I thought it would be interesting to see what everyone's first taste of vintage port was, and what they would choose now if introducing someone to vintage port for the first time.
For me, my first (good) taste of vintage port was a 2005 Croft Quinta da Roeda last year during my honeymoon in the Douro. I previously had a very bad experience with an unlabeled interwar-era (maybe 1930s) bottle that from the looks of it had spoiled long before I was born, but I don't count that! With my limited experience, I don't think I could properly introduce someone to vintage ports (without the tasting notes here on that is!)
1967 Cockburn, consumed 2 June 1987 (my 14th birthday). courtesy of my father. My mother did not approve of buying a 14-year-old bottles of port. The 14-year-old, however, did. Then there was some Warre 1970 at the school wine club in spring 1991. Lovely then, lovely now. I'd be tempted to serve the latter to a port newbie, now, if I wanted them to be seduced by port. Or, more sensibly, the Warre 1983 or Graham 1985 or Fonseca 1985.
1963 Taylor's in 1984, when it was opened at the end of my 21st birthday dinner. I was given a case (long since drunk) of the same Port as a birthday present.
Top Ports in 2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
2025: Quevedo 1972 Colheita, b.2024. Just as good as Niepoort 1900!
No idea what my first taste was, but the first memorable bottle was in the mid 1990s. Xmas present of a Dow 1970 from the cellar of my employer at the time.
I can't remember for sure what my first VP ever was, but my first "aged" VP was a 1983 Warre. I still have the bottle on my trophy shelf, though as I recall I wasn't terribly impressed by the Port. It is also possible that the Warre was in fact my first ever VP, I just don't remember for sure. That would have been between 2004 when I first drank Port (Porto Rocha 20 Year Old Tawny Port) and 2007 when I had...
My first "old" VP was a 1963 Fonseca which I carried to Kansas City and opened for my family for Thanksgiving. Off the top of my head I think that must have been 2007, because the bottle is positioned "older" on my trophy shelf relative to the bottles I saved from the Old & Odd in New York City on November 7, 2008.
I’m also not sure what mine was. The first that I bought was very likely to be a Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas, probably 1996, which was the standard quality Port when I was a student. We also drank a bit of the Terra Feita and the 1998 vintages from both Quintas. The first bottle of proper VP I bought was a bottle of Warre 1997 which I still haven’t drunk!
Most of the colleges seemed to have stopped serving VP to students by the time I was an undergraduate. I think they all had their own-brand Ruby Reserve Ports of varying quality. I shouldn’t be snobbish about them since it was drinking these that got me into Port into the first place.
I have no idea what the first classic VP was. It may have been following a King’s College founders’ day dinner where I was playing in an orchestra that accompanied the choir (under the direction of the Stephen Cleobury, RIP). For the attendees it had been quite a boozy day so that they didn’t drink very much Port after dinner. I think it must have been a VP considering the occasion and the other expense. The reason I say “must have been” is that I, and a friend, gathered together all of the decanters from the other tables at the end of the dinner and polished them off and so don’t remember too much!
If I were to introduce someone today to Vintage Port, I’d probably point them in the direction of either the Fonseca Guimaraens of Taylor Quinta de Vargellas: both reliably high quality Ports which are readily available at a modest price.
JacobH wrote: ↑10:38 Wed 02 Sep 2020I, and a friend, gathered together all of the decanters from the other tables at the end of the dinner and polished them off and so don’t remember too much!
1970 Taylor drunk in the mid 90’s. My Grandfather bought a significant parcel and passed it down to my farther and we enjoyed it every Christmas.
If I was introducing someone today I would go for one of the 94’s like Graham, Warre or Dow. These are a similar age now as to when I tried the T70 and I have found people like plenty of fruit when first sampling which these have.
JacobH wrote: ↑10:38 Wed 02 Sep 2020I, and a friend, gathered together all of the decanters from the other tables at the end of the dinner and polished them off and so don’t remember too much!
Magnificent.
Strangely that is exactly the adjective I'd use to describe the handover the next day... I'm still not quite sure how I made it back to my college with the double bass in one piece. (Looking back on it, incidents like this make me glad that we didn't have digital cameras on mobile phones as they do now!).
CPR 1 wrote: ↑19:17 Wed 02 Sep 2020If I was introducing someone today I would go for one of the 94’s like Graham, Warre or Dow. These are a similar age now as to when I tried the T70 and I have found people like plenty of fruit when first sampling which these have.
Good observation about the fruit. My first, T70 in 1987, was young enough to have lots of fruit. And I still like fruit.
JacobH wrote: ↑10:38 Wed 02 Sep 2020I, and a friend, gathered together all of the decanters from the other tables at the end of the dinner and polished them off and so don’t remember too much!
Magnificent.
This sounds all too familiar of my Christ Church Christmas meal, between the leftover decants of port and a few single malts there was much fun had by all
For me it was a Fonseca 1977. It had the typical big paint marks on the bottle. It was early 90s and I was little experienced, so I told the importer about the appearance of he bottle and he appologised & sent me a new one, which totally looked alike.
Great Port though and a fantastic start into the world of Vintage Port
AHB wrote: ↑11:44 Tue 01 Sep 2020
1963 Taylor's in 1984, when it was opened at the end of my 21st birthday dinner. I was given a case (long since drunk) of the same Port as a birthday present.
that is!)
