My Annual College Buddy Weekend at the Beach - 2025

[Mike J. W.]

My annual get together down at the beach with my college buddies was this past weekend. As usual, I brought the Port and we had tastings on Friday and Saturday night. The first night were all white Ports and they went over better than I expected. The only time most of them have Port is when we get together every year for the weekend, so they're not overly experienced with Ports at all. Nonetheless, they really loved the White Ports I served. That lineup was as follows (served in the order shown):

Night 1
1. 2003 Kopke White Colheita
2. 20 year old S. Leonardo White
3. 30 year old DR White
4. 30 year old S. Leonardo White
5. Casa de Sta. Eufemia Porto Special Reserve White
6. 40 year old Vista Alegre White
7. 50 year old DR White

The WOTN for Night 1 was the 50 year old DR White (no surprise there), but the 2003 Kopke White Colheita was a real crowd pleaser and started the night off with a bang. All of the Whites were served chilled. They all tasted great but if I had to pick which was the least favorite of the group, I would say it was the Eufemia. It was good, but not up to the high standards of all of the other White Ports that night.

Saturday night's tasting was themed "A Port that began or ended with a '5' ". This was also very well received and the lineup was as follows (served in the order shown):

Night 2
1. 1955 Cockburn VP
2. 1985 Graham's VP
3. 1985 Fonseca VP
4. 1975 Kopke Colheita
5. 1975 Andresen Colheita
6. 1965 Kopke Colheita
7. 50 year old Pocas Tawny

The WOTN for Night 2 was the 1975 Kopke Colheita followed VERY closely by the 1975 Andresen Colheita and the 50 year old Pocas Tawny. There wasn't a bad Port either night. Great food, great friends and excellent Port made for a special weekend that will be hard to top next year.

[hadge]

sound like a fun couple of evenings.

out of interest, how long did you decant these for?

1. 1955 Cockburn VP
2. 1985 Graham's VP
3. 1985 Fonseca VP

[Mike J. W.]

It was a great time, Harry. As far as decanting, I double decanted the two 1985's at 10:00 AM and kept the cork out so they could slow ox the rest of the day until we started drinking them around 8:30 PM. The 1955 Cockburn was decanted into a decanter I brought along 2 1/2 hours before we had it. The decant times worked out well for all three bottles.

[mosesbotbol]

Serious line up. They're all into port?

[Mike J. W.]

Serious line up. They're all into port?

Moses, none of them are serious Port drinkers or collectors; however they really enjoy what I bring every year. They're also getting very good Ports, so that probably augments their enjoyment. I may have to slip an LBV tasting in one night to see what they think. Next year of course is 2026, so at least one night will be a tasting of 1966 VP's.

[Glenn E.]

Next year of course is 2026, so at least one night will be a tasting of 1966 VP's.

[checks calendar]

I'm available that weekend!

[Mike J. W.]

Next year of course is 2026, so at least one night will be a tasting of 1966 VP's.

[checks calendar]

I'm available that weekend!

Lol. I'll let you know when it is.

[rich_n]

You have some very lucky friends! I hope one day to be able to do similar tastings for some of my closest amigos.

[mosesbotbol]

Serious line up. They're all into port?

Moses, none of them are serious Port drinkers or collectors; however they really enjoy what I bring every year. They're also getting very good Ports, so that probably augments their enjoyment. I may have to slip an LBV tasting in one night to see what they think. Next year of course is 2026, so at least one night will be a tasting of 1966 VP's.

You're quite the sport to supply so many port bottles for them to consume!

[Mike J. W.]

Serious line up. They're all into port?

Moses, none of them are serious Port drinkers or collectors; however they really enjoy what I bring every year. They're also getting very good Ports, so that probably augments their enjoyment. I may have to slip an LBV tasting in one night to see what they think. Next year of course is 2026, so at least one night will be a tasting of 1966 VP's.

You're quite the sport to supply so many port bottles for them to consume!

It's fun sharing Port and they definitely appreciate the tastings even if they're not aficionados like those on here.