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@SIR Glenn : If I ever find your missing Dow's 64, it will be yours! To me, having a complete vertical or horizontal collection is worth much more than the thrill of drinking a bottle alone! In other words, it would be "worth" more in your hands than in mines! Sadly, don't get your hopes ...

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I am glad you gentlemen enjoyed a bit this story! Also thank you @SIR Glenn for the story being DR's port wines! I was unaware of that!!

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The community seems to be split in half! One part living with the leitmotiv that no bottle is untouchable by them ; the other willing to leave a few to their children mainly! At the end, i bet that pretty much no bottle will be brought to the graveyard by anybody ; whether drank by themselves or by ...

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Good morning, Even though i agree that, theoretically, no bottle* should remain untouched, I am surprised that we are so few who plan to never open some bottles. Afterall, i see many good reasons to not touch them : -Legacy for your kids and relatives ; -Keeping for friends ; -A souvenir from a love...

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Good morning gentlemen, I was thinking lately, and i wondered if any of you have some sort of special bottles that you never want to open. Perhaps for sentimental reasons, or rarity, or anything else? If so, would you mind saying which bottle(s), and why? ---- As a collector-like of many things (i s...

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I hope you enjoy this little story!

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As you can notice, there were fresh traces of red stains on the white papers on two Ramos Pinto’s 82 VPs, that were not there prior to buying them. One of them, the worst, was still humid once I arrived home. The two older bottles did have some red stains on them, but it was there prior to buying th...

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As a beginner in port wines, and even more in Colheita and older ports (50 years+), I felt the 1900 port was good, but not that great. I felt some brown sugar, instead of the maple syrup I’m used to in tawnys, along with some leather. The tannins were impossible to me to detect. In the end, it was d...

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Once the bottles sleeved, we headed back to Porto, to rest. The next week was spent in Lagos, where port wines were temporarily excluded of my life. As a resume of the week, the city was lovely, and most likely one of our highlights in our travel. Then, the last stop was Lisbon. After a bad start, w...

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The guide, who also sold me the bottles, was generous enough to offer me to taste the 82’ VP for free, before buying it. At that moment, I simply replied that it is not necessary, since my decision of buying the bottles was already made. She insisted, and I accepted. Of course, as a sommelier friend...

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Obviously, my newest 82’s VP were immediately sleeves, to higher the odds of getting home in one piece (and not wasted!!).

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Once the tour, and the tasting were finished (which was pretty good, compared to the tastings I’m used to), I managed to buy a few bottles of 82’ VP, as some TPF members kindly pointed. These were the oldest for sale, at the exception of the 1924, and 1935 VP’s.

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With a baby, and no car, the visit was just long enough, considering the energy needed to get back to our RBnB with some bottles, and a baby on our shoulders. The tour took around 45 minutes. Even if I’m no port expert, I did learn many things about Ramos Pinto’s history, but not much about port win...

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In the afternoon, and as suggested by some fellow TPF members, our main event was the Ramos Pinto’s lodge, museum, and shop tour. Of course, we had a few sneak peaks into Sanderman’s, Fonseca’s, along with some other port producers just before entering Ramos Pinto’s.

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For diner, I got to try the famous francesinha in a restaurant. It was delicious, even though there was no chance on Earth that I could finish the plate!!

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The bottle was great, both of us loving it (“us” being my girlfriend and I ; not the baby and I – to avoid confusion), and it confirmed that the seller was indeed an honest man. 24 hours after the end of our baby’s fever, we got to finally visit Gaia. As soon as we got to the marina, we could feel t...

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Still wandering around Porto, I ended up in a small shop dedicated to selling many kinds of bottles, including some ports. After a few questions asked about their port bottles to a vendor, I was redirected to a second vendor. The man seemed nice, knew some things about the best declared years, etc. ...

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First of all, I would like to apologize for the following story, since my Shakespear is definitely not as good as my Molière. This post is meant to be, I hope, a simple way to give back to The Port Forum (TPF), for all the help I’ve received in the past and that I might never be able to give back. M...

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Thank you again, everyone! I will definately take time to rewax the precious bottles, and will most like play safe and drink the bottles sooner than later. I also did appreciate the timespans you suggested, SIR Glenn! It helps me have a more precise portrait of the urgency to drink them! Anyway, as ...

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Thank you gentlemen! I will try SIR Phil's suggestion, and see if the corks are still leaking or not. With luck, i may be able to save a bottle or even two!

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Good morning gentlemen, From a recent trip to Portugal that i will further describe under another topic, i imported by airplane a few bottles of VP's. The bottles were between years 70 and 85, and protected by wine sleeves and tons of cloths to avoid, as much as possible, the vibrations and hits. Am...

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I also emphasise most strongly that you ask whoever you buy your Port from, if they offer the tax free shopping service. This could save you up to 20% of the money you spend - you get a refund of the 21% sales tax but have to pay a handling charge. Note that if you do buy tax free, you will need to...

