Latest buy

[MigSU]

No, never.
I must say I find the label quite interesting.

[Alex Bridgeman]

Not seen this before, but that is an interesting bottle.

Julian has copies of lots of the historic Wine Society catalogues. He might be able to give some more details on it.

[Justin K]

From two separate auction houses (one Irish and one English):
Graham's '77 x 1
Graham's '63 x 1
Graham's '70 x 2
Fonseca Guimaraens '82 x 1
Fonseca Guimaraens '85 x 1
Dow's '70 x 4
Dow's '80 x 1
Dow's '83 x 1
one Rioja '95 and two Barolos '56 & '66 (cos I like old Barolos)

[PhilW]

From two separate auction houses (one Irish and one English):
Graham's '77 x 1
Graham's '63 x 1
Graham's '70 x 2
Fonseca Guimaraens '82 x 1
Fonseca Guimaraens '85 x 1
Dow's '70 x 4
Dow's '80 x 1
Dow's '83 x 1
one Rioja '95 and two Barolos '56 & '66 (cos I like old Barolos)

Nice selection.

[Justin K]

Quarles Harris ‘70 x 1
Royal Oporto ‘70 x 1
€75 all in but a L&M buy.

[jdaw1]

From checking the Mutuals Public Register it appears that the Wine Society were at Holles Street between August 1929 and October 1940, so it's probably a 1930s bottling.

Cockburn’s Full Dry was in Wine Society catalogues, intermittently, from about March 1912, at 24/- per dozen (ten metric pennies per bottle).

From October 1912 (all pictures, contrast much enhanced):




From March 1924:




From June 1937:

[nac]

1 x Smith Woodhouse 1947 (has a "British Transport Hotel Services" label, so assume bottled by them?)

[PhilW]

1 x Smith Woodhouse 1947 (has a "British Transport Hotel Services" label, so assume bottled by them?)

Need a picture for this one for the VPID please.
None of the BTH-labelled bottles for which I have images state whether BTH was the bottler, and the only capsule images I have are either blank or just have e.g. "Offley Boa Vista 1970" on them, so maybe/maybe not bottled by them (my guess would be not, but only a guess). Might be worth asking Alex to check his cork notes.

[Alex Bridgeman]

British Transport Hotels were a bulk importer and bottler of Ports during the time British Rail was in existence, so 1948-1970 for Vintage Port (I'm not sure if they imported and bottled non VP after 1970). From my experience, they made a pretty decent fist of the bottling. They may have - but I have no evidence either way - outsourced the bottling to someone competent.

[rich_n]

After the 1977 tasting I spotted 3 cases of Graham 1977 in an auction and managed to acquire one of them, which is now in storage with a friend in Cambridge until I get over that side of the country. I maybe paid a little over the odds but happy to do so for a port that was my 2nd favourite on the night.

[Alex Bridgeman]

On a recent trip to Portugal I seem to have acquired bottles of:

• Kopke 10YO White
• Kopke 2003 White Colheita
• Kopke 50YO White (half bottle)
• Kopke 1965 Colheita
• Kopke 1963 Colheita

[MigSU]

Ooh, that 50yo white is such a treat.

[Glenn E.]

On a recent trip to Portugal I seem to have acquired bottles of:

• Kopke 10YO White
• Kopke 2003 White Colheita
• Kopke 50YO White (half bottle)
• Kopke 1965 Colheita
• Kopke 1963 Colheita

As one does. And indeed, that 50YO White is wonderful.

I'm almost out of the 2003 White Colheita, but picked up some of the 2008 to bolster stocks on my trip.

[Andy Velebil]

On a recent trip to Portugal I seem to have acquired bottles of:

• Kopke 10YO White
• Kopke 2003 White Colheita
• Kopke 50YO White (half bottle)
• Kopke 1965 Colheita
• Kopke 1963 Colheita

I seemed to have miraculously acquired
1937, 1974 Kopke and 2003 Kopke Branco. It’s a miracle!

[jdaw1]

On a recent trip to Portugal I seem to have acquired bottles of:

• Kopke 10YO White
• Kopke 2003 White Colheita
• Kopke 50YO White (half bottle)
• Kopke 1965 Colheita
• Kopke 1963 Colheita

But you aren’t buying Port anymore. So this is impossible. Somebody must have hacked into your account to make this manifestly false claim.

