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To celebrate the Quinquagenary of AHB, he arranged a horizontal of 1963s in Wokingham at The Cantley House Hotel (evenings of Friday 11^th and Saturday 12^th October 2013) and The Walter Arms (lunch on Saturday 12^th), and two evening Champagne tastings for our better halves. Sadly the venue was not able to accommodate all he would have liked to have invited. Diaries had been blocked since early 2012, and bottles had been gathered for most of a decade before that. A splendid weekend indeed.

Partial links:
• Review of the event as a whole, which starts with a full set of links;
• Placemats (and parameters by which constructed).

Some links:
• Review which includes links to the Champagnes; Placemats and their Parameters;
• Fri evening 1963s: VS QH GC Ck G | Kh Pç Mg Av F | RV Rs S Dl Cn;
• Sat aftern’n 1963s: Sb RVi RCV Ad RO | Dm BBR T Cr Ni | Mk Fd O Mz;
• Sat evening 1963s: MC W D N NN | A B&I Df PS Cv | GB Cá CáF B Fr;
• Others: 1863 Burmester, 1977 Warre (tappitt hen), Martinez Crusted bottled 1973, 1966 Château Batailley (magnum).

T63. Darkest (just) of the session, dark red, 40% opaque. Taste big sweetness, some Taylor grittiness early palate. Hint of citrus. Big enough to be chewy. Excellent juice.

Very good colour. Younger than its years but looks correct. Good weight with delicious black cherry on the palate. Rich and complex - fantastic Port.

My note added "Better than the Fonseca" [from the previous evening].

Class! A wine that really stood out. Perfectly mature with the classic Taylor bite, but not an aggressive one.

glorious red with orange rim; alcoholic nose, very clean, restrained fruit smell; brandy touch on the palate; umami, very complex taste; fresh; really good, great port! Dry finish, excellent balance, but still very tight!

Firm red with a rose coloured rim; 80% opaque. Gentle nose of black cherry jam. Fierce entry, big on the palate with dry tannins. A powerhouse of a port with a great palate presence with big levels of fruit and tannins. Firm acidity holds the attention and delivers a kumquat bitter-sweetness. Massive burn and heat on the aftertaste, then a long finish of bitter cherry and black chocolate. This is a great port which has plenty of life ahead of it. 92/100. Drunk 11-Oct-13. Decanted 4 hours.