London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March

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London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March

Post by benread »

Given the interest in this subject in a separate thread, I have started this to record specific interest in this.

Current confirmed attendees:

Benread
JacobH
AHB
DRT
UncleTom
Nicos Neocleous
Christopher
WS1
Ghandhi

Wines that I think have been committed are:

1964 - UncleTom
1965 - DRT Note: Must be drunk 28th March =/- 7 days
1967 (bottled 1970) - Benread
1967 (bottled 1969) - JacobH
1972 - Ghandhi
1978 - Christopher
1982 - AHB (Bottled sourced courtesy of Glenn)
1987 - Nicos Neocleous
1991 - WS1
1996 - Kindly offered by AxelP despite his non-attendance. As it is his birthday on 24th March, I hereby declare this bottle as the official toasting bottle!

Venue:

The Crusting Pipefrom 6.30pm with port consumption to commence after dinner to allow for those with less flexible jobs to make the tasting. Booking now confirmed for the 'tunnel'. 9 people. Set price menu is available - 2 course for £14.95 (has this come down in price?)
Last edited by benread on 14:55 Fri 13 Mar 2009, edited 11 times in total.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by DRT »

I also have TQdV98 and possibly 96 at home.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

Given the company, I would nominate a bottle of Vargellas 1964 as my contribution. Not sure of dates, however. I need to get my new job under my belt to understand what my travel and other commitments will be. The good news is that my office will be on the same train line as I use to get home from an offline so at least the logistics should be easy if I am office based on the day of the tasting.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by JacobH »

I don’t have very much Vargellas, but I could also offer some ’96 halves if we’d rather have 75cl per vintage. Not quite sure what I’ll be doing on those dates yet; will confirm.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by DRT »

Do you think we should include the Vargellas 1958?
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by benread »

DRT wrote:Do you think we should include the Vargellas 1958?
Only if one of us wins the lottery in a significant way!
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by Axel P »

I do only have 95, 96 and 2000 VVV. Do we include these as well. I guess it would be a shame to open this at this early stage.

Like to be in, but do not know if I can make it over the channel at this specific date. Is a weekend day an option as well. Like fridays or saturdays?

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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by JacobH »

Perhaps we could do it as a Mature (60s-ish) v. Young (90s-ish) tasting?
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

DRT wrote:Do you think we should include the Vargellas 1958?
Absolutely we should - just not this particular bottle!
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

JacobH wrote:Perhaps we could do it as a Mature (60s-ish) v. Young (90s-ish) tasting?
Personally, I would prefer to try and find some other mature vintages of Vargellas that are not too pricey. For example, Ancient & Modern Wines have the 1972 for £40.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by JacobH »

AHB wrote:
JacobH wrote:Perhaps we could do it as a Mature (60s-ish) v. Young (90s-ish) tasting?
Personally, I would prefer to try and find some other mature vintages of Vargellas that are not too pricey. For example, Ancient & Modern Wines have the 1972 for £40.
Fair enough. Is there anything else we can easily get hold of? In addition to the ’72, Corney & Barrow also has some ’78 for £40.25 and Nickolls & Perks has ’82 for £35. Declared Vargellas vintages for this period are, I believe:

1958
1961
1964
1965
1967
1968
1969
1972
1974
1976
1978
1982
1984

(Oddly my booklet from Taylor’s doesn’t include a ’55).
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by DRT »

I just remembered I also have the 1968, so that can be added to the line-up.

I also have a 1964 that I have already "sold" to Glenn, so if we can do this when he is in the UK we could have that in the line-up too :wink:
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by Glenn E. »

DRT wrote:I also have a 1964 that I have already "sold" to Glenn, so if we can do this when he is in the UK we could have that in the line-up too :wink:
Is that in addition to the 1964 Graham's Malvedos that you traded me for the 1965 Warre's Grand Reserve and the 1964 Fonseca Guimarraens that I had sent to you for storage? :wink:

If you do also have a "spare" 1964 Vargellas earmarked for me, then I'm going to have to start looking for another 1965 to trade you for it!
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by DRT »

Glenn E. wrote:
DRT wrote:I also have a 1964 that I have already "sold" to Glenn, so if we can do this when he is in the UK we could have that in the line-up too :wink:
Is that in addition to the 1964 Graham's Malvedos that you traded me for the 1965 Warre's Grand Reserve and the 1964 Fonseca Guimarraens that I had sent to you for storage? :wink:

If you do also have a "spare" 1964 Vargellas earmarked for me, then I'm going to have to start looking for another 1965 to trade you for it!
Ahh, is it a Graham's I sold you? - if so then I do not have a Vargellas 64 - sorry for building up your hopes.