[PhilW]

On a recent trip to Portugal I seem to have acquired bottles of:

• Kopke 10YO White
• Kopke 2003 White Colheita
• Kopke 50YO White (half bottle)
• Kopke 1965 Colheita
• Kopke 1963 Colheita

But you aren’t buying Port anymore. So this is impossible. Somebody must have hacked into your account to make this manifestly false claim.

Except he didn't say that he bought them, only that he and Andy both "acquired" bottles.
Perhaps they raided a cellar, or the Kopke fairy visited them while they slept, and they shared the spoils?

[rich_n]

Thanks to some wiser heads than mine providing some useful insight on the 1991 vintage I acquired 12 bottles of the Dow from auction as a "drink now" port. Can't complain at a smidge under £36 a bottle all in. OWC and bottles all look in good nick.

[MigSU]

That's a great price.

[Alex Bridgeman]

That really is a good price for a rather tasty Port that’s drinking very nicely at the moment.

[rich_n]

That really is a good price for a rather tasty Port that’s drinking very nicely at the moment.

Thanks for your confirmation that it was worth a look!

[mcoulson]

I've just bought some S20 year tawny mostly for the bottles so I'm a bit more organised for the next double blind sillyness .... However it has the advantage (??) that Mandy has decided she quite likes it and I'm watching the first bottle rapidly empty .....

[rich_n]

I've just bought some S20 year tawny mostly for the bottles so I'm a bit more organised for the next double blind sillyness .... However it has the advantage (??) that Mandy has decided she quite likes it and I'm watching the first bottle rapidly empty .....

That's a fantastic excuse to buy a very tasty port!

[Andy Velebil]

I've just bought some S20 year tawny mostly for the bottles so I'm a bit more organised for the next double blind sillyness .... However it has the advantage (??) that Mandy has decided she quite likes it and I'm watching the first bottle rapidly empty .....

A good tawny. And the bottles with the glass top are perfect for reusing. And no worries about TCA from glass stopper too!

[Mike J. W.]

12 x 1977 Dolamore Crusted Port won at auction for $12.75 per bottle.

[winesecretary]

@ Mike J.W. - that’s a fabulous bargain. How on earth did it happen?

[Mike J. W.]

@ Mike J.W. - that’s a fabulous bargain. How on earth did it happen?

It's only a fabulous bargain if they turn out to be drinkable, lol. But yes, the price was crazy.

Acker Auctions in NY had them up for auction last week. They usually show all of their Port in their "Fortified" section of their auction, but this one happened to be listed under "Portugal" along with a few other listings. I don't think anyone bothered to check out that section, so I won it at the opening bid price. I pick it up next week, so I should know soon whether it was worth it or not.

[slateshalehead]

My purchases from ten days in the Douro and Porto:

Gueda Wines White Port (75 cl)
Kopke 20 Year Old Tawny (75 cl)
Ramos Pinto Lagrima Das Damas (75 cl)
Niepoort Colheita 2003 (75 cl)
Niepoort Late Bottled Vintage 2019 (37.5 cl)
Aneto Late Harvest 2019 (37.5 cl)
Quinta da Pacheca Tawny (20 cl)
Quinta Seara d'Ordens 10 Year Old Tawny (50 cl)
Quinta Seara d'Ordens Late Bottled Vintage 2019 (75 cl)
Quinta do Noval Nacional 2000 Vintage (75 cl)

Plus some 5 cl miniatures from Quinta do Noval and Quinta das Carvalhas (and a sole miniature Porto Cruz ruby port that got thrown in with a souvenir purchase that probably is turned to vinegar after sitting in the sun for weeks/months on end)

[Alex Bridgeman]

Any chance of pictures of the Ports I’ve not heard of before, especially of any tiny print on front or back labels saying “bottled by…”?

They would be Gueda Wines and the Ramos Pinto Lagrima

[Justin K]

Martinez ‘27 £60 plus commission.

[Glenn E.]

Martinez ‘27 £60 plus commission.

Wow!

[Andy Velebil]

Martinez ‘27 £60 plus commission.

That’s a good deal.

[slateshalehead]

Any chance of pictures of the Ports I’ve not heard of before, especially of any tiny print on front or back labels saying “bottled by…”?

They would be Gueda Wines and the Ramos Pinto Lagrima

RP Lagrima Das Damas: https://imgur.com/a/rSKc2vz

Gueda White: https://imgur.com/a/MkB9omX

[Mike J. W.]

