Attentive students of will also know that 1963 Avery was a blend made by the wine merchant Avery’s, being one part Taylor to two parts Fonseca to three parts Sandeman.
Put these together.
Could we do our own 2014? Could we do a better 2014 blend? Buy a few dozen of the relevant components, mix, re-bottle, and apply our own labels? Of course the rotters at the IVDP (those who won’t let us buy the components in pipes) will have conniptions, which would be a small part of the pleasure. Would it be worthwhile? Are we confident that we can improve on the work of the professionals?
Couldn't we corrupt an expert and bring them over to our side? Then we wouldn't just be standing in the kitchen swilling things about in demijohns. We'd be standing in a lab swilling things about in demijohns, and wearing white coats.
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
It is a little early in the season to be sure about how each individual parcel will finish, but, based on the data so far available, I’m envisaging three parts Dow to two parts Quevedo to one part either Graham or Vesuvio. Does that seem wrong?
If the intention is to have fun creating a unique port that we can put our label on then it is a fun idea. If the intention is to make something that is better than is produced by the professionals it is a terrible idea that is certain to fail.
Perhaps a better idea would be to find a friendly supplier who would allow us to have some input to the blending of a volume of VP that could be labelled under our name?
"The first duty of Port is to be red" Ernest H. Cockburn
DRT wrote:Perhaps a better idea would be to find a friendly supplier who would allow us to have some input to the blending of a volume of VP that could be labelled under our name?
The original suggestion was meant to be more Avery than Tesco.
And there is nobody in Portugal able to blend Dow Quevedo Graham Fonseca Vesuvio Sandeman Taylor. We have tools they don’t.
as most places require at least a barrel's worth of stuff before bottling (small barrel is about 20 cases) we would have to determine what the blend is
Disclosure: Distributor of Quevedo wines and Quinta do Gomariz
This is all delightful; but remember how many here have foresworn the buying of new port. Even the great alumni such as AHB claim not to need any more; and they feign not to want it either. And then there is the question of your life-coaching responsibilities towards young DRT. Who, I ask, is to drink these gallons of TPF 2014?
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
djewesbury wrote:And then there is the question of your life-coaching responsibilities towards young DRT.
I hereby release my life-coach from his responsibilities to me in relation to this misadventure.
In the words of the Duncan Bannatyne: "I'm out!"
Ambiguous: do you mean that you are giving up your position at the feet of your spiritual guru, or that you think that TPF 14 is a mug's game and you wouldn't risk your knees for this mess of portage?
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
djewesbury wrote:do you mean that you are giving up your position at the feet of your spiritual guru, or that you think that TPF 14 is a mug's game and you wouldn't risk your knees for this mess of portage?
The latter. It is a seriously bad idea. Not even Baldrick could have come up with a less cunning plan than this one.
"The first duty of Port is to be red" Ernest H. Cockburn
DRT wrote: It is a seriously bad idea. Not even Baldrick could have come up with a less cunning plan than this one.
Do you not admire the audacity of John Avery in concocting a rough and ready "house" blend of three of the top producers' efforts from, what was at the time, one of the finest vintages in recent memory?
Attentive students of will also know that 1963 Avery was a blend made by the wine merchant Avery’s, being one part Taylor to two parts Fonseca to three parts Sandeman.
Put these together.
Could we do our own 2014? Could we do a better 2014 blend? Buy a few dozen of the relevant components, mix, re-bottle, and apply our own labels? Of course the rotters at the IVDP (those who won’t let us buy the components in pipes) will have conniptions, which would be a small part of the pleasure. Would it be worthwhile? Are we confident that we can improve on the work of the professionals?
I don’t know — so far, these are questions.
For this to work and be worthwhile, i think you would need to set up a port company and register with IVDP. That would presumably give you the ability to buy pipes of port from other producers (if - big if - they are willing to sell). Said company would be a "virtual" producer - no quinta / plant / lodge - though you could look to acquire a defunct brand if you wanted to push the boat out. You would then need to negotiate use of another producer's plant for mixing and bottling of the pipes. Since none of the "port" would be for sale, presumably you wouldn't need IVDP approval of the end product (albeit you couldn't then call it "Port" - simply "JDAW's Finest Reserve"), nor would you need to hold additional stock under the lei de terceiro for some time (and even then, you could buy a large quantity of low quality stuff to see you through).
It does not strike me that the advice of a friendly producer / experienced lawyer in Porto to scope this out would be too expensive or time-consuming....and perhaps THRA has already looked into it in relation to TPS.....
If we do it in Portugal, it will be destroyed by anti-business Portuguese bureaucracy.
So it has to be elsewhere. So the juice has to be exported in small glass containers, which have to be opened. But if we do that, the Portuguese can’t stop us selling it. If the label is honest — customer blend, ½ Dow ⅓ Quevedo ⅙ Vesuvio, first English bottled VP since the 1970 vintage — their legal arguments will have some difficulties.
DRT wrote: It is a seriously bad idea. Not even Baldrick could have come up with a less cunning plan than this one.
Do you not admire the audacity of John Avery in concocting a rough and ready "house" blend of three of the top producers' efforts from, what was at the time, one of the finest vintages in recent memory?
Indeed I do. I admire the product of his many decades in the wines trade and his many, many years of experience in blending Port from bulk components and then bottling them. John Avery was a professional. We are mere amatuers.
"The first duty of Port is to be red" Ernest H. Cockburn
actually, i like the idea and may just persue this stateside myself.
now, just eagerly awaiting the 2014 vintages.
however, speculation on the blend now woudl be just. I find that i've been liking the recent taylor's on their own, same goes with the other houses mentioned. I do find lacking with some of the other 2nd-3rd tier quintas tho that I may try blending a lesser (see cheaper) brand with a few bottles of either Dow or Fonseca.
and after a year of dawdling, I'm also going to proceed and try my hand at tawnynizing some niepoort rubys and storing them in a 5 gallon barrel.
Disclosure: Distributor of Quevedo wines and Quinta do Gomariz
I have no idea what we might produce... Might an alternative be to take a set of bottles from say 1999 and attempt a blend; this would have the advantage of potential immediate drinkability, but also longer term improvement, rather than 2014 requiring us to wait 15-20 years to see how we did? (I have no idea whether mixing post (partial) maturation is really a viable option).
Theoretically, could I take 3 different bottles of F70 from 3 different bottlers, mix them and then put my own label on as PhilW's F70...?
PhilW wrote:I have no idea what we might produce... Might an alternative be to take a set of bottles from say 1999 and attempt a blend; this would have the advantage of potential immediate drinkability, but also longer term improvement, rather than 2014 requiring us to wait 15-20 years to see how we did? (I have no idea whether mixing post (partial) maturation is really a viable option).
Theoretically, could I take 3 different bottles of F70 from 3 different bottlers, mix them and then put my own label on as PhilW's F70...?
i certainly woudlnt' risk the amount of air that would mix with the wine if you did do that with an older bottle
Disclosure: Distributor of Quevedo wines and Quinta do Gomariz
will already know that the 2014 harvest will be of excellent vintage quality. 