...but reading through this thread again I see that AHB does have at least one Vargellas 1964 :wink:
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by Glenn E. »

I'm pretty sure it's a Malvedos. I've seen one or two bottles of Vargellas on wine-searcher, but they've been priced beyond all reason. Scoring one of those for my little birth year collection would be a real coup.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by JacobH »

Current, extremely approximate, state of play:

1958 Acquirable from Lusa Wines for €999 :)
1961
1964 AHB
1965 DRT Note: Must be drunk 28th March =/- 7 days
1967 JacobH, Benread
1968
1969 Acquirable via auction, 3ii2009 in London at Bonhams. Case of 10 + 3 Noval ’63. Estimate £300.
1972 Acquirable from Ancient & Modern Wines for £40.
1974
1976
1978 Acquirable from Corney & Barrow for £40.25.
1982 Acquirable from Nickollas & Perks for £35.
1984

Not that I think we are trying to arrange a serious vertical, but it appears there is certainly a lot of flexibility, especially for anyone who would like to attend but is Vargellas-less!
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by Glenn E. »

I've been doing some looking for these, and I don't see a 1972 at Ancient & Modern Wines. They have a 1982 for £28.75, but no 1972 at all. Did it sell out already?
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - date tbc (21/3 - 1/4)

Post by JacobH »

Glenn E. wrote:I've been doing some looking for these, and I don't see a 1972 at Ancient & Modern Wines. They have a 1982 for £28.75, but no 1972 at all. Did it sell out already?
I wondered about that and assumed that Alex had acquired them!

I note that Vargellas lot at Bonhams sold for a fairly robust £575. (Oddly most of the Port sold at the pricier end of the spectrum whereas the table wines had some decent deals).
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by benread »

I have now amended the title to indicate a probable date for this of Tuesday 24th March. Venue: The Crusting Pipe. Attendees:

Confirmed:
Benread
JacobH

Probable but tbc:
DRT
AHB
Christopher

Please let me know if you wish to be added to either group.
Last edited by benread on 22:50 Thu 05 Feb 2009, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by DRT »

Based on an email exchange I had with him today, please add Christopher to the TBC list. His only barrier to attendance being the possible early delivery of the 4th member of his household.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by JacobH »

DRT wrote:Based on an email exchange I had with him today, please add Christopher to the TBC list. His only barrier to attendance being the possible early delivery of the 4th member of his household.
I thought it was a well established precedent that that was no legitimate excuse for non-attendance at an off-line! :)

As far as I am aware, the following is what might or might be available on the night (of course depending on who attends):

1958 Acquirable from Lusa Wines for €999 :)
1961
1964
1965 DRT Note: Must be drunk 28th March =/- 7 days
1967 JacobH, Benread
1968
1969
1972
1974 AHB
1976 AHB
1978 JacobH, Benread
1982 Acquirable from Nickollas & Perks for £35, AHB
1984
1986
1987
1988
1991
1995 Axel P
1995 VV Benread
1996 JacobH, Axel P
1997 VV
1998 Benread, DRT
2000 VV Axel P
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by DRT »

Vargellas 1988 is available here @ £19.99 per bottle 88)

I have no idea where East Ealing is but if any of the London-based members frequent that area perhaps they could pick one up?
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by JacobH »

It’s miles away from me, I’m afraid. Does anyone else go in that direction? If not, they apparently offer delivery within the M25...

