 mins. 20% opacity, pale brown-orange, pale rim, greenish tinges. Lively, slightly sharp nose, a bit savoury. Smooth clean entry, builds to some mild heat. Nice smooth syrup feel to it. Very nice port.

Decanted 45 mins. 15% opacity, slightly cloudy burnt orange, clear pale yellow rim. somewhat dirty nose, bit agricultural. Thick and gloopy in the mouth, then quite a sharp abrupt finish. Drinkable but not outstanding.

Decanted 30 mins. 15% opacity, tobacco orange, quite a clear greenish rim, a little cloudiness in the centre. Nose, some stewed oranges, though still lively and clean. Smooth entry and very even along the palate, thick and syrupy, orange peel. What a wonderful juice at 105 years of age. In the glass...

I didn't take much in the way of notes for this either! From memory, 90% opacity, dark blood red. Fairly classic CndP nose of farmyard meatiness. In the mouth, some fruit, cherry or plum, not much acidity and some mild tannins at the finish. Slightly mineral texture to the finish. When first opened ...

Yes, Woolgate definitely a winner in terms of all the desired attributes.

And I have only now just remembered the reason why one face who shall remain nameless is privacy-blurred

Thank you Julian for organising this, and thank you to all those who contributed such wonderful bottles three of which allowed me to break my "oldest port tasted" record three times in the evening, tasting first the 31, then the 24 then the 1909. And thank you also to João for sharing some...

Ummm....maybe this is a sign. I wonder if Davy's St James has availability in their Club Room....

Looking forward to seeing everyone tonight!

RAYC wrote:Is there any current plan for red wine over dinner? If not, should there be (rather than ordering at greater expense from the list on the day)?

I can bring a couple of CndP.

It certainly looks like a research visit to St James is required. The menu is the familiar steak menu. Tick. The fireplace is decorated with spent bottles of port. Tick. The table looks like it could accommodate 14 settings. Tick. Central location. Tick. The run up to Christmas looks a little busy. ...

jdaw1 wrote:Note that there is discussion of a change of theme.

It would be helpful to draw the theme discussion to a conclusion and we can then ready bottles...

jdaw1 wrote:Please check that your order is as you want it.

Hmmm. Can I please change my steak from medium-rare to rare.

jdaw1 wrote:

flash_uk wrote:Plenty of 63

If only one vintage, that suggests that Rob’s plan — about to be revealed — might be wiser.

OK. EHD have responded confirming retrieval can happen in time. I will hang back on instructions until we firm up on the theme, just in case I need to pull different bottles.