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The annual Christmas event, this instance on Thursday 15th December 2011, as always in The Bell, Wendens Ambo, Essex CB11 4JY, and as always with the theme The Unknown Shipper and His Peculiar Friends.

Links:

• Review of the evening as a whole;
• 10Y Taylor tawny (warm-up);
• 1860 Cossart Gordon Sercial solera (sticky label #1);
• 1945 Quinta do Noval (sticky label #2);
• 1860 A.L.S. Boal (sticky label #3);
• 1940 Dalva colheita bottled 1978 (sticky label #4);
• 1960 Cockburn (sticky label #5);
• Niepoort Vinha Velha (sticky label #6);
• 1935 Croft (sticky label #7);
• 1924 Offley Boa Vista (sticky label #8);
• 1927 Taylor (sticky label #9);
• 30Y Casa Santa Eufemia White (sticky label #12);
• 40Y Quinta do Noval tawny (sticky label #15);
• 1922 Warre (sticky label #19);
• 1922 Martinez (sticky label #20);
• 1955 Quinta do Noval (sticky label #21);
• 1977 Berry Bros & Rudd (Quarles Harris);
• 2003 Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference;
• 1911 Clos de Vougeot;
• 2005 Niepoort Robustus magnum;
• ‘Placemats’, meaning stickers and tasting-note sheets;
• Planning and arrangements.

The second year of stickers instead of placemats. Hopefully improved since last year further feedback welcomed.

[url=http://www.theportforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=175&start=92]Here[/url], on Sun 19 Dec 20[b]10[/b], jdaw1 wrote:At The Bell, for the Christmas tasting on 16 December 2010, for the first time, glass stickers were used rather than placemats. At the Bell glasses and space is tight, there just not being space for each person to use three pages of A4 of table.

The following quotations all come from the review thread.

jdaw1 wrote:

• Paperwork (tasting-note sheets, and several sets of stickers).

jdaw1 wrote:This was the first placemat-free tasting, with glasses being identified with stickers. Feedback welcomed.

uncle tom wrote:Stickers for glasses works really well, except that we need one sheet of stickers person (or per two people) as we were constantly passing the sheets around and trying to find our respective labels - at one point [somebody] put one of his on his forehead so he could find it later!

jdaw1 wrote:Problems:

• At the time the PDF is made, it isn’t yet known who will be sitting next to whom.
• One sheet has 65 stickers, so one sheet per person would waste two-thirds to three-quarters of each sheet.

WS1 wrote:Indeed one sheet per person would be too much waste; but would it be possible to slot the stickers of two or three people on equal sections onto one sheet (each person has ~20 stickers)? They could be after printing cut into the portions of the individual person.

JacobH wrote:The stickers also worked extremely well; thanks Julian. As Wolfgang suggested, the only improvement would be to have each person’s stickers as a block so they could be cut up and distributed before the tasting starts. Also, for blind tastings it might be nice if the number took up only half the sticker so that we can write the name of the wine in when revealed.

AHB, by text message, wrote:First feedback on sticky sheets do we have water tick-boxes?

A fine question. Also posted in the thread entitled Software that makes placemats, which is probably the better thread to discuss this question.

An incredible evening. To be able to drink these ports was a truly fantastic experience.

Added to the list should be a quite stupendous Noval 55, a BBR B.O.B 1977 (a Quarles Harris in spectacular condition), a Sainsbury TtD 03, an 1860 Madeira (name t.b.c. - notes not to hand), an 1860 Madeira solera, a magnum of Niepoort Robustus 05 and a 1911 Burgundy (which tasted of vinegar to me, but had apparently been very nice when first opened!).

more later!

Where on earth is the ::jealous:: icon when you need it?

Sorry to have missed out -- what a special line-up of wines!

A fabulous evening with some very impressive old wines. The steaks were spectacularly good and the staff at The Bell made us feel very welcome. A big thanks to Tom for his organisation of the event and I am pleased to report that no one was left behind this year

It was a truly splendid evening. Tom did a terrific job organising large lumps of dead cow for everyone and a 72 seat coach to make sure no-one was left behind at the end of the evening.

Dirk was on splendid form, but the story of the night has to belong to Anne, the owner of the Bell. She was attending a sales tasting by one of her suppliers, which was mostly focused on table wines but did include Tweedle Dum and Tawny Dee ports from Niepoort. When Anne commented that she knew the person who made the wines, she was told not to be silly - he was Portuguese and she was very unlikely to have met him. When she insisted that she did, the salesman challenged her to explain where she had met him. "Oh, you know", she replied "he pops into my pub each year a week or two before Christmas!" Priceless.

RAYC wrote:...an 1860 Madeira solera...

This was a Cossart Gordon sercial.

It is easier to add them all at once. Other than the 1860 solera Cossart Gordon sercial, are any missing?

A truly fantastic evevning and morning! The ports and wines were showing spectacularly. My WOTN was the Niepoort VV followed by this fanatstic showing Taylor 1927. Thank you very much to Tom for organising it all. The lumps of dead cow were terrific and the atmospehere was also brilliant. My inidicator for this is my voice who gets louder the more excited/influenced by alcolhol I get. DRT kindly had to tone my down in the bar in the Saffron hotel during having an after tasting refreshing drink.
The gentle snow the next morning when waking up was just the last piece missing for a true christmas tasting.

just brilliant!

regards

WS1

jdaw1 wrote:It is easier to add them all at once. Other than the 1860 solera Cossart Gordon sercial, are any missing?