Incidentally, we have competition.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by JacobH »

Opps...didn’t mean to hit ‟submit” before posting the following:
A Vertical Tasting of Taylor's Quinta de Vargellas
Date: Mar 03, 2009 (Tue)
Time: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Cost: $325

Place: Warwick Hotel
65 West 54th Street (corner of 6th Avenue)
New York, NY 10019

Guest Speaker: Adrian Bridge, Managing Director, Taylor Fladgate

Situated high in the mountain reaches of the Upper Douro, Quinta de Vargellas is the jewel in Taylor’s crown. Acquired in 1893, this quinta, with almost 68 hectares under vine, provides the backbone for Taylor’s vintage Port. Beginning with the 1958 vintage, Taylor was the first house to offer a single quinta port, bottled in years when Taylor chooses not to declare a Vintage Port. It is made from grapes still crushed 100% by foot, aged in wood for two years, and then bottled the same way as a declared vintage.

Connoisseurs of Port have come to realize that Quinta de Vargellas is often superior to Vintage Ports from other houses. Certainly the high price one must pay for Quinta de Vargellas is a good indication of its stature in the marketplace.

We are delighted to welcome back our friend Adrian Bridge to host this unique tasting for EWS of 13 vintages of Quinta de Vargellas, sent directly to New York from Oporto: 1958 (rare first vintage! • 1965 • 1967 • 1970 (never released!) • 1976 • 1978 • 1984 • 1988 • 1991 • 1995 VV • 1997 VV • 2000 VV • 2005

Special bonus: the finest Stilton (from Murray’s Cheese) will be served to accompany these magnificent Ports!
Part of me feels that we are honour-bound to do better. 88)
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by DRT »

That certainly is an interesting line-up and we will do well if we come close to matching the 58 and 3 x VVs.

But I do have a little good news to share. I have managed to secure a Vargellas 1987 for the tasting 88)
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by JacobH »

DRT wrote:That certainly is an interesting line-up and we will do well if we come close to matching the 58 and 3 x VVs.

But I do have a little good news to share. I have managed to secure a Vargellas 1987 for the tasting 88)
We could always drop Taylor’s a line and see if Adrian Bridge would like to repeat his talk in London (bringing with him a ’58 and some W (which I think should be the appropriate abbreviation for Vina Velha :)))!

In terms of filling in the other gaps, I note that we could get a ’91 for €56.75 in Amsterdam (would any Dutch members of the forum be able to assist with that?) or an ’86 for €66 somewhere in Italy...
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by DRT »

I think we need to be selective when filling the gaps now as the number of bottles:attendee ratio could easily become an issue.

1991 would be a good one to add as there is some controversy around whether or not Taylor should have gone for a full declaration. They chose 1992 in the split declaration. The fact that 1992 was their 300 year anniversary clearly being a coincidence :wink:
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by RonnieRoots »

The 1991 is a fine port but 57 euro is steep. It should be possible to find it at 40-45 max. Still a bit pricey but, less so than the one at Pasteuning, is this bottle. But since this retailer hardly updates his list, it is questionnable whether this bottle is a) still available (I know I bought all his stock of Vargellas 1987 about 2 years ago), and b) is still on the same price level.

The 1987 is great! 88)
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by DRT »

My port declarations database, which is not yet complete :sackclothandashes:, lists the following vintages of Vargellas:

1912
1917
1926
1930
1948
1955
1957
1958
1961
1964
1965
1967
1968
1969
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1982
1984
1986
1987
1988
1991
1995
1996
2001
2004
2005
2006
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by JacobH »

Interestingly that is almost completely different in the early years from the list given by Taylor’s:
05, 07, 11, 14, 25, 34, 37, 47, 52, 58, 61, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 72, 74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 86, 87, 88, 91, 95 (+VV), 96, 97 (VV), 98, 00 (VV), 01, 04 (+VV), 06 (VV).
DRT wrote:I think we need to be selective when filling the gaps now as the number of bottles:attendee ratio could easily become an issue.
Yes, indeed. Ben: are your two guests likely to attend?

In terms of what might be available, I think we have: ’65, ’67, ’68 ’74¹, ’76¹, ’78, ’82¹ ’86², ’87, ’88³, ’91², ’95(W), ’96, ’98.

[¹ Perhaps available if AHB and Glenn’s exchange happens.
² Available for purchase outside the jurisdiction.
³ Available for purchase in London.]

This is obviously quite a lot of Port. Any thoughts on priorities?

