Port for sale by retailer

Doggett · Post by **Doggett** » 12:23 Tue 08 Nov 2022

Aldi UK have started sticking their Fletchers Christmas Port too. The 40YO is £39.99 this year. Be careful though as they seem to be trying to get rid of the standard bottles they had last Christmas bottled in 2021 but also some bottles in the old ‘decanter’ style that are freshly bottled in 2022. They also have 10YO at £11.99, 2017 LBV at £9.99 and a 20cl Ruby Reserve at £4.99.

idj123 · Post by **idj123** » 12:41 Sat 12 Nov 2022

On a rare foray into the office in Reading on Thursday I purchased one at Aldi and there were a number still on the shelf. Wonder whether this one of those tested at that Dutch lab…

JacobH · Post by **JacobH** » 08:59 Tue 15 Nov 2022

Having bought a couple of bottles of it in the past, the main problem I found with the Fletchers’ 40-year-old is that it is just not very good. I’d much rather have a cheaper and younger tawny Port which is better made than something with “40-year-old” on the label that is made with what appear to be the cheapest possible components to get it past the IVDP.

winesecretary · Post by **winesecretary** » 23:57 Tue 15 Nov 2022

I am more positive about it than JacobH. I think it is better than anyone else's 20yo and about the same price.

SCP · Post by **SCP** » 08:01 Wed 16 Nov 2022

I was sceptical of the Fletcher’s 40yo, until I did a blind comparison to Graham 20yo. I preferred the Fletcher’s.

JacobH · Post by **JacobH** » 09:06 Wed 16 Nov 2022

It’s fair to say that I haven’t ever drunk it blind or even at a tasting with other Ports so my impression my be completely wrong. However, if we were comparing it to “any 20 year old”, I’d take the Kranemann, Kopke, Niepoort, or Ramos Pinto over the 40-year-old Fletcher. If we are comparing it to similarly-priced 20-year-olds, I think I am limited to the Kopke which is currently £37 on Ocado for 75cl; the other three I mentioned are quite a bit more expensive. I’m not surprised that it does better than the Graham’s 20-year-old. Unfortunately, I’ve never been impressed with the Symington’s blended tawnies, beyond the Cockburn 20-YOT (which doesn’t seem readily available in the UK).

Screagle · Post by **Screagle** » 10:49 Wed 16 Nov 2022

... and there I was feeling rather smug when I snaffled a single Graham’s 20-year-old dumped in my local Waitrose from £39.99 to £20 enjoying an additional 25% discount during their recent wine promotion. I also recall lifting the Fletchers’ 40-year-old for, IIRC, £34.99 earlier in the year but a quick trip to the cellar confirms it is the 2021 bottling as cautioned by Doggett. I feel a blind comparison coming on possibly tainted by a bitter finish

...

mosesbotbol · Post by **mosesbotbol** » 12:36 Wed 16 Nov 2022

SCP wrote: ↑08:01 Wed 16 Nov 2022 I was sceptical of the Fletcher’s 40yo, until I did a blind comparison to Graham 20yo. I preferred the Fletcher’s.

I don't recall ever seeing Fletcher's ports in the States.

JacobH · Post by **JacobH** » 12:47 Wed 16 Nov 2022

mosesbotbol wrote: ↑12:36 Wed 16 Nov 2022 I don't recall ever seeing Fletcher's ports in the States.

It’s a brand by Barão de Vilar which I think is exclusive to Aldi. I think we’ve discussed before whether the blend is different compared to some of the other Barão de Vilar Ports but I’m afraid I can’t remember the answer!

Screagle wrote: ↑10:49 Wed 16 Nov 2022 ... and there I was feeling rather smug when I snaffled a single Graham’s 20-year-old dumped in my local Waitrose from £39.99 to £20 enjoying an additional 25% discount during their recent wine promotion. I also recall lifting the Fletchers’ 40-year-old for, IIRC, £34.99 earlier in the year but a quick trip to the cellar confirms it is the 2021 bottling as cautioned by Doggett. I feel a blind comparison coming on possibly tainted by a bitter finish ...