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Thank you SIR Mike! I am glad to read that there is some sort of consensus about the Fonseca 66!

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Also note that at those prices, I would expect excellent condition; level base-neck or higher, no sign of seep, and a good red colour, otherwise I would not purchase; you want the best chance of that special bottle to be in great condition when you open it. Thank you very much! As a rookie, this is...

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Thank you again, gentlemen! SIR Phil did read me right : i am the kind of person that tries to settle for a certain budget, then easily get interested in something more expensive! I guess ill keep all these suggestions in mind (1970 Dow, 1970 Noval, 1970 Fonseca, 1977 Niepoort, and the 1966 Fonseca!...

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I second all of the above; you have received excellent advice. I typically recommend Ramos Pinto, Graham, and perhaps Sandeman for lodge visits and/or tours. All are covered above. In addition to 1982 Ramos Pinto, I heartily recommend their 1983 Vintage Port as well. That vintage was a general decl...

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Thank you very much! I will then take some time to read about 82's Ramos Pinto Vintage Port, and might try to buy a few bottles! Also, if you gentlemen have suggestions for a very old vintage port, perhaps the most expensive bottle I'd buy, around 200-300E, i will definitely consider it!! PS : I do ...

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On word of warning, depending on whether your preference is for Vintage Port or Tawny/Colheita; on my first visit to Porto I was very surprised by how little mature vintage port was available to taste. I am, indeed, surprised! I expected the port producers to have some older ones for taste! I guess...

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Thank you both for your help! I definitely like the cable car suggestion, which i didn't expect, to say the least!! After looking at pictures, the hill is indeed impressive, and considering that the baby is going to be on me did make the choice easier!! About the Vin garde valises, i did pass on tha...

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Thank you SIR, for your extensive reply, and your tips!! Based on what you've answered, and also what i read (on TPF and elsewhere), i plan on doing the following : Porto : 1) Visiting Ramos Pinto (because of their museum - which my girlfriend might like -, along with the overall positive reviews) ;...

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Ladies and gentlemen, good morning, Long story short, my girlfriend, our 6 months old baby and i are going to visit Portugal for the first two weeks of September. We will be leaving Quebec, Canada, by airplane (obviously). We also don't plan on renting a car. Therefore, i would like some advice on v...

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Very interesting reply SIR Uncle Tom! Merci beaucoup!

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Hahahahahahahah

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Hahaha how do you know that I bought a few more bottles??

I bought 3 or 4 bottles of Dows, mainly 1994 and 2003.

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Yes I did SIR. The first bottle was not disgusting at all, but sadly it was flat. It was somehow powerless, even after a 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours of breathing. It gave me the feeling that it tasted like 10 to 20% of what was the good bottle. I ended up being reimbursed, since I bought the bottle only ...

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Wish there was an English version! Nevertheless, congratulations on your hard work!

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You think so? I'd be curious to have that hypothesis confirmed LGTrotter, thought Interesting!

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That's Interesting!! I wish I could know more about it

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Are you saying that some corks in VP bottles are longer than in regular bottles?

Does it mean that nobody here ever changed the corks of their VP?

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I'm 31, with no children yet, and I already planned on leaving a few VP bottles for my future kids as well! :) As much as I like your tradition in England to buy a VP and give it to your kids when they reach 21 or any important life event such as weddings and graduations. Strangely, this is somethin...

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I am curious, what makes you believe that it is time to change some corks on old VP?

And when it happens, how is it done?

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Hahaha, well when it comes time to spend a few hundred dollars, I can definitely see why we should be more cautious! And trust, I will be from now on!! In fact, I already gave the trick to a friend who sells wine

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Good point. I'll definitely bring a flashlight next time. As for the refund, it might be more complicated than I estimated. They currently want to send the bottle to their main center, to analyse it's content. On the other hand, I'm trying to prove two points: 1) the bottle was damaged (leaking cork...

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I sincerely won't forget the bottle, you can trust me

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Hahahaha I agree with the past 10 years! The comparison with a good G70 really made me feel like the leaked one was a pale 10% of the good bottle. Therefore, since I bought the bottles only 2 weeks ago from a governmental seller, I'll go get a refund! To tell you the truth, a 10 years old tawny woul...

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I believe VP is an interesting world, nonetheless! I never expected to live such experience, especially when it comes to my very first bottle. Hopefully I won't live that experience too often, especially since the leaked bottle didn't become better after 24hours of breathing!

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Time to read! Thank you jdaw1!

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I am curious. When did you taste your first port vintage? How old were you? How did you feel, what was the reason for opening such bottle? Did you get addicted right away?

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I'm glad you SIRs liked it! I wonder if my tasting notes are alike yours! Therefore, I'm going to read a few dozen of reviews of that fabulous G70!

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