Also, if anyone else is reading this and is in London on the 24th and would like to attend, please let us know by a message here or a PM; as may be apparent from the above, sorting out adoption will not be a problem!
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by DRT »

JacobH wrote:Interestingly that is almost completely different in the early years from the list given by Taylor’s:
05, 07, 11, 14, 25, 34, 37, 47, 52, 58, 61, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 72, 74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 86, 87, 88, 91, 95 (+VV), 96, 97 (VV), 98, 00 (VV), 01, 04 (+VV), 06 (VV).
Interesting indeed!

My data is primarily a collection of vintages for which I have found a TN or reference to in publications by Mayson, Suckling and Broadbent with the addition of a number of wines for which Roy Hersh has produced TNs. With the exception of Ferreira, I have not yet ventured into the producers own lists. I suspect that those that I have come across that are not listed by Taylor are unreleased vintages. This is certainly the case with the 1912, 1926 and 1930.

If anyone feels like trawling producers website to come up with lists of declared wines please feel free to do so :wink:

Jacob, is the list quoted above taken directly from the Taylor's site? If so I will use it to fill some gaps and to validate the list.

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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by JacobH »

DRT wrote:
JacobH wrote:Interestingly that is almost completely different in the early years from the list given by Taylor’s:
05, 07, 11, 14, 25, 34, 37, 47, 52, 58, 61, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 72, 74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 86, 87, 88, 91, 95 (+VV), 96, 97 (VV), 98, 00 (VV), 01, 04 (+VV), 06 (VV).
Interesting indeed!

My data is primarily a collection of vintages for which I have found a TN or reference to in publications by Mayson, Suckling and Broadbent with the addition of a number of wines for which Roy Hersh has produced TNs. With the exception of Ferreira, I have not yet ventured into the producers own lists. I suspect that those that I have come across that are not listed by Taylor are unreleased vintages. This is certainly the case with the 1912, 1926 and 1930.

If anyone feels like trawling producers website to come up with lists of declared wines please feel free to do so :wink:

Jacob, is the list quoted above taken directly from the Taylor's site? If so I will use it to fill some gaps and to validate the list.
Yes, I think that you are right. Although judging by that press-release for that Vargellas tasting in NYC, did Taylor release any vintages pre-1958? If not, it would be quite odd if the only things Mayson, Sucking & al. have only been drinking unofficial bottles and not the genuine releases.

Apart from the ’04, ’04 W and ’06 (which came from your visit to Vargellas), that list came from Taylor’s ‟The Little Book About Port”; one of a series of little booklets they send out every six-months or so (though as each one is thinner than the last and contains less useful information, I’m not sure how long it will last!). It should therefore be ‟official” as far as we can trust anything sent by the shippers!

It also gives Terra Feita as:
82, 86, 87, 88, 91, 95, 96, 99, 01

and Taylor VP as:
00, 04, 08, 12, 17, 20, 24, 27, 35, 40, 42, 45, 48, 55, 60, 63, 66, 70, 75, 77, 80, 83, 85, 92, 94, 97, 00, 03

Incidentally, most shippers’ websites are rubbish for listing vintages, in my experience as they are only concerned with what they have to sell, now.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by benread »

JacobH wrote:Ben: are your two guests likely to attend?
Waiting for responses from them both. Had held back from asking until we had firmed up on date which we now seem to have done.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by JacobH »

Incidentally, is this going to be a TCP tasting or does anyone have another venue in mind?
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by DRT »

JacobH wrote:Incidentally, is this going to be a TCP tasting or does anyone have another venue in mind?
TCP would be fine with me.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by DRT »

JacobH wrote:Interestingly that is almost completely different in the early years from the list given by Taylor’s:
05, 07, 11, 14, 25, 34, 37, 47, 52, 58, 61, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 72, 74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 86, 87, 88, 91, 95 (+VV), 96, 97 (VV), 98, 00 (VV), 01, 04 (+VV), 06 (VV).
JacobH wrote:It also gives Terra Feita as:
82, 86, 87, 88, 91, 95, 96, 99, 01

and Taylor VP as:
00, 04, 08, 12, 17, 20, 24, 27, 35, 40, 42, 45, 48, 55, 60, 63, 66, 70, 75, 77, 80, 83, 85, 92, 94, 97, 00, 03
Thanks. I just added 19 of these wines to my list 88)
JacobH wrote:Incidentally, most shippers’ websites are rubbish for listing vintages, in my experience as they are only concerned with what they have to sell, now.
That is why I am not using them as the primary data source :wink:
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by DRT »

