Of what should I buy more?

[winesecretary]

I rearranged my held-at-home older (pre 2000) port stocks over the last week. Coverage from 1977 onwards is pretty comprehensive, especially given the range of stuff from 1980 onwards that is stored at Lay and Wheeler, but I now have vanishingly small amounts of 1970, 1966, 1963 and 1960. I don’t open a bottle from those vintages every week or even every month, but (as the fact I have only a few bottles left attests) I do get through a certain amount.

I can (and have) looked at recent tasting notes, but what, if other members of TPF were buying for themselves, would they buy in these circumstances? I have limited recent experience of 63s and 60s in particular.

Warre 70
Taylor 70
Fonseca 70
Graham 70

Warre 66

?

[jdaw1]

Yes.

Really, you are discussing buying grapes picked more than half a century ago. We can give specific advice — Dow 1878 — but broadly, buy some of what’s good, what you’ll like, and what is available.

[mcoulson]

I had a bottle of W63 last night and it was fab ....

[winesecretary]

Warre 63, pace M.Coulson
Constantino 63, given superb bottle with Alex B. a couple of years back

[Mike J. W.]

You can never have too much of the Fonseca '66. The '63 is nice as well, but the '66 is much better in my opinion. I would choose the Graham's '66 over the '70, but both years are nice. Definitely the Taylor '70 as you have listed (lots of it, but not more than the Fonseca '66). The Dow '70 is very good as well.

Edit: I just remembered we tried the Warre '66 and '70 at a tasting at Quinta do Bomfim last year. The '70 was better than the '66 IIRC, but both were good.

[Alex Bridgeman]

I seem to be drinking my 1970 Ports rather quickly at the moment, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the well known names.

1966 is also remarkably good. I thoroughly enjoy Fonseca but have also had great happiness delivered by Gould Campbell, Graham, Warre, Taylor and several others. I also like 1967, (Cockburn, Martinez, Roêda), which is softer, more rounded and more mature than 1966 - and usually a lot cheaper.

1963 is coming out of a bit of a funk and drinking better now than it was 2-3 years ago, but is pricier than other vintages from the 1960s. I drink a lot of this vintage, for the same reason as Martin does, and while I thoroughly enjoy all the wines they are often a little pricey. There are some bargains to be found though, wines like Delaforce 1963 are delicious and not widely sought after.

1960 is also drinking really well at the moment. Cockburn is a beauty, Taylor glorious, Warre incredibly elegant. Again, if you stay with the big names you won’t go wrong.

[Alex Bridgeman]

And one other thing. If you’re considering buying retail, you might want to consider subscribing to the Pro version of Wine Searcher for a month or two while you’re actively acquiring bottles.

[winesecretary]

Warre, Taylor, Fonseca, Cockburn 1970

Warre, Fonseca, Graham, Taylor 1966

Warre, Constantino 1963

Taylor, Warre, Cockburn 1960

Thanks all, I have my shopping list!

[mosesbotbol]

Just about anything from '63, '66, or '70.

'80 is a great sleeper vintage. '83 and '85 are great values.

[Glenn E.]

The only recommendation that I have for 1960 is Ferreira. It is light and elegant, but really a special Port that you don't often see. Their 1980 is also pretty special.

I have been told that 1963 is returning to form, but I have had enough non-outstanding performances from that vintage that, combined with its rather high price, I would skip it. To me, it just isn't worth it to pay outstanding prices for "merely" excellent Port.

From 1966 I would stock up on Graham, Gould Campbell, and Fonseca. I have no doubt that there are others that are equally as impressive, but those 3 suit my palate the best. I often hear that Dow is also amazing, but it's Dow so it's a no for me.

From 1970... you can't really go wrong. Top picks for me would be Graham, Fonseca, Niepoort, Taylor. I don't recall it off the top of my head, but I suspect that Gould Campbell should also be on my list. There's also an excellent chance that Ramos Pinto should be on my list.