ThePortForum.com

I did a corprorate Introduction to Port tasting for a group of lawyers and some of their clients last week and I'm sitting here trying to type up my tasting notes and finishing off the bottle of Sandeman 2011 LBV which was left unconsumed.

I just wondered what others had open at the moment - apart from Tom who is in a port desert for a few more days.

A Sandeman 20YO Tawny. A classic that I am trying to employ some restraint with, even though it is so moreish.

Offley 77, not the best but enjoyable

Doggett wrote: ↑23:31 Sat 04 Mar 2017 A Sandeman 20YO Tawny. A classic that I am trying to employ some restraint with, even though it is so moreish.

My goto cellar defender, very good value.

Unknown, believed Fonseca 1966. Not too shabby

Taylor's Late Bottled Vintage 2011. Very pleasant. Try substituting Stilton with Cashel Blue, a fabulous cheese!

Opened a San Leonardo (Mourao) 10yr last night. Very, very impressive for a 10yr, and definitely my taste in Tawny style.

AHB wrote:I did a corprorate Introduction to Port tasting for a group of lawyers and some of their clients last week

I've done a couple of these, and generally found that for people who don't know port, around 75% seem to prefer tawny over ruby (assuming mid-tier quality for both). Depending what you offered, did you get an impression of general preferences?

PhilW wrote: ↑12:41 Sun 05 Mar 2017Depending what you offered

Placemats.

Tawny seemed to be the preference, the Graham 20YO over the Noval 10YO or the Waitrose Tawny Reserve. A substantial minority loved the Sandeman 2011 LBV.

But despite not being the most popular port on show, the Vargellas 1967 was the first to be finished.

And tonight I am finishing the Warre 1994 LBV that was opened for the tasting. Just the 20YO, 10YO and tawny left to go.

AHB wrote: ↑19:46 Sun 05 Mar 2017Tawny seemed to be the preference, the Graham 20YO over the Noval 10YO or the Waitrose Tawny Reserve. A substantial minority loved the Sandeman 2011 LBV. But despite not being the most popular port on show, the Vargellas 1967 was the first to be finished.

Seems to be a common theme. I've used an '85/'83 in place of your '67 but otherwise similar; and similarly, the VP is drunk the quickest by the minority who prefer it, usually followed by the 20yo I found.

I'm being cheap on the Port this weekend with a Penfold's Club Tawny, because the other bottle of sweet wine open is a Sauternes: 2001 Chateau Suduiraut.

Hardly the weekend anymore I realise, but I have a bottle of Ramos Pinto 20yo open. I'm skiing in Val d'Isere and it's the only choice from the local supermarket. Quite nice actually.

I've just opened an unknown to be very pleasantly surprised to find the cork branded "Offley Boa Vista Vintage 1962" - a port I've never tried before. Happy days.

AHB wrote: ↑20:49 Sat 11 Mar 2017 I've just opened an unknown to be very pleasantly surprised to find the cork branded "Offley Boa Vista Vintage 1962" - a port I've never tried before. Happy days.

Splendid. One day I hope to have the same experience with a Taylor 1977

DRT wrote: ↑21:41 Sat 11 Mar 2017

AHB wrote: ↑20:49 Sat 11 Mar 2017 I've just opened an unknown to be very pleasantly surprised to find the cork branded "Offley Boa Vista Vintage 1962" - a port I've never tried before. Happy days.

Splendid. One day I hope to have the same experience with a Taylor 1977

Such a shame you've never been able to try Taylor 1977.

(An in joke everyone. Derek once commented at a tasting that he had never had Taylor 1977 before that evening. Julian, Andy and I then proceeded to list eight previous occasions when Derek had drunk that port with us over the previous two years.)

Tesco 94. I seem to have a mountain of it.

LGTrotter wrote: ↑22:36 Sun 12 Mar 2017 Tesco 94. I seem to have a mountain of it.

And a decent glass of port it is too.

AHB wrote: ↑22:45 Mon 13 Mar 2017

LGTrotter wrote: ↑22:36 Sun 12 Mar 2017 Tesco 94. I seem to have a mountain of it.

And a decent glass of port it is too.

Still probably the best port in terms of QPR I have ever owned, whatever others may say. And I am going to perform the same trick next time they have a 25% off deal on the 97 too.

1997 Souza VP. Not a bad $20 VP

Andy Velebil wrote: ↑14:37 Tue 14 Mar 2017 1997 Souza VP. Not a bad $20 VP

Yeah, that's good stuff. I think I liked mine a little more than you liked yours... probably just our usual scoring difference. As I recall I'm usually 2-3-4 points higher than you across the board.

I also still have some S. Leonardo 40-yr old leftover from a week ago. Like 1 glass left.

Glenn E. wrote: ↑21:48 Tue 14 Mar 2017I also still have some S. Leonardo 40-yr old leftover from a week ago. Like 1 glass left.

So what have you been drinking all week which has kept you away from the S. Leonardo? (I can't imagine the whole bottle lasting a week otherwise, never mind one remaining glass!)

PhilW wrote: ↑12:03 Wed 15 Mar 2017

Glenn E. wrote: ↑21:48 Tue 14 Mar 2017I also still have some S. Leonardo 40-yr old leftover from a week ago. Like 1 glass left.

So what have you been drinking all week which has kept you away from the S. Leonardo? (I can't imagine the whole bottle lasting a week otherwise, never mind one remaining glass!)

Glenn is doing well, he has kept his FTLOP new years resolution to drink 2 bottles a month. Mind you if I had one glass left of a bottle it wouldn't see out the night.