Nicos Neocleous (who attended the Cockburn Vertical in October 08) is now a confirmed attendee and will be contributing the 1987 to the line-up.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by DRT »

Attendees:

Confirmed:
Benread
Christopher
DRT
JacobH
Nicos Neocleous

Probable but tbc:
AHB
Benread Friend 1
Benread Friand 2

Wines currently offered as potentially available:

1965 - DRT
1967 x2 - Benread & JacobH
1974 AHB
1976 AHB
1978 JacobH, Benread
1982 AHB
1987 - Nicos
1995 Axel P
1995 VV Benread
1996 JacobH, Axel P
1998 Benread, DRT
2000 VV Axel P
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

Before we get too carried away, let me remind you of the two purposes of the Vargellas tasting:

(1) to compare the difference made in bottling the 1967 vintage 2 years after harvest and 3 years after harvest; and

(2) to relax in the company of other port lovers, to drink some fine port and to celebrate the birthday of one of our company.

We are not trying to pull together "The Most Complete Tasting of Vargellas Ports Ever Assembled" :shock:

So, in that light I suggest that we just pull together one bottle each to try and assemble a good selection of the most mature Vargellas vintages we can. I would certainly very much prefer to drink from the '60s and '70s than the '90s and '00s. And I recommend not opening any of the VV for the moment as my experience is that these are just so big and brutal right now. Perhaps in 20 years we can try to assemble "The Most Complete Tasting of Vargellas Vinha Velha Ports Ever Assembled". Start picking these up now!

Alex
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by DRT »

DRT wrote:I think we need to be selective when filling the gaps now as the number of bottles:attendee ratio could easily become an issue.
Alex, I beleive we are on the same page :wink:

Given that this is a school night I would agree that one bottle per person should be the limit. The trick now is to get the best bottles we can to the tasting and avoid the brutal youngsters and any known to be weak and feable.

I agree that VV is probably best left for another day, unless those that have them want to bring them along.

Derek
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by JacobH »

AHB wrote:Before we get too carried away, let me remind you of the two purposes of the Vargellas tasting:

(1) to compare the difference made in bottling the 1967 vintage 2 years after harvest and 3 years after harvest; and

(2) to relax in the company of other port lovers, to drink some fine port and to celebrate the birthday of one of our company.

We are not trying to pull together "The Most Complete Tasting of Vargellas Ports Ever Assembled" :shock:

So, in that light I suggest that we just pull together one bottle each to try and assemble a good selection of the most mature Vargellas vintages we can. I would certainly very much prefer to drink from the '60s and '70s than the '90s and '00s. And I recommend not opening any of the VV for the moment as my experience is that these are just so big and brutal right now. Perhaps in 20 years we can try to assemble "The Most Complete Tasting of Vargellas Vinha Velha Ports Ever Assembled". Start picking these up now!
I’ll bet you a bottle of Vinha Velha that they’ll still be too big to drink in 20 years’ time! :)

Anyway, my thinking, based on the list, as given by DRT, was that as it lists 13 bottles and we might have up to 8 attendees, we don’t have a huge number to jettison (especially as two are owned by Axel and five are post-’95 and will still be very youthful) so it’s probably worth investigating to see if we can increase the average age (or quality) of the bottles that we will have.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by DRT »

JacobH wrote: it’s probably worth investigating to see if we can increase the average age (or quality) of the bottles that we will have.
I agree. I think if we can get our hands on a 1991 we should stop there. If not, we should stop at the 1987.

...and before you all go off thinking that VV will last forever before being drinkable, here are my notes from the 2000 and 2004, tasted at Vargellas last September. The 2000 was gorgeous. These don't seem to be as brutal as, say, a young Nacional. They are a lighter style than that. Only time will tell what stamina they have.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by DRT »

I am not sure when it is that Tom returns to Blighty. I have sent him an email invitation to this. Can we please keep a seat free until I get a response?
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by JacobH »

DRT wrote:...and before you all go off thinking that VV will last forever before being drinkable, here are my notes from the 2000 and 2004, tasted at Vargellas last September. The 2000 was gorgeous. These don't seem to be as brutal as, say, a young Nacional. They are a lighter style than that. Only time will tell what stamina they have.
That’s interesting; did you find them softer than the standard Vargellas? I wonder if they are being blended for younger drinking on account of their monumental release prices?

