Yearly fine wine tasting at my fathers

Simon Lisle · Post by **Simon Lisle** » 16:54 Tue 18 Dec 2007

Any ideas on what port to open does'nt have to be that old or fancy just drinking well.

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 17:37 Tue 18 Dec 2007

Do you want to give us some choices to select from? If you just want my recommendation for the best port that I have ever drunk then open a Nacional 1963, it's rather good port!

Alex

Simon Lisle · Post by **Simon Lisle** » 18:26 Tue 18 Dec 2007

Here's a choice then Burmester 85,Dow 66,Croft 85,Noval 85,Croft 63,Sandeman 63,Offley 63,SW 58,Croft 60,Warres 83.(I'm afraid I don't own a Nacional 63 :

.Any two of the above or a reasonable sugestion.

StevieCage · Post by **StevieCage** » 20:36 Tue 18 Dec 2007

I was pleasantly surprised by the Offley '63 last week - drinking very well. Sandeman '63 should make for a nice pairing.
Skip the 85's: Burmester suffers from VA and Noval '85 is lacklustre and boring.
I'd love to see a TN on the Dow '66!

Post by **DRT** » 00:20 Wed 19 Dec 2007

Simon,

If you own more than one bottle of Dow 66 then I agree with Stevie. However, if you only have one I would rather you kept it for the Deeper Underground Offline in January

The Croft 60 and the SW58 are probably past their best but the Warre's 83 should be drinking well right now.

Derek

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 09:20 Wed 19 Dec 2007

A great choice of bottles from which to select. Here are some thoughts from me on each one of them:

Burmester 85
I've never tried this particular vintage port, but generally find Burmester's vintage ports as adequate but not great. Not a port I would choose to open for an annual fine wine tasting with my father.

Dow 66
I've never had the Dow '66 and would love to see a tasting note on it - or, even better, try it for myself. Purely selfishly, if you only have the one bottle then like Derek I would love for you to bring it to the Deeper Underground tasting in January.

Croft 85
I've not tried this wine either, but my experience of the '85s seems to be better than the average as I have really not experienced the VA problem that others have referred to. I'm finding the '85s to be pleasant and drinking quite well at the moment. I'm also generally finding that they are further advanced in their development than the '83s. I would open this one as much out of curiosity as for any other reason.

Noval 85
I last had a Noval '85 nearly 3 years ago. It was a perfectly enjoyable bottle of port, although below average. If you're looking for something special then this would not be a bottle to open - perhaps keep it for drinking on your own one night after a hard day at work, call it "comfort port".

Croft 63
The Croft '63 is really enjoyable at the moment and if you choose to open this one I would recommend at least 6 hours in the decanter before serving as it changes so much and puts on so much weight. Probably slightly past its peak now, but in no hurry to be drunk.

Sandeman 63
I've experienced quite a lot of bottle variation in the Sandeman '63. Some have been absolutely superb (96 point wines) while others have been very enjoyable but not in the same stellar class. Lovely to drink now, but not one I would open to match with the Croft '85.

Offley 63
Annoyingly, when this came round at the TPF Christmas offline I still had my nose stuck in the previous two ports and never managed to chase the decanter back to try it. From comments that others have made, it showed well.

SW 58
I've not tried this port and would be very interested to know your thoughts. However, its not necessarily a port that I would suggest to open as a Christmas Fine Wine tasting treat.

Croft 60
Now this is a port that I absolutely adore, but then I like the old, frail, ethereal nature of an elderly port. I love the tobacco and raisins in this and found the aftertaste to be a lovely milk chocolate that just kept prompting you to take another sip. This is the other bottle that I would open to pair with the the Croft '85 to give a nice contrast in the development of a shipper's wines over a 25 year period. One should be full of mature fruit and one should be elegant and refined.

Warres 83
My reliable, banker port. This is the port that my port tastes were honed on. It is fruity, reliable and very enjoyable but is not a wine to impress.

So there you have my suggestion; a mini vertical of Croft comparing the 1985 at the age of 22 with the 1960 at the age of 47.

Have fun and let us know what you decide to open in the end.

Alex

Post by **jdaw1** » 10:46 Wed 19 Dec 2007

My one experience of Croft 1985, on which I failed to take a note, was disappointing. But Moses’ note was more favourable.

RonnieRoots · Post by **RonnieRoots** » 12:05 Wed 19 Dec 2007

I would love to see notes on the Dow '66 and also on the Sandeman '63. Given the wide range of experiences with the Sandeman, it would probably be wise to have a back-up bottle ready for that one. The Offley '63 would perfectly suit that purpose as it showed lovely at the last offline.

Better skip the Burmester 85 (VA) and Noval 85 (not bad, but a bit boring).

Simon Lisle · Post by **Simon Lisle** » 17:53 Wed 19 Dec 2007

The bottles I've listed I have multiples in.The Croft 60's I have are still showing very well the Dow 66's are all good levels but are not as good as what I've had from other sources.The sandeman 63 is from the same batch Derek tasted.The Croft 60 I had two weeks previous to Derek's visit and to be honest there was not much between them score wise but I felt the 60 would be sliding the quickest.