Tom’s Birthday 1960 Horizontal, Tue 02 June 2020

[uncle tom]

This post to hold arrangements as and when agreed.

When: 6½pm, Tuesday 2^nd June 2020.

Where: The Red Room in The Boot & Flogger @ Google | StreetMap.co.uk | ///cafe.humid.palace | Bing.

Theme: 1960 horizontal, sighted.

Who:

1. Johnny Symington;
2. Christian Seely (provisional);
3. Dirk Niepoort;
4. THRA;
5. JDAW;
6. DRT;
7. AHB;
8. CMAG;
9. PW;
10. MC;
11. MPM;
12. SCD;
13. CPR;
14. IDJ.

Reserves:

• GEAG;
• DRL (who has Croft, Noval, and Offley);
• TC;
• WPS;
• JMK (who has Cálem, Cockburn, Dow, Taylor, and Warre).

Bottles of 1960 Vintage Port available:

1. Butler Nephew (AHB; THRA);
2. Cálem (THRA);
3. Cockburn (DRT; THRA);
4. Croft (THRA; CPR; IDJ);
5. Delaforce (THRA);
6. Dow (DRT; THRA; CPR; IDJ);
7. Ferreira (AHB; THRA);
8. Fonseca (JDAW; THRA; CPR);
9. Gonzalez Byass (THRA);
10. Graham (THRA);
11. Martinez (THRA; IDJ);
12. Messias (THRA);
13. Niepoort (THRA);
14. Noval (AHB; CPR; IDJ; THRA; DRT, for whom ‘believed’);
15. Offley Boa Vista (THRA);
16. Real Companhia Velha (THRA);
17. Rebello Valente (THRA; IDJ);
18. de la Rosa (AHB);
19. Sandeman (DRT; THRA; SCD);
20. Smith Woodhouse (THRA);
21. Sibio (AHB; THRA);
22. Taylor (THRA; AHB, for whom ‘believed’).
23. Warre (THRA; CPR);

(Obvious missing shippers: Burmester; Feuerheerd; Gould Campbell; Kopke; Krohn; Mackenzie; Morgan; Quarles Harris; Ramos Pinto; Tuke Holdsworth.)


◊ Link to food order will go here. ◊

◊ Link to draft of placemats will go here and here. ◊

This post originally by jdaw1; its author subsequently changed to uncle tom.

[jdaw1]

Tom’s vintage year is 1960. Indeed, some might recall that we marked his fiftieth with a 1960 horizontal. And a decade later he has requested the same theme again.

Tuesday 2nd June 2020 is the date for this horizontal, set after consultation with Tom and industry guests.

The organiser of this tasting is THRA himself, for whom JDAW will sometimes act as secretary. JDAW emphasises that he is not the organiser.

Port Vintages has definite full declarations of 1960 by all of the thirty shippers with a chapter: B, BN, Cá, Ck, Cr, Df, D, Fr, Fd, F, GB, GC, G, K, Kr, Mk, Mz, Mg, Ni, N, O, QH, RP, RV, RO, S, SW, T, TH, W; and of course there were also declarations by some smaller producers.

Some seats are pre-booked.

[DRT]

Yes please.

I have Cockburn, Dow, Sandeman and (believed (Noval)

[Alex Bridgeman]

I'm in, and CMAG has said he is too.

I have a choice of Butler Nephew, de la Rosa, Ferreira, (known to be) Noval, Sibio and (believed to be) Taylor. Happy to contribute one or two from that list.

[Christopher]

Yes please

[M.Charlton]

Yes please.

[PhilW]

I'm in.

[uncle tom]

I have:

Butler Nephew
Calem
Cockburn
Croft
Delaforce
Dow
Ferreira
Fonseca
Gonzalez Byass
Graham
Martinez
Messias
Niepoort
Offley Boa Vista
Real Companhia Velha
Rebello Valente
Sandeman
Sibio
Smith Woodhouse
Taylor
Warre

- How many bottles do we want on the table.?

[flash_uk]

Yes please. Might be out of 1960, will check. Plenty of time to fix that though

[Doggett]

Yes please... I have a Sandeman ready for this one.

Edit: if DRT is not already sharing his... in which case I would hope to adopt please.

[CPR 1]

Yes please. I can offer

Dow, Warre, Fonseca, Noval or Croft

[idj123]

And me please!

[jdaw1]

At which this tasting is full. Anybody else to go on a waitlist.

Those who haven’t, please post what you have. (Yes, I know.)

[jdaw1]

How many bottles do we want on the table.?

This is a serious question worthy of being answered.

There will be fourteen of us, likely all full-capacity drinkers, and 14 × 1¼ = 17½. Table space limits us to 1×A3 + 1×A4, so to about 15 + 6 = 21 glasses. Would it be wrong to have between 18 and 20?

[winesecretary]

Tom and I share a birthday (if not a birth date). Please may I go on the reserve list? I have at the moment only Warre, but since I am in acquisition phase still, there will be others by then.

[DaveRL]

Reserve list please. I'll check what I have.

[DaveRL]

Spread sheet indicates Croft, Noval and Offley.