£20 for a Graham’s 20 year old seems like excellent value to me. I just don’t think I would normally pay the £40 RRP for it. It’s also probably a bit unfair of me to compare the 20YOTs from the big houses (where they must be bottling huge volumes each year) with some of the more boutique places.

MigSU · Post by **MigSU** » 12:59 Wed 16 Nov 2022

^^ Yes, I've always advised people to buy tawnies from smaller producers (the exception being Kopke, as they have excellent stocks and consistently deliver on their tawnies, in my opinion).

Glenn E. · Post by **Glenn E.** » 19:24 Wed 16 Nov 2022

JacobH wrote: ↑12:47 Wed 16 Nov 2022
mosesbotbol wrote: ↑12:36 Wed 16 Nov 2022 I don't recall ever seeing Fletcher's ports in the States.
It’s a brand by Barão de Vilar which I think is exclusive to Aldi. I think we’ve discussed before whether the blend is different compared to some of the other Barão de Vilar Ports but I’m afraid I can’t remember the answer!

IIRC from the 2021 PHT, it's a distinct blind (from Maynard's), and my very vague impression was that Fletcher's was somewhat lower-end than Maynard's. I think I remember hearing that they're planning to expand the distribution of Fletcher's, too, but I don't recall whether or not they said how it was going to be expanded.

My understanding was also that their high-end Tawnies were going to be bottled under Barao de Vilar, but we didn't specifically talk about the new 50YO category so those might still be bottled as Maynard's/Fletcher's.

SCP · Post by **SCP** » 08:56 Thu 17 Nov 2022

Maynard’s 50 year old is available
https://www.vintagewineandport.co.uk/50 ... y-port.cfm

SCP · Post by **SCP** » 08:58 Thu 17 Nov 2022

JacobH wrote: ↑09:06 Wed 16 Nov 2022 It’s fair to say that I haven’t ever drunk it blind or even at a tasting with other Ports so my impression my be completely wrong. However, if we were comparing it to “any 20 year old”, I’d take the Kranemann, Kopke, Niepoort, or Ramos Pinto over the 40-year-old Fletcher. If we are comparing it to similarly-priced 20-year-olds, I think I am limited to the Kopke which is currently £37 on Ocado for 75cl; the other three I mentioned are quite a bit more expensive. I’m not surprised that it does better than the Graham’s 20-year-old. Unfortunately, I’ve never been impressed with the Symington’s blended tawnies, beyond the Cockburn 20-YOT (which doesn’t seem readily available in the UK).

Agree, I would also definitely take the Kopke and Ramos Pinto 20yo tawnies over the Fletcher’s 40yo. On QPR, I think RP is up near the £50/£55 mark.

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 11:13 Sat 03 Dec 2022

: Waitrose Wokingham; 35DBBAAA-A669-4D0E-A5BC-C4E0ED8B1EDC.jpeg (154.06 KiB) Viewed 41781 times

My local Waitrose (it may be national) have 25% off a wide range of their Port portfolio.

Bargain of the sale has got to be the Kopke 1999 colheita, cheaper than Sandeman or Graham 20yo!

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 12:01 Thu 15 Dec 2022

Until 22 Dec Grahams have taken over Harry Gordon’s bar next to the Selfridges basement wine shop.

Graham 1994 by the glass looks attractively priced.

winesecretary · Post by **winesecretary** » 13:58 Wed 21 Dec 2022

Cadman have Fonseca 1992 on offer at £60. I have enough already otherwise would buy more. Lovely wine.

JacobH · Post by **JacobH** » 15:02 Wed 11 Jan 2023

Uncorked is having a January sale which includes the 2016 Qd Noval for £63.99 DP, down from £79.99. I’m not sure what the going rate for this is but I usually find their prices to be quite fair if you fancy picking up a bottle to try.