I suppose this tasting will at least give us a chance to survey how standard Vargellas from a vintages of a variety of qualities age.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by RonnieRoots »

JacobH wrote:
DRT wrote:...and before you all go off thinking that VV will last forever before being drinkable, here are my notes from the 2000 and 2004, tasted at Vargellas last September. The 2000 was gorgeous. These don't seem to be as brutal as, say, a young Nacional. They are a lighter style than that. Only time will tell what stamina they have.
That’s interesting; did you find them softer than the standard Vargellas? I wonder if they are being blended for younger drinking on account of their monumental release prices?

I suppose this tasting will at least give us a chance to survey how standard Vargellas from a vintages of a variety of qualities age.
I've done a very interesting tasting once of old vines vs. young vines of one vineyard in the Douro (not Vargellas BTW). The one thing that struck me most was the big difference in structure between the two. The wine from young vines was powerful, linear and concentrated, whereas the old vines sample gave much more complexity and elegance, but not a whole lot of power. I am, therefore, not really surprised to read that the Vargellas VV isn't a brutal young port. I guess it's accessibility at young age says nothing about the capability of long term cellaring.
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by DRT »

In an email to me this morning Uncle Tom wrote:Back on the 11th March - think I'm free on the 24th, so hold a place.

From memory (I am currently at Angkor Wat on a quick trip to renew my visa) - I think I have '64, '67, '69, '72, '78. '87 & '96

Let me know your requirements!

Tom
I have asked to Tom to bring the 64 as his bottle and requested that he allow some of the others to be adopted if necessary. The 69 plugs a gap so will be a primary target if someone needs a bottle :wink:
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by DRT »

I emailed a contact at Taylor Fladgate to get the official list of declared vintages. This was primarily for my work on the VP Declarations but is also relevant here. The official list since 1900 is as follows:

Taylor’s 1900, ‘04, ’06, ‘08, ‘12, ‘17 ‘20, ‘24, ‘27, ‘35, ‘40, ‘42, ‘45, ‘48, ‘55, ‘60, ‘63, ‘66, ‘70, ‘75, ‘77, ‘80, ‘83, ‘85, ‘92, ’94,’97, ’00, ’03.

Quinta de Vargellas
1905, ‘07, ‘11, ‘14, ‘25, ’26, ‘34, ‘37, ‘47, ‘52, ‘58, ‘61, ‘64, ‘65, ‘67, ‘68, ‘69, ‘72, ‘74, ‘76, ‘78, ‘82, ‘84, ‘86, ‘87, ‘88, ‘91, ‘95, ‘96, ’98, ’01, ’04, ’05.

Quinta de Terra Feita
1982, ’86, ’87, ’88, ’91, ’95, ’96, ’99, ’01, ’05.


Derek
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by Axel P »

DRT wrote:2) to relax in the company of other port lovers, to drink some fine port and to celebrate the birthday of one of our company.
Who elses birthday is it?

Axel
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by WS1 »

Hi there,

after follwoing this thread and also the date set for the tasting I would like to check with you if there is still a free place for me to join in. In addition I must confess that I only own some 1995 and 2005 Vargallas which you already included at least partly in your line up. So please let me know if I can join in and which wine you still look after. Also please let me know any other details for me to join in.

regards
Wolfgang
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Re: London Quinta De Vargellas tasting - 24th March (prob.)

Post by benread »

Wolfgang,

You are welcome to join us. It will be an informal evening, with the original plan simply to compare two bottles of 1967 that Jacob and I own. The difference being one was bottled in 1969 and one in 1970. That has extended into the Vargellas vertical alebit with the intent that it does not become too serious.

I will add your name to the list and should probably now get on with booking a table at The Crusting Pipe! I will book it from 6.30pm onwards, with the intent we eat about 7.30pm or so.

Feel free to bring anything you think appropriate for drinking with like minded friends with the only requirement being that it is a Vargellas! As this is a "sighted" tasting I will update the original thread with names and proposed bottles so we avoid duplicates.
Ben
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