ThePortForum.com

JacobH

The 40 Year Old retails for a comfortable £100-£110 a bottle these days in the UK! I did wonder if it was supposed to be a half but then the price per glass wouldn't make any sense...

JacobH

We stopped at The Beacon today, which is located in the delightfully-named Tea Garden Lane in Happy Valley, just outside Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Their bar menu offered the following: Sandeman LBV 2016, £5 a glass or £70 a bottle. Quinta do Noval, 20 Year Old tawny, £7 a glass or £85 a bottle. Quinta ...

JacobH

My assumption was always that they were aiming to use port club to drive a lower margin route to market with the online members' portal being closer to retail pricing, with both being probably at a better profit margin than selling via importers etc where at least 2 layers of businesses are taking ...

JacobH

I am worried that bottle 2 was the victim of a "let's just open one more" miscalculation after bottle 1 was finished...

JacobH

Glenn E. wrote: ↑16:30 Thu 04 May 2023 So when you consider that this was bottled 40-ish years ago and that bin 27 isn't meant to be aged, it's probably already overpriced just on the basis of the Port it contains.

I’d stick it in some bottles for 10 years and treat is as a DIY Garrafeira!

JacobH

I am absolutely not complaining about the selection! But I just wonder how sustainable it is? £80 is about €91. The retail prices are €24 for the 75cl tawny and €32 for the Crusted (so €56 in total). Whilst they don’t sell the 1992 QdAA; the 2003 QdG is €75 and the 1997 VP is €110. It just feels lik...

JacobH

My most recent box turned up today. A really nice selection, I think: a 1992 SQVP; 2014 Crusted and 10-year-old tawny. I’m a bit worried about the long-term survival of the Port.Club, though. They seem to have terrible trouble with shipping: my box was marked as being sent on 28 March and I am not s...

JacobH

Classic case for the Port Garotte, I think!

I assume Bin 27 was chosen so it wasn’t necessary to find a decanter large enough to decant it!

JacobH

That’s excellent! Maybe not one for solo drinking, though.

Someone should ask the IVDP about the number on the selo. Or were you allowed to sell Port in 98-litre bottles in 1982?!

JacobH

Sorry: that was a Private Eye-esque 94 rather than an actual product in their range! My difficulty was that if I visit the Penfold’s site and narrow my options by looking at their Cab Sav wines (which are far less numerous than the Shiraz), it gives me the following: Max's Shiraz Cabernet; Bin 707; ...

JacobH

That surely can't be right from a winemaking point of view? You don't not declare a SQVP because you need the wines for tawny? Or perhaps the SQVP quality stuff is going into the LBV blends to free up wine for the tawnies? On re-reading this, the impression might have been given that I was arguing ...

JacobH

Barros is owned by Sogevinus, and Cristiano van Zeller (not of Barão de Vilar) owns the Van Zeller brand (along with his daughter, I think). Thanks. I thought it was something complex like that. Although I guess the fact that the Van Zeller brand is actually owned by someone with “van Zeller” in th...

JacobH

I apologise in advance if I get the corporate structure wrong, but I think I am right in saying that Barão de Vilar is owned by a combination of the Barros and Van Zeller families who have bought various brands, including Feuerheerd. Although I am not quite clear if they also own the Barros and Van ...

JacobH

That surely can't be right from a winemaking point of view? You don't not declare a SQVP because you need the wines for tawny? Or perhaps the SQVP quality stuff is going into the LBV blends to free up wine for the tawnies? Incidentally, looking back on recent years, are TFP declaring SQVPs a little ...

JacobH

Graham's have posted on Twitter that they have declared a 2021 Stone Terraces, as predicted by Alex. They say they will bottle 4,800 75cl bottles and 280 tappit hens (225cl).

JacobH

I appreciate this is probably a failure of mine but Penfolds is one of those companies that completely defeats me because of the number of wines they produce and their confusing names. Is the Bin 707 better than the Bin 94? Perhaps if I were a member of the Penfolds Club I would be able to tell...

JacobH

Alex Bridgeman wrote: ↑21:05 Sat 08 Apr 2023
JacobH wrote: ↑09:30 Mon 13 Mar 2023 Perhaps a kind moderator could create a 2021 thread so we can all wildly speculate before being proven wrong when the declarations start coming in?
Pay attention Jacob! There is already one going.

I am pleased to see

has broken free of the linear progression of time

JacobH

From memory 2021 was quite a good year up until the harvest which was rather tricky. It started very early in late August but then the temperature dropped in September and there was quite a lot of rain. The impression was not of a classic vintage but for those producers who managed to pick the right...

JacobH

I was there. I can reassure you that it was not a "Port" Pie, it was an excellent Pork Pie adulterated with some sort of sludge in place of the usual delicious pastry topping. I remember declaring "Good God, NO!!!" when I heard Julian placing his order in the Leeson's Pork Pie E...

JacobH

They must be in order to make the beneficio system work, surely?

JacobH

Are there any large quintas away from the rivers which might be sizeable if not very famous for bulk production of grapes? Something like Quinta de Ervamoira (although I appreciate that that is used for making quality wines).

JacobH

Could I be put down as a “maybe”? I’m currently down to be either in Leeds or Birmingham during the day so I am not sure I will make it home in time but will try to join you if possible.

JacobH

For example, whilst i knew that the regulation was problematic with usual issues like a bottle of Sercial not having to be exclusively Sercial That's pretty common in the wine industry, actually. In the US the normal limit is that at least 75% must be the as-labeled grape variety, but there are exc...

JacobH

I bought a copy of Alex Liddell’s (of “Port Wine Quintas of the Douro” fame) book from 2014 called “Madeira: The Mid-Atlantic Wine”, published by Hurst & Co just before Christmas which I finally got around to reading. It is extremely good and I would highly recommend it. It sets out the extremel...

