Monday 13th October 2025 - Taylor Vertical

[Alex Bridgeman]

Going to be in London in advance of 1800 kick-off.
Anyone fancy meeting at 67 beforehand?

Definitely!

I’m leaving Wokingham 2 hours later than originally planned and have some errands to run when I’ve dropped my bottles off. But will see you there later.

[Christopher]

That might be an understatement. The book has mention of many tastings. I do not recall any with ten Vintages more than a century old. Just none. Even Taylor’s great bicentennial tasting discussed in A Celebration of Taylor’s Port (1992), p53 onwards, had none older than a century. And the Cockburn bicentennial in 2015 had only three older (’63, ’68, ’08). So this tasting is at least a candidate for Swankiest Port Tasting Ever.

I can't recall ever even hearing of a tasting with this many old Vintage Ports in it. This is truly spectacular.

The Decades tasting that I attended in Los Angeles in 2020 was, alas, only 9 Vintage Ports over 100 years of age, because the 1927 Niepoort and 1931 Noval were merely 93 and 89 years old, and so too young to qualify.

I have been lucky enough to attend a few tastings with 6-8 Ports that were 100+ years old, but those were all ancient tawnies.

I've been to 1 tasting that had 14 bottles that were all over 100 years old, but those were all Madeira.

Glenn
I feel this is a challenge set! Can this tasting ever be beaten. Suspect with Ferriera but not any other Port house

[flash_uk]

That might be an understatement. The book has mention of many tastings. I do not recall any with ten Vintages more than a century old. Just none. Even Taylor’s great bicentennial tasting discussed in A Celebration of Taylor’s Port (1992), p53 onwards, had none older than a century. And the Cockburn bicentennial in 2015 had only three older (’63, ’68, ’08). So this tasting is at least a candidate for Swankiest Port Tasting Ever.

I can't recall ever even hearing of a tasting with this many old Vintage Ports in it. This is truly spectacular.

The Decades tasting that I attended in Los Angeles in 2020 was, alas, only 9 Vintage Ports over 100 years of age, because the 1927 Niepoort and 1931 Noval were merely 93 and 89 years old, and so too young to qualify.

I have been lucky enough to attend a few tastings with 6-8 Ports that were 100+ years old, but those were all ancient tawnies.

I've been to 1 tasting that had 14 bottles that were all over 100 years old, but those were all Madeira.

Glenn
I feel this is a challenge set! Can this tasting ever be beaten. Suspect with Ferriera but not any other Port house

The requisite bottles of Ferreira certainly exist...

And the likes of Dow and Cockburn produced ports in the 19th century so in theory could be candidates, but I don't recall seeing very many of these now. Mind you, I could say that about Taylor too!

[forest26]

Just got into London - checking in - I will be there at 6
Had to come straight from work without decanting tools - anticipating that one of you will be more prepared than I

[Alex Bridgeman]

Just got into London - checking in - I will be there at 6
Had to come straight from work without decanting tools - anticipating that one of you will be more prepared than I

I’m sure we will be able to cope.

[Glenn E.]

I feel this is a challenge set! Can this tasting ever be beaten. Suspect with Ferriera but not any other Port house

Definitely. I should note that the Decades tasting in Los Angeles was not a single producer. There were many producers represented in order to get to a mere 9 centenarians, and a couple of those were even Unknown Producer bottles.

10 x 100-year old Ports, all from the same producer, is an incredible feat!

[jdaw1]

I've been to 1 tasting that had 14 bottles that were all over 100 years old, but those were all Madeira.

Was that Saturday 18^th October 2008 at Triomphe, 49 West 44^th Street, New York (TNs, placemats)?

[jdaw1]

Somebody must post the first TN of this fabulous evening in London, so it might as well be me. Proper Job IPA, from the St Austell Brewery, decanted clean — no filter, no sediment — at 19:55. So after only a couple of minutes air, the colour is pale yellow-orange, about 7% opaque. The palate has slight pétillant, and starts very dry, giving it a great cripsness. There is a slight hint, but only slight, of a lemon-lime citrus, which has been seen in previous tastings of this so is not caused by bottle variation. That citrus fades, but the dryness persists into a long finish. I will have this again, but I suspect that others will not vote it as ’OTN.


(Other TNs: 1878, ’84, ’90, ’96, 1900, ’08, ’12, ’17, ’20, ’24, ’27, ’35, ’42, ’45, ’48.)

[Glenn E.]

I've been to 1 tasting that had 14 bottles that were all over 100 years old, but those were all Madeira.

Was that Saturday 18^th October 2008 at Triomphe, 49 West 44^th Street, New York (TNs, placemats)?

No, it was the Madeirathon in Seattle in 2016. But the one you have linked appears to be similar.

Roy held 5 other amazing Madeira tastings - one for each of the noble grapes - but I was not at any of those. They were all for hard-core Madeira enthusiasts.

[Christopher]

Good skills Julian