Alex M · Post by **Alex M** » 18:39 Fri 20 Jan 2023

There are some pretty good wines for sale in the Harvey Nichols sale.

F85 - £52.
Cr94 - £37.
Grahams The Master 1940 - £437.

https://www.harveynichols.com/sale/food ... gh_to_low/

idj123 · Post by **idj123** » 18:36 Mon 23 Jan 2023

Alex M wrote: ↑18:39 Fri 20 Jan 2023 There are some pretty good wines for sale in the Harvey Nichols sale.

F85 - £52.
Cr94 - £37.
Grahams The Master 1940 - £437.

https://www.harveynichols.com/sale/food ... gh_to_low/

Not sure what volumes they had available but I committed the cardinal sin of procrastination having dumped some bottles into my virtual basket over the weekend only to return today and found my pickings gone!

MigSU · Post by **MigSU** » 18:44 Mon 23 Jan 2023

idj123 wrote: ↑18:36 Mon 23 Jan 2023
Alex M wrote: ↑18:39 Fri 20 Jan 2023 There are some pretty good wines for sale in the Harvey Nichols sale.

F85 - £52.
Cr94 - £37.
Grahams The Master 1940 - £437.

https://www.harveynichols.com/sale/food ... gh_to_low/
Not sure what volumes they had available but I committed the cardinal sin of procrastination having dumped some bottles into my virtual basket over the weekend only to return today and found my pickings gone!

Yup, same here. I managed to snag the last two bottles of Fonseca 2003, but most of what I wanted was gone.

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 19:13 Mon 23 Jan 2023

That was a stunning price for the Graham's 1940 colheita - below the original release price!

I hope it was picked up by someone who will enjoy it (and perhaps share it!).

MigSU · Post by **MigSU** » 10:06 Tue 24 Jan 2023

The stocks at HN keep fluctuating. Just went back and there's some stuff back in stock, but only a couple of bottles available. So if anyone wants in on the action, go for it.

Bertie3000 · Post by **Bertie3000** » 21:20 Wed 25 Jan 2023

I am amazed what a terrible website Harvey Nichols has. I ordered some wines on Saturday and they have now messaged me to say they do not have all of them. The prices were great but the platform needs a lot of work. Feels like the sort of experience you’d get 20 years ago. Rant over!

JacobH · Post by **JacobH** » 09:19 Fri 27 Jan 2023

Yes. They also seemed to have the Croft 1994 as two separate items. I tried to buy 4 from one; they sent me an email saying they only had 3 in stock; but the “other” Croft 1994 remained available...

Alex M · Post by **Alex M** » 18:43 Fri 27 Jan 2023

BBR Own Selection VP - (Warre) 1997 £40 DP.

winesecretary · Post by **winesecretary** » 21:37 Fri 27 Jan 2023

I got everything I asked for from Harvey Nicks. Very happy.

nac · Post by **nac** » 22:42 Fri 27 Jan 2023

Alex Bridgeman wrote: ↑19:13 Mon 23 Jan 2023 That was a stunning price for the Graham's 1940 colheita - below the original release price!

I hope it was picked up by someone who will enjoy it (and perhaps share it!).

Maybe…

nac · Post by **nac** » 09:07 Sat 28 Jan 2023

winesecretary wrote: ↑21:37 Fri 27 Jan 2023 I got everything I asked for from Harvey Nicks. Very happy.

Not quite everything, but also happy with outcome.

Justin K · Post by **Justin K** » 18:52 Mon 30 Jan 2023

Well I got diddly squat, I knew they wouldn't send wine to the Republic (they closed their foodhall in Dublin because of Brexit) so I was diverting it to Northern Ireland (message said they couldn't send wine there either). I'd say the Unionist community is furious!

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 23:48 Mon 30 Jan 2023

winesecretary wrote: ↑21:37 Fri 27 Jan 2023 I got everything I asked for from Harvey Nicks. Very happy.

