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Tom has kindly agreed to organise the Christmas offline again, which will be at The Bell in Wendens Ambo. The nearest train station is Audley End, which is a 5-10 minute walk from the Bell. Those staying overnight usually stay at the Saffron Hotel in Saffron Walden, a 10 minute car journey from the Bell. Rooms start at £65.

The theme will be the usual, that is The Unknown Shipper and His Peculiar Friends

Space in the private room at the Bell is extremely tight so numbers attending have to be limited to 10. Normal practice is to offer those who attended the previous year first refusal (provided they have been active members of the forum). The industry guest is likely to be Dirk Niepoort, but I need a volunteer to ask Dirk if he'd like to attend again this year.

1 - Uncle Tom
2 - Industry Guest
3 - Axel Probst
4 - AHB
5 -
6 - RAYC
7 - PW
8 - WS1
9 - DJ
10 - RLC

11 - None

UNABLE TO ATTEND
CMAG
DRT
JDAW

If you'd like to go on the reserves list then please post here. There are usually one or two people who can't make it at the last minute each year so being on the reserve list gives you a chance to attend.

Current draft of the sticky labels and other sheets.



And a reminder that last year the bottles included rather a lot of colheita ports, with a summary from a number of attendees (including me) being that there was "too much brown sticky stuff!" Last year's bottles were:
Unknown, believed to have been a venerable sherry or madeira
Unknown, probably an elderly madeira
1858 Hatch Mansfield, aged in wood
1880 Whitwhams Millennium Port
1920 Fonseca
1920 Sandeman
1927 Ramos Pinto LBV
1935 Cockburn
1935 Delaforce
1937 Quinta do Noval colheita, bottled 1994
1937 Vinho Fino do Douro colheita, bottled 1987
1960 Warre, bottled by Berry Brothers
1968 Andresen colheita, bottled 2011
1969 Chateau Barbier Sauternes
1974 The Port Society colheita, bottled 2013, sourced from Quevedo
1982 Graham Single Harvest Tawny, bottled 2013
1999 Sandeman Vau from a double magnum;
2000 Sandeman Vau from a double magnum;

Reserve list please.

Cookie wrote:Reserve list please.

Added as requested.

Have just secured a very 'peculiar friend'

Hand written label in fountain pen: 'Coronation port, 1936, bottled 1935'

Foil capsule is consistant with indicated age and bottle glass looks pre-war; chalk marked for laying down, excellent level, and the colour makes me think it's probably not a tawny..

- what could it be??

Thanks Alex,

I will be bringing a Grahams Crusted, bottled in 1927.

Do you want me to ask Dirk?

Best

Axel

uncle tom wrote:Have just secured a very 'peculiar friend'

Hand written label in fountain pen: 'Coronation port, 1936, bottled 1935'

Sounds more like a miracle than a peculiarity

uncle tom wrote:Have just secured a very 'peculiar friend'

Hand written label in fountain pen: 'Coronation port, 1936, bottled 1935'

Foil capsule is consistant with indicated age and bottle glass looks pre-war; chalk marked for laying down, excellent level, and the colour makes me think it's probably not a tawny..

- what could it be??

Curious. Could it possibly be a 1933 Vintage, bottled in 1935, and designated for someone's coronation in 1936? Except 1933 wasn't much of a vintage, I think.

Perhaps a "typo"... 1926 Port, bottled in 1935 for someone's coronation? But Tom said it doesn't look tawny, and 1926 wasn't much of a vintage either.

Nothing I can think of makes much sense.

Glenn E. wrote:Nothing I can think of makes much sense.

You appear to have ruled out the possibility of a typo by Tom

It wasn't a typo. That's what the auction catalogue said.

It wasn't a typo. That's what the auction catalogue said.

So does the bottle..

Do you want me to ask Dirk?

Good by me..

djewesbury wrote:It wasn't a typo. That's what the auction catalogue said.

Apparently the obvious isn't obvious enough

I didn't mean Tom's typo, I meant the label's typo.

It is in Dirks diary and will keep the pressure up that he does not miss this.

AHB mentioned to me recently that a seat has become available at this tasting. Unfortunately, I cannot attend so please remove me from the reserve list and offer the available seat to RLC.

uncle tom wrote:Hand written label in fountain pen: 'Coronation port, 1936, bottled 1935'

Foil capsule is consistant with indicated age and bottle glass looks pre-war; chalk marked for laying down, excellent level, and the colour makes me think it's probably not a tawny..

- what could it be??

Presumably this is "some port bottled in 1935" which they decided to sell as part of one of the two coronations in 1936; so apparent date inconsistency if probably fine, i.e. that 1936 refers to the coronation date rather than the port vintage. of course it may not be VP, who knows; if it is, then likely from somewhere in '31 to '33 region, since bottled in '35. It will be interesting to find out (assuming the cork has anything on it). Further, I notice that three bottles also with only a handwritten label "1936 coronation port", also with foil capsules, are coming up at Dreweatts next week, though I think their estimate is pretty high considering the contents of the bottles are unknown in terms of both year and shipper.

DRT wrote:AHB mentioned to me recently that a seat has become available at this tasting. Unfortunately, I cannot attend so please remove me from the reserve list and offer the available seat to RLC.

If this is the case I would happily accept

I've just booked my room at the Saffron Hotel, forgot about it until now. I noticed that they only had one single room left at the stated price. Has everyone booked?

I see I am on the list, which is normally excellent. Sadly I cannot make it this year so could I be taken off the list.
Thanks

Christopher wrote:I see I am on the list, which is normally excellent. Sadly I cannot make it this year so could I be taken off the list.
Thanks

I have removed you from the list and promoted RLC from his position as first reserve.

Has anyone confirmed with Dirk that he is able to attend?

AHB wrote:Has anyone confirmed with Dirk that he is able to attend?

Yes he has!

regards

WS1

Sorry team, I can’t do this. Is there a reserve?

I am sorry to hear that.

I don't want to discourage regular TPF event attendees from taking this space, but 10 people has always been a bit of a squeeze at the Bell so I don't think we desperately need to fill the space for the sake of it (i.e. with non-TPF friends)

If the steaks have already been ordered and there's a cost element that needs to be covered, I'm happy to volunteer to split some extra meat with someone!

This is very tempting (and I'm in London for a meeting that morning and so transport up there won't be a problem). However, I'll need to square off with the other half and so can I put down a marker and then firm up this pm?

Ian

RAYC wrote:and there's a cost element that needs to be covered

As always, costs I will pay any incurred by my failure.