Martinez ‘27 £60 plus commission.

That could be the deal of the year. Congratulations! How did you pull that off?

[Alex Bridgeman]

Any chance of pictures of the Ports I’ve not heard of before, especially of any tiny print on front or back labels saying “bottled by…”?

They would be Gueda Wines and the Ramos Pinto Lagrima

RP Lagrima Das Damas: https://imgur.com/a/rSKc2vz

Gueda White: https://imgur.com/a/MkB9omX

Thank you. I need to do some research now into the producer and website on the Gueda White.

[slateshalehead]

Any chance of pictures of the Ports I’ve not heard of before, especially of any tiny print on front or back labels saying “bottled by…”?

They would be Gueda Wines and the Ramos Pinto Lagrima

RP Lagrima Das Damas: https://imgur.com/a/rSKc2vz

Gueda White: https://imgur.com/a/MkB9omX

Thank you. I need to do some research now into the producer and website on the Gueda White.

For the price it’s a very good port. My wife and I did a visit and tasting, it’s a very small producer that in previous generations was part of a co-operative

[Justin K]

Martinez ‘27 £60 plus commission.

That could be the deal of the year. Congratulations! How did you pull that off?

Wasn’t what I was looking at but when the lot came up they asked for £60 so hit the button and no one seemed to be interested. I took a chance but I have dealt with these people and they stated “believed to be”. So far have established that fill level is good (into neck) , bottle and wax look the part and found a price list for the shipper (Tyler’s of Woking) for 1954/5 and they had it on their list.

[Mike J. W.]

Martinez ‘27 £60 plus commission.

That could be the deal of the year. Congratulations! How did you pull that off?

Wasn’t what I was looking at but when the lot came up they asked for £60 so hit the button and no one seemed to be interested. I took a chance but I have dealt with these people and they stated “believed to be”. So far have established that fill level is good (into neck) , bottle and wax look the part and found a price list for the shipper (Tyler’s of Woking) for 1954/5 and they had it on their list.

The condition of the bottle sounds promising. I hope it drinks really well for you, but at that price, even if it's average, it's a steal for a 97 year-old Port.

[Justin K]

Three new Ports to me. All bought at auction.
SW77 x 6
GC 10YO x 1
Burmester (don’t know the abbreviation) 85 x3

[Alex Bridgeman]

Three new Ports to me. All bought at auction.
SW77 x 6
GC 10YO x 1
Burmester (don’t know the abbreviation) 85 x3

That should be some very nice drinking!

[Andy Velebil]

Three new Ports to me. All bought at auction.
SW77 x 6
GC 10YO x 1
Burmester (don’t know the abbreviation) 85 x3

Nice haul. Most curious about the GC 10. Assume bottled a bit ago?

[Justin K]

Three new Ports to me. All bought at auction.
SW77 x 6
GC 10YO x 1
Burmester (don’t know the abbreviation) 85 x3

Nice haul. Most curious about the GC 10. Assume bottled a bit ago?

Andy, I will post a photo when I get it in early August along with photos of the Mz 27.

[Alex M]

Not necessarily a purchase but AMEX have a Fine and Rare Wine offer on their cards - spend £400 get £50 off.

[nac]

4 x 200ml bottles of Graham's Single Harvest Tawny 1990 Lodge Edition [bottled 2024], direct from Graham's store in Porto.
These worked out cheaper than a single 750ml bottle so provide some drinking flexibility (and 50ml more wine).

[Justin K]

Burmester ‘85 x 1
D85 x 1
F85 x 2
Ch85 x2
At auction and for €50 a bottle all in.

[Rummy]

Burmester ‘85 x 1
D85 x 1
F85 x 2
Ch85 x2
At auction and for €50 a bottle all in.

Great buy! The Fonseca 85 is drinking beautifully right now. €50 a bottle is a steal.

[Mike J. W.]

@ Mike J.W. - that’s a fabulous bargain. How on earth did it happen?

I opened a bottle of the 1977 Dolamore Crusted Port the other day and I'm happy to report that it's drinking nicely. It's definitely on the downslope of it's drinking window, but it's still a pleasant sip. I'd give it a score of 89.

[winesecretary]

@Mike J W - that offers a very fine dollars per point ratio…

[Justin K]

G91 x 12

[M.Charlton]

G77 x 3. Thanks @nac.

[nac]

G77 x 3. Thanks @nac.

You're welcome.