JacobH

Gosh. I had no idea they kept that brand going for so long. I had thought it had petered out 50+ years ago, although I suppose the declarations post 1963 were rather capricious!

Incidentally, there is a photo of a 2003 floating around on the web. I assume there is no reason for it to be a fake!

JacobH

Out of idle interest, when was the last TH declaration? I'm afraid that I'm travelling at the moment and so can't consult The Book!

JacobH

I appreciate that we don’t generally do Port and food tastings, but I have just remembered that the (excellent) Northern-Portuguese chocolate shop called Chocolataria Equador makes a chocolate bar with a Six-Grapes flavoured ganache. It’s quite a similar to their generic dark chocolate and Port bar....

JacobH

I’m sure I can sort out a standard bottle of the six grapes! Does anyone have a Nº12 Ruby or a Natura Reserve? It feels to me we might do the whole range...

JacobH

This was one of the first cask samples of VP I tried in Portugal back in 2009-ish. Glad to see it is holding up well!

JacobH

If I can adopt I would be interested.

JacobH

Is it planned for this to be a separate event from the Six Grapes one? I’d be keen for this in any event. I think a Noval Black is the only Ruby currently in my possession but can get something else without too much difficulty.

JacobH

Perhaps a kind moderator could create a 2021 thread so we can all wildly speculate before being proven wrong when the declarations start coming in?

JacobH

Might also be quite interesting to do a clear out of some of the more premium rubies from smaller / independent places being offered by Portugal Vineyards or something. They’ve got ones by Quinta do Javali, Quinta do Infantado, Quinta da Foz, Blackett, Kranemann, Morgadio da Calçada etc. etc. which ...

JacobH

Whilst it is a long time since I've drunk it, I though the Malvedos 1992 was a very good Port so that's high praise indeed!

JacobH

That sounds like fun. Would be keen dependant on date.

Does anyone have an old bottle?

Presumably there are lots of ways of expanding that tasting if necessary.

JacobH

I also thought the CSR to be perfectly pleasant, better than it used to be. But it pales in comparison with the 6 Grapes (which, in turn, pales in comparison with the Vilha Velha limited edition version). I’m yet to see a bottle of the Six Grapes VV for sale and, indeed, I think the Six Grapes itse...

JacobH

Do you weight your scores by category? (e.g. judging a VP more exactingly than a Ruby?). I only ask because I think you’ve given >86 to quite a few VPs recently!

JacobH

I’m still working my way through this bottle and something I’ve noticed is that after 5 days’ decant, it is holding up extremely well. The nose is not very present but in the mouth, I get velvety-smooth simple fruits, with just enough tannins to make it feel like proper Port, and no excess spirit or...

JacobH

I am staying away for work this week. Last week, I was reasonably prepared and brought some Crusted port; a corkscrew; filter and decanter. But this week, I failed to pack anything and so had to venture out to the nearest Sainsbury’s to see what they had. I wasn’t particularly tempted by a Taylor LB...

JacobH

I've drunk a few Ramos Pinto VPs but not enough to identify a house style. What would you say it is?

JacobH

You did like it a LOT more than I did. I rated it at 83 points, but that could just be a stylistic preference. How does that compare to your scores for other young light whites like the Graham’s № 5 or Cockburn? I’m kicking myself that I forgot about this thread and thereby the existence of their l...

JacobH

Your last paragraph is very interesting and relevant for me. Elizabeth is planning for us to visit Madeira in May 2024 to catch the flower festival and parade. I am planning to pretend to be interested in the flower festival and parade while planning which Madeira producers to visit once the parade...

JacobH

Somewhat to my surprise, I haven’t tried this before. Not a massive amount of sediment. Impressively deep opaque red in the centre, fading to orange at the edge. On first trying with a couple of hours’ decanting, I wasn’t impressed. However, returning to the remains today, whilst the nose is rather ...

JacobH

MigSU wrote: ↑10:12 Mon 20 Feb 2023 Tinto de verano!

I had no idea this was a thing, although I suppose Port and Lemon (a shot of ruby port diluted with a fizzy lemon drink) was a popular drink in British pubs in the mid-20th Century.

JacobH

That’s interesting. I suppose most people who go on a lodge tour doesn’t really have a good idea about what Port is or how it is made and probably won’t drink very much as a result of it. It’s like visiting Lisbon and going to have a shot of ginjinha: the sort of thing many tourists do once as an ex...

JacobH

Are there any modern cocktail recipes that use this kind of wine as an ingredient? Interesting question. I can’t think of any. The most popular wines for use in cocktails are champagne and other sparkling wines. There are a few which use still white wine (e.g. a kir) and sherries have become popula...

JacobH

Duque de Braganca is just an older bottling of Dona Antonia. They are allegedly exactly the same Port. I don't recall off the top of my head when they changed the branding, but it was fairly recent. With COVID-related time distortion, "fairly recent" could be up to 5-6 years ago. :lol: I ...

JacobH

That's odd. I had a look for price lists but the only ones out were by the bottle or case and the guide didn't say "'if you'd like to try anything else, you can order it". In fairness, I didn't ask but that was because they looked a bit short staffed and had a queue. In any event, it doesn...

JacobH

That's interesting. Are any other wines shipped like this (i.e. every other year?). I'm wondering what the advantage to that might be. Especially since I think the Warre is supposed to be a little vintage-driven (e.g. the 2007 being better than the 2006) but perhaps I have got that wrong and it is s...

JacobH

I appear to have drunk all of my wood-aged Port at home beyond this bottle :shock: So I decided to open it. It was bottled in 2022. The colour is really beautiful. A golden amber, fading quite a bit to an unexpected touch of green. The nose is fine: it comes across reasonably dry: gentle varnish and...

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