ThePortForum.com

Links:

• Arrangements;
• Blinded Placemats;
• Un-blinded Placemats;
• Review of the evening as a whole;
• 1980 Cockburn LBV;
• 1980 Dow;
• 1980 Ferreira;
• 1980 Fonseca (in Bottle);
• 1980 Fonseca (en Magnum);
• 1980 Graham’s;
• 1980 Hutcheson;
• 1980 Noval Nacional;
• 1980 Offley Boa Vista;
• 1980 Smith Woodhouse (in Bottle);
• 1980 Smith Woodhouse (in Halves)
• 1980 Taylor;
• 1980 Warre.

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We would post something meaningful and lucid, but we're still imbibing but unable to drive legally. More will follow tomorrow.

How bout a title for this tasting?

"The 80s that even Billy Idol would be proud of" ?

Derek has now just had too much and can't take the pace. 14 bottles of port between six of us has proven too much for poor Derek. He has retired with reasonable fortitude having emptied all but one of his drinkable glasses.

Only Julian and I left now...

Alex B, taking advantage of Derek having left his PC on the tasting table

Make sure you put a bottle next to Derek and take a pic of sleeping beauty

And then there were 5..

Wake up lazy buggers! I want to read the stories, and see those pictures.

Most of us are awake now, just JDAW keeping us frm our breakfast.

(AHB increasing DRT's post count)

Derek T. wrote:Most of us are awake now, just JDAW keeping us frm our breakfast.

Just throw a bucket of cold water on his face, that'll wake him up

Sorry about that team. Body-clock a bit muddled from the flight and drinking port until dawn.

I surfaced at around 6.30am, before taking an extra hour, but did have the advantage of spending some time comatose at the table. Julian surfaced at the crack of noon..

I have never previously been able to pin a specific 'signature' on the '80 vintage, and I'm not a lot the wiser now; but several of the wines had detectable traces of the higher alcohols (butanol?) - but not to the extent of being a major problem.

Winner of the night in my book was the Dow, although I talked myself into reckoning it was the Graham. (Some thought the best wine was the Ferreira)

Second on my list, and widely applauded was the Offley. Third was a Smith Woodhouse (from a bottle) Alex also included a decanter of SW drawn from two halves, which was much less impressive.

Warre and Graham also showed very well.

Worst wine of the night was a horribly pale and decaying Hutcheson.

Surprise of the night was the Nacional. It was the second palest wine of them all, and had me completely stumped as to its identity. My notes were confined to a single word 'coarse' It was not obviously faulty, but was in no way a premium wine.

Of the fourteeen decanters, I correctly identified four, one more than our efficient host, Alex B, and four more than someone who will remain nameless..!

Tom

uncle tom wrote:Of the fourteeen decanters, I correctly identified four, one more than our efficient host, Alex B, and four more than someone who will remain nameless..!

This paragraph is inaccurate.

Score me three: Fonseca magnum twice, and the Hutcheson, a bottle of which I had sampled less than a month before.

First, and most important, a big thank you to our excellent host. Despite having multiple family commitments to handle, everything was organised, was to hand, and to hand in ample quantities. Great job Mr B.

Next I should praise the mathematics, and especially the division. “Fourteen bottles divided by six people is, err, about one and a quarter bottles each†, Derek T and I reassured each other. Derek even computed that a sixty-quid fillet for one person is about twenty-five quid a head. What could go wrong?

Another fantastic off-line. A big thanks is due to AHB for his generous hospitality.

I was mightily releaved when Tom fell asleep at the table as I meant I wouldn't be first! I managed to be 4th to bed out of 6 which is possible a PB for me

Wine of the night for me was Dow followed by Graham and Taylor. Lots of other good showings, including the Offley, Ferreira, Warre and Smith Woodhouse.

The Nacional was disappointing. When I decanted it in the morning it was as hot as the fires of hell but this had blown off by evening. If there was any left it will be interesting to read AHB's follow-on TNs once it has had more air time. That said, it was a very light colour compared to the star performers on the night which suggests it is perhaps already going downhill.

I scored 1 out of 14 on the blind tasting. I got the Dow.

It was great to meet Axel for the first time and, as always, it was good fun spending time with the die-hards.

When's the next one?

Derek

jdaw1 wrote:Next I should praise the mathematics, and especially the division. “Fourteen bottles divided by six people is, err, about one and a quarter bottles each†, Derek T and I reassured each other. Derek even computed that a sixty-quid fillet for one person is about twenty-five quid a head. What could go wrong?

I just tried both of those divisions on my special calculator that i use to work out the true cost of port related purchases and both were entirely accurate.

I got 1 1/2 as I called the Dow "Dow or Taylor".

Another shout out for the extravagantly good host and his genetically modified children. Organisation was immaculate and the fillet was a brilliant move. It should also be noted that six of us got through a 6lb box of mushrooms to go with the 6lb fillet of beef.

The Ports were surprisingly good for a non-stellar vintage and the OBV and Ferreira were especially surprising. Taylor, Fonseca and Nacional were all down the list for once with the Nacional a very long way down. Graham, Dow and Warre all stood up extremely well. Pleased about the Dow as some are heading my way, should be able to get more Warre. I will now be looking around for the Offley, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

KillerB wrote: It should also be noted that six of us got through a 6lb box of mushrooms to go with the 6lb fillet of beef.

Just to be clear, that is half a pound of fillet and a quarter pound of mushrooms each. Portions that in no way could be considered excessive.

Congratulations on a great night, but are you going to tell Dawn Primarolo how many units of alcohol you consumed? Sounds like more than 5 a day.

Overtired and emotional wrote:Congratulations on a great night, but are you going to tell Dawn Primarolo how many units of alcohol you consumed? Sounds like more than 5 a day.

It was exactly 4.9 units each

How DID we get through all those mushrooms??

Tom

PS: It was admitted last year that the 'units' system for alcohol consumption has no scientific basis whatsoever. It was no more than 'inspired guesswork'.

Tom,

According to my cellar tracker software, a "Unit" is one bottle of Port (750ml). So if the doctors say 2 units a day is good for you, we are all golden

Now, if Andy can convinve Her Majesty's Government that a unit equals a bottle, then we are not just golden, we are FREE!

Drinkers of the world unite. you have nothing to lose but your chains!

Are we getting close to a summary of events, and maybe some pictures?

I'm all eyes an ears...

Conky wrote:Are we getting close to a summary of events, and maybe some pictures?

I hope that comments are not being delayed just so that some other publication with a longer lead time gets an exclusive. This audience wants timely reportage.


Alex kindly provided for lunch a pork pie. New York lacks pork pies, so I really miss them. Then an afternoon nap. I declined the beer, and whilst others had a preliminary pint, with Axel heated the BBQ.

A fantastic steak. Filet. Sampled uncooked, clearly great meat which needed no cooking at all. Alex K and I had the rarest, others requiring a little more heat. With chips, and something else I have forgotten.

So, on to the most blind tasting I have ever attended (thus I have learnt how to organise that such that not even the organiser knows which is which). 1980 is a most muddled vintage. Great names like Nacional and Fonseca made middling port, whilst Ferreira and Offley made stonking good drinks. Very educational.

Tom Archer fell asleep at the table, and when woken by a camera flash, was persuaded to retire. AHB and I were still drinking at dawn, the former managing to wake by 7am. Crack of noon for me.

There was also an entertaining snafu with the placemats. They had been printed double-sided: not quite obvious how that would work. So at the last moment a new set, with numbers up to 14 rather than 11, on A4, and single-sided, were made and printed.