Christmas Dilemma

[ACmole]

Hello Chaps,

Just joined, having lurked for a while!

Bit of a dilemma over what to serve after Christmas dinner this year, currently at the top of the cellar list are

1970 Croft
1985 Warre's
1985 Ramos Pinto
1987 Fonseca Guimarens
1995 Krohn

What would be best drunk, or kept?

[DRT]

Hi ACmole.

Welcome to

Do you have a real name that we can address you by?

That is a fine selection of ports and, to be honest, you cant go wrong in opening any of them to wash down you Christmas Pudding. My personal choice would be the Croft 1970 or the Warre 1985.

If you haven't noticed it yet, it might help you to browse through the Tasting Notes on this site to get an idea as to how each of these ports are performing recently.

Derek

[ACmole]

Do you have a real name that we can address you by?

Alan's the real name.

My personal choice would be the Croft 1970 or the Warre 1985.

That was pretty much what I was moving toward. I was thinking the Croft still had some life in it yet, but the Warre's had peaked. Any thoughts?

Thanks

[JacobH]

My personal choice would be the Croft 1970 or the Warre 1985.

That was pretty much what I was moving toward. I was thinking the Croft still had some life in it yet, but the Warre's had peaked. Any thoughts?

The Warre 1985 is still quite dark with a lot of primary fruit left so I don't think there is any danger of it getting worse in the next decade or so. Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if it were much better with another 10-15 years in the cellar, since I think it is almost as good as the Warre 1970 which is fabulous at the moment.

If you're going to drink your Port after dinner, on its own, you probably will not do much better than the Croft which is fully mature and excellent. However, if you're going to have it with your Christmas pudding, I think something which is a bit younger and more fruity might be in order; perhaps the Fonseca Guimarens.

[Alex Bridgeman]

Alan,

Welcome home from the world of lurking!

I like my ports soft and mature, so I would choose the Croft 1970 - that should be just lovely at the moment.

The Warre 1985 I find surprisingly forward and evolved. That's another wine I really enjoy now and find it more advanced than the 1983. I shall have to drink one of Jacob's bottles soon, just so I can compare his bottles with mine. I would certainly not describe mine the way he describes his! I do agree that there is no hurry to drink these up (nor is there with the Croft 1970).

The Ramos Pinto 1985 is an unusual wine to find in the UK. I had a bottle in summer 2009 and was really quite impressed with it. One that will become more elegant and therefore more to my taste in another 5-10 years.

The Fonseca Guimaraens 1987 is a youngster still, but I was surprised to find that I've not had this since I bought a bottle from Sainsbury in April 2007! That year it was a dark and brooding beast that was just beginning to soften up. That would be an "interesting" port to drink at Christmas, but likely one that would still be rather young.

Don't discount the 1995 Krohn (another unusual shipper in the UK), but recognise that this is about 15 years old and while it might turn out to be young and full of primary fruit, there is also a risk that it will come out of the bottle a dark and sulky monster. I would probably avoid this one on balance.

So, if it was me, I would open the Croft 1970 ... but I might also be tempted to pop into Majestic and buy a bottle of Croft 2007 to drink alongside it, just for the sheer fun of drinking a massively primary (and very drinkable) baby vintage port.

[ACmole]

I'm erring on the side of the Cockburns '70. The 2007 as a comparison may well just swing it.

The Ramos Pinto 1985, I think, must have come from the Wine Society. As I've got 4 left it must have been half a case, I don't remember what happened to the other 2! I do wish I'd started taking tasting notes earlier.

The Krohn was bought in The Netherlands, I'm opening a 1997 Krohn Colheita to tuck into this weekend.....

Many thanks for all the suggestions

Alan

[RonnieRoots]

Hi Alan, and welcome. Sound advice has been given already. I think I would personally go for the Croft 1970. It should be a lovely drink. A nice surprise to find the Krohn in your list. It makes sense that you bought it in the Netherlands, the brand is widely seen there. Don't expect it to be young and harsh. I drank it once, years ago, and found it to be very accessible, soft and enjoyable. Whatevery you choose: enjoy!

[uncle tom]

Alan,

Was that Cockburn or Croft '70?

Either way, both are excellent wines for current drinking, although I've found the Cockburn to be a little way short of full maturity still.

Enjoy!

Tom

[ACmole]

Was that Cockburn or Croft '70?

Er, yes it was Croft 1970, I knew it began with C!

Just going to check it's Krohn and not Kopke.....