1860 Boal A.L.S.
1911 Burgundy (I don't know which producer)
1955 Quinta do Noval (the one that only Tom thought said 1945 on the cork)
1977 Berry Brothers (Quarles Harris)
2003 Sainsbury Taste The Difference VP
2005 Robustus (Magnum)

WS1 wrote:My inidicator for this is my voice who gets louder the more excited/influenced by alcolhol I get. DRT kindly had to tone my down in the bar in the Saffron hotel during having an after tasting refreshing drink.

I can confirm that WS1 was very "excited" when we got back to the hotel

DRT wrote:1860 Boal A.L.S.

¿ALS = André L. Simon?

DRT wrote:1911 Burgundy (I don't know which producer)

Details?

DRT wrote:1955 Quinta do Noval (the one that only Tom thought said 1945 on the cork)

Does this replace the N45?

jdaw1 wrote:

DRT wrote:1860 Boal A.L.S.

¿ALS = André L. Simon?

No. A.L.S. is apparently the brand of a small and little known producer.

jdaw1 wrote:

DRT wrote:1911 Burgundy (I don't know which producer)

Details?

Someone else might know.

jdaw1 wrote:

DRT wrote:1955 Quinta do Noval (the one that only Tom thought said 1945 on the cork)

Does this replace the N45?

No. There was a Noval 1945 (Bottle 2) and a Noval 1955 (Bottle 21), which Tom thinks was a 1945.

Pls post all the bottle numbers. It will help those entering their TNs.

1955 Quinta do Noval (the one that only Tom thought said 1945 on the cork)

I still have the cork - one of the most clearly branded you'll ever see - definitely '45

uncle tom wrote:

1955 Quinta do Noval (the one that only Tom thought said 1945 on the cork)

I still have the cork - one of the most clearly branded you'll ever see - definitely '45

Does the cork still say "Bottled in 195?" ? If so, and if it is indeed a 1945, we were drinking a wood aged port that tasted like a classic vintage port. A first for me!

Please take several photographs of the cork, both in focus and in the best possible lighting, and email to me. I will post originals and digital clarifications.

Does the cork still say "Bottled in 195?" ?

No, there is no bottling date - just: 1945 Vintage

Tom, just for the record, just to establish the completeness of your correctness, etc etc continued page 94, please email photographs.

If appropriate, DRT will eat humble pie” .

”  Traditionally made with steak and kidneys and cheese.

uncle tom wrote:

Does the cork still say "Bottled in 195?" ?

No, there is no bottling date - just: 1945 Vintage

Then the cork you are looking at is from the bottle that everyone agreed was Noval 1945, which was Bottle 2. Bottle 21 had a cork with one end broken off. It clearly said "Quinta do Noval" and clearly said "Bottled 195". What came after the 5 was missing. Most, but not me, thought they could read the vintage as 1955. I think you have the cork from Bottle 2.

Would you like me to post the Humble Pie to you?

Tom, just for the record, just to establish the completeness of your correctness, etc etc continued page 94, please email photographs.

If appropriate, DRT will eat humble pie” .

I just tried, but my limited photographic technology is inadequate..

BTW - I don't think Derek saw the cork - it never left my house..

uncle tom wrote:BTW - I don't think Derek saw the cork - it never left my house..

That confirms my theory above. The 1955 was brought by Alex and decanted in front of me at The Saffron Hotel.

jdaw1 wrote:Pls post all the bottle numbers. It will help those entering their TNs.

It will also help avoid other confusion. Please post, then I’ll expand the set of TN threads.

Excellent venue, excellent wines and excellent company. Big thanks to Alex and Tom for organising and Tom for additionally suplying these fantastic bottles.

Axel

jdaw1 wrote:

jdaw1 wrote:Pls post all the bottle numbers. It will help those entering their TNs.

It will also help avoid other confusion. Please post, then I’ll expand the set of TN threads.

1. 1860 Cossart Gordon Sercial
2. 1945 Quinta do Noval
3. 1860 A.L.S. Boal
4. 1940 Dalva Colheita
5. 1960 Cockburn
6. Niepoort V.V.
7. 1935 Croft
8. 1924 Offley
9. 1927 Taylor
10. Didn't turn up
11. Didn't turn up
12. 30Y Casa Santa Eufemia White
13. Didn't turn up
14. Didn't turn up
15. Noval 40Y Tawny
16. Didn't turn up
17. Didn't turn up
18. Didn't turn up
19. 1922 Warre
20. 1922 Martinez
21. 1955 Quinta do Noval
22. Didn't turn up
23. Didn't turn up
24. Didn't turn up
25. Didn't turn up
26. Didn't turn up

The other wines and ports consumed did not have numbers allocated.

I have just remembered that some of us also had a Taylor 20Y Tawny (bottled too long ago and brought along by Axel) before going to The Bell.