Were you the buyer of the 1940 Graham? If so, I am delighted it went to someone who will love the wine.

Doggett · Post by **Doggett** » 07:15 Tue 31 Jan 2023

Alex Bridgeman wrote: ↑23:48 Mon 30 Jan 2023
winesecretary wrote: ↑21:37 Fri 27 Jan 2023 I got everything I asked for from Harvey Nicks. Very happy.
Were you the buyer of the 1940 Graham? If so, I am delighted it went to someone who will love the wine.

Was there just one on offer? I thought Neil gave a nod and a wink on the 1940… and George filled up on some port as well as some fine US wine, probably some Burg and I guess Madeira if there was any of any note.

winesecretary · Post by **winesecretary** » 07:58 Tue 31 Jan 2023

I was not the buyer of the (I suspect single bottle) of Graham 1940. 3 Fonseca 85, 4 halves of Gosset rose, and a bottle of Gravelly Meadow 2018 was my lot. I have pre-spent the rest of this year's budget on house renovations and holidays. A terrible misuse of funds, of course... Were it not for the fact that one of the renovations will eventually enable my cellar.

nac · Post by **nac** » 11:44 Tue 31 Jan 2023

I picked up:
3 x Henschke Keyneton Euphonium 2017
3 x Hardy’s Eileen Hardy Shiraz 2018
A magnum of a 2016 Taurasi
3 x Croft 94
A bottle of the Taylor’s VV Old Tawny & the 1940 Graham.

MigSU · Post by **MigSU** » 12:30 Tue 31 Jan 2023

^^ Found him!

winesecretary · Post by **winesecretary** » 22:29 Tue 31 Jan 2023

A worldwide chorus of "I'm available that evening" is thus heard.

Bertie3000 · Post by **Bertie3000** » 07:42 Fri 03 Feb 2023

Nickolls and Perks sale has gone live this morning. Quite a wide selection of ports and other wines on sale. No crazy prices but some very fair ones. Their website has clearly not been set up correctly as some of the discounts are not reflected in the price but I assume they will correct this later.

winesecretary · Post by **winesecretary** » 19:35 Mon 27 Feb 2023

Ocado have (at least one) 4.5l Graham 10 YO on offer for about £135. Not my bag but if it's yours...

Post by **jdaw1** » 20:55 Mon 27 Feb 2023

winesecretary wrote: ↑19:35 Mon 27 Feb 2023Ocado have (at least one) 4.5l Graham 10 YO on offer for about £135. Not my bag but if it's yours...

Much healthier drinking: the whole thing is, apparently, only 15 units of alcohol.

Post by **flash_uk** » 11:23 Thu 02 Mar 2023

akzy wrote: ↑17:22 Mon 01 Aug 2022 As pointed out in the TPF Port Deals WhatsApp (which you can join using https://chat.whatsapp.com/KJD2UqySzxdGQ07WGsBIer)

Graham's Crusted (likely 2013) for £10 a bottle if you're happy to wait. Thanks Michael for the deal.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grahams-Cruste ... pldnSite=1

Zak I think we might need to take this link off the forum to avoid spam in the WhatsApp group? As an alternative, could we post a message to say "PM if you want to join the group". That would mean someone needs to first be a forum member...and we do a pretty good job of keeping spammers away from the forum so a much better chance someone here is real.

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 15:05 Wed 08 Mar 2023

I've just had an email from Waitrose saying their "Buy 6, get 25% off" sale is on for a week.