[forest26]

Yes please - wow places went quick

[WS1]

Hi,

Despite unlikely to succeed can you please put me on the waiting list as well.

Thanks
WS1

[uncle tom]

There will be fourteen of us, likely all full-capacity drinkers, and 14 × 1¼ = 17½. Table space limits us to 1×A3 + 1×A4, so to about 15 + 6 = 21 glasses. Would it be wrong to have between 18 and 20?

So which shippers shall we drop from my list?

Losing Messias, RCV and Sibio would leave 18

[jdaw1]

There will be fourteen of us, likely all full-capacity drinkers, and 14 × 1¼ = 17½. Table space limits us to 1×A3 + 1×A4, so to about 15 + 6 = 21 glasses. Would it be wrong to have between 18 and 20?

So which shippers shall we drop from my list?

Losing Messias, RCV and Sibio would leave 18

Would you keep others’ Noval and de la Rosa?

[CPR 1]

There will be fourteen of us, likely all full-capacity drinkers, and 14 × 1¼ = 17½. Table space limits us to 1×A3 + 1×A4, so to about 15 + 6 = 21 glasses. Would it be wrong to have between 18 and 20?

So which shippers shall we drop from my list?

Losing Messias, RCV and Sibio would leave 18

Would you keep others’ Noval and de la Rosa?

I would be keen to keep Noval, de la Rosa is good thus if we have it great, but those at the RV tasting next week will also get to try it there

[idj123]

Personally, given that it's 60 @ 60 @ 60 and that there are bound to be one or two faulty bottles, I think we should go for the maximum number of bottles that glasses space affords ie 21. BTW, where's the NN (I see it was present last time around)?

I have Cr, N, RV, D and Mz (I believe).

[flash_uk]

it's 60 @ 60 @ 60

It took me a while...

[jdaw1]

where's the NN (I see it was present last time around)?

But:

NN60: very imperfect.

VERY dissapointing.

the regular Noval 1960 was better than this bottle

Thinner than the regular Noval.

So likely not worth the large cost.

Of course, if you wish to donate a NN60, then we’d accept.

[Justin K]

Reserve please have Calem Cockburn Dow Taylor and Warre

[uncle tom]

Oops.. - I forgot to include Noval on my list, which I have a very nice stash of.

I've never had the NN60 - sounds like I've not missed much..

[jdaw1]

I've never had the NN60 - sounds like I've not missed much..

Yes you have. You attended your fiftieth birthday event, at The Bowler, at which there was NN60.

[PhilW]

I've never had the NN60 - sounds like I've not missed much..

Yes you have. You attended your fiftieth birthday event, at The Bowler, at which there was NN60.

G'day Derek!

[uncle tom]

You attended your fiftieth birthday event, at The Bowler

Attended being the operative word..

As I recall, they expected us to sit barely 1ft apart and there was an art exhibition taking place in the same room at the same time.

Did I taste the NN60? I don't recall doing so - but I do recall spending most of the evening standing for want of space!

[jdaw1]

You attended your fiftieth birthday event, at The Bowler

Attended being the operative word..

As I recall, they expected us to sit barely 1ft apart and there was an art exhibition taking place in the same room at the same time.

Did I taste the NN60? I don't recall doing so - but I do recall spending most of the evening standing for want of space!

Which might be why we didn’t re-use the location. But I struggle to believe that a glass of Nacional was left within reach of Tom Archer, yet went untouched.

[PhilW]

Did I taste the NN60? I don't recall doing so - but I do recall spending most of the evening standing for want of space!

But I struggle to believe that a glass of Nacional was left within reach of Tom Archer, yet went untouched.

Perhaps it wasn't untouched; who was sat next to him?

[M.Charlton]

If possible, please could I be listed as an adopter (because I merely have a dubious looking Cr60 at present). It is anticipated—and hoped—that this situation will change between now and the event, so I’ll update the thread accordingly.

[jdaw1]

There won’t be adoption; there will be a financial rebalancing.

The organiser of this tasting is THRA himself, for whom JDAW will sometimes act as secretary. JDAW emphasises that he is not the organiser.

Tom himself, rather than via me, will organise the costs and money (if only because he will bring most of the bottles).

[winesecretary]

My two penn'orth on the NN60: a good bottle is a splendid port with a distinct figgy quality: in my all time top ten ports. This single reference point was a bottle drunk in 2018 at a moderately significant birthday. But the current market price is circa 50 times what I paid for it (mis-described at auction, in 2010; a very pleasant surprise when it arrived), and about 20 times what it is worth.

[jdaw1]

As “the current market price is … about 20 times what it is worth”, we won’t be buying NN60.

[jdaw1]

This is Tom’s tasting, and he is the organiser. Nonetheless, as his occasional scribe I’ll note that, as remarked elsewhere, this is likely to be cancelled.

[uncle tom]

Let's not be too hasty - this bug scare has gone a long way in the last seven days, and I'm hunching it will go a long way in the next seven as well.

[jdaw1]

Hastiness has caused me, accidentally, to drink the F60 that was in London, and as my father is deep-isolating, perhaps the only one I can access in time. Oops.

Grave medical need, as I’m sure you understand.