Jamiesan12o · Post by **Jamiesan12o** » 12:00 Mon 13 Mar 2023

A wine-lover's estate appears to be being sold at my (old) local auction house in Cambridge which includes, amongst other things, some interesting bottles of port at lots 160 - 185 for any gamblers out there.

https://www.cheffins.co.uk/fine-art/cat ... &pgstart=0

hadge · Post by **hadge** » 16:07 Mon 13 Mar 2023

error!

hadge · Post by **hadge** » 16:08 Mon 13 Mar 2023

Jamiesan12o wrote: ↑12:00 Mon 13 Mar 2023 A wine-lover's estate appears to be being sold at my (old) local auction house in Cambridge which includes, amongst other things, some interesting bottles of port at lots 160 - 185 for any gamblers out there.

https://www.cheffins.co.uk/fine-art/cat ... &pgstart=0

thanks, had seen, off to look at the furniture (banned from buying anymore paintings) and will have a look at the wines too, on Monday

Christopher · Post by **Christopher** » 09:51 Thu 23 Mar 2023

Well there were some punchy prices at the Cheffins auction!

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 18:40 Sun 26 Mar 2023

I’ve just come home after a few days in Cornwall. Whilst there, I visited 5 shops selling fortified wines.

The first was Ellis Wharton Wines in Indian Queens. A relatively new shop but run by someone who loves their fortified wines. A great choice of Port (Warre 1985 @ £90, Kopke 2003 Colheita @ £42 and loads more), Sherry and Vermouth and a promise to work on their Madeira offer. Well worth a visit.

Next was Bin 2 in Padstow. I have had fun with their Port list in the past but was a little disappointed this visit. The only Port available by the glass was Niepoort Trudy (which is an excellent Ruby Port) and the bottle selection was only marginally wider.

A quick visit to Wadebridge and Wadebridge Wines was also disappointing. A good selection of d’Oliveira’s Madeira, a decent selection of Vermouth and of Sherry but no colheita or vintage Port - LBV or Tawny.

The surprise of the trip was when Mrs B and I went for afternoon tea at the Mad Hatter’s tea shop down towards the cinema in Wadebridge. This is a most excellent tea shop and highly recommended for that reason alone - but has a rack of wine on the counter covering various 1980s cooking wines from Burgundy, a trockenbeerenauslese, a Tokaji, a bottle of Cockburn 1975 and a couple of bottles of Pichon Lalande from the 1980s that aren’t there any more.

The last wine shop visited was back in Padstow. Padstow Gin has a bar at 17 Duke Street. I’ve always ignored it, assuming it’s a Gin bar but while trying to find something to do while Mrs B was clothes shopping, I called in and I’m delighted I did. The range of Sherry and Vermouth was excellent, Port is from Pedra Alta and covered the 10yo Tawny and the 2018 Vintage. The Madeira selection was modest. Bottles can be opened and consumed on the premises for retail price plus £15. I didn’t ask if they can be opened one night and finished the next. Another spot I shall return to.

nac · Post by **nac** » 10:38 Wed 05 Apr 2023

Seckford's have just listed a load of cases of halves of Passadouro (all IB, all 12 x 0.375):
2 x 1994 @ £195
20 x 1997 @ £195
4 x 1998 @ £150
40 x 1999 @ £150
29 x 2000 @ £150

Also some cases of bottles and magnums.

Post by **jdaw1** » 15:36 Fri 07 Apr 2023

Re Ps98

nac · Post by **nac** » 08:33 Sat 08 Apr 2023

A seller on BidForWine has listed three cases of Warre 1977 at £700 each - DP inc VAT.

If they go for around that price then possibly a bargain. No bids yet.

nac · Post by **nac** » 11:58 Wed 10 May 2023

Harveys Nichols have another wine sale on, but unfortuanately not as wide-ranging or drastic as the one just after Christmas. Only one Port - Sandeman Quinta do Seixo 2019 reduced from £75 to £60.

https://www.harveynichols.com/sale/food ... d-spirits/

nac · Post by **nac** » 12:03 Wed 10 May 2023

nac wrote: ↑08:33 Sat 08 Apr 2023 A seller on BidForWine has listed three cases of Warre 1977 at £700 each - DP inc VAT.

If they go for around that price then possibly a bargain. No bids yet.

These all went unsold.