And I have a bottle of recently acquired 1983 Fonseca open, and it seems in very good nick.

I have opened a Quevedo 40yr this evening. It is both good and bad in that it seems to be emptying itself rather quickly

PhilW wrote: ↑12:03 Wed 15 Mar 2017

Glenn E. wrote: ↑21:48 Tue 14 Mar 2017I also still have some S. Leonardo 40-yr old leftover from a week ago. Like 1 glass left.

So what have you been drinking all week which has kept you away from the S. Leonardo? (I can't imagine the whole bottle lasting a week otherwise, never mind one remaining glass!)

Well it wasn't 1 glass for the whole week!

The BBQ people at last week's class were more interested in drinking beer while talking about Port, so most of the bottle remained after the class. I drank it down to about 1 glass left over the week. (I rarely have more than a single glass of Port on any given night.) I was also still working on the remainder of a 1995 Porto Souza that I'd opened the week before that.

My New Year's Port Resolution is proving challenging... but that's the point isn't it? I realize it's a trivial challenge for most of you, but it seems that I buy far (far) more often than I drink. So I resolved to open at least 2 bottles of Port from my cellar every month. So far, so good! (I drink more than 2 bottles on month on average, but often buy an LBV or 20-yr old rather than opening something from my cellar.)

Since it was my wife's birthday last week (turning 40) I opened the following bottles as a small port tasting for our wine- and portliking friends & family:

- Quevedo 40 yo Tawny (2012 bottling);
- Dalva 1977 Colheita (bottled 2014);
- Warre 1977 Vintage Port;

All showed very well, and it was an excellent experience to taste these all in one tasting.

gerwin.degraaf wrote: ↑20:13 Thu 16 Mar 2017 Since it was my wife's birthday last week (turning 40) I opened the following bottles as a small port tasting for our wine- and portliking friends & family:

- Quevedo 40 yo Tawny (2012 bottling);
- Dalva 1977 Colheita (bottled 2014);
- Warre 1977 Vintage Port;

All showed very well, and it was an excellent experience to taste these all in one tasting.

Lovely line up and a good year to be born!

Does anyone know if there is an importer for Quevedo wines in the UK? There doesn't seem to be a retailer for the 40yo listed on wine searcher in the UK.

LGTrotter wrote: ↑20:20 Thu 16 Mar 2017Does anyone know if there is an importer for Quevedo wines in the UK? There doesn't seem to be a retailer for the 40yo listed on wine searcher in the UK.

I don't think they have an importer, though they do sell into the UK to at least a small number of specialists; perhaps directly. The 40yr (bottled 2012) however is unlikely to be available, as there was only limited quantity and I believe is now only sold at the Quevedo lodge (at least by the glass; it used to be available by the bottle there, but depending on the level of stock remaining that may/not be the case still). The back label of the Q40yr even says:

This is the legacy we received from our grandparents, which we finally decided to share with our friends. Enjoy it in moderation as there is very little remaining.

Kudos for the appreciative nod to the prior generation and history of the wine, which I very much enjoy (though only rarely as I have so little and can't find more to buy).

If you join Naked Wines (now owned by Majestic), you can get quevedo's LBV and a 10yo Tawny. There is also some of his table wine normally available and occasionally a 20yo Tawny. I don't believe they have sold VP though.

This weekend - 1974 Barros Colheita and a 1967 Taylors Single Harvest. The latter was rather kindly given to me as an early birthday gift by the importer.

Cálem Vintage Port 1985.
Decanted 13 hours, beautiful port. 90+

I fell off the wagon this weekend and opened a bottle of non-Port - a beautiful bottle of Hermitage La Chapelle from Jaboulet Ainé which I found as a bin end when rummaging around at the Wine Society warehouse. Tasting note has been posted and the last sip from the glass has been sipped. **sniff**

Normal service will be resumed tomorrow when I'll open a bottle of port.

1991 Vargellas. It's lovely.

AHB wrote: ↑22:14 Sat 01 Apr 2017 I fell off the wagon this weekend and opened a bottle of non-Port

A very convincing April Fool Mr Bridgeman

Doggett wrote: ↑09:33 Sun 02 Apr 2017

AHB wrote: ↑22:14 Sat 01 Apr 2017 I fell off the wagon this weekend and opened a bottle of non-Port

A very convincing April Fool Mr Bridgeman

I thought April Fool moves had to be made before midday??

Maynards 20 year old tawny (Aldi) drinking nicely but no fear of me crossing over to the brown side!

Justin K wrote: ↑19:25 Sun 02 Apr 2017 Maynards 20 year old tawny (Aldi)

Sounds awful. I'm stuck here with this Irish bottled Cockburn 55 with fancy writing on the bottle wondering where it came from - but it's lovely, and I'm glad Julian brought it along

Doggett wrote: ↑09:33 Sun 02 Apr 2017

AHB wrote: ↑22:14 Sat 01 Apr 2017 I fell off the wagon this weekend and opened a bottle of non-Port

A very convincing April Fool Mr Bridgeman

What a good idea. I must do that next year.
But true to my statement, I was back on Port on Sunday and opened a bottle of Quarles Harris 2008 LBV. Very young and punchy.

Justin K wrote: ↑Maynards 20 year old tawny (Aldi)
Sounds awful. I'm stuck here with this Irish bottled Cockburn 55 with fancy writing on the bottle wondering where it came from - but it's lovely, and I'm glad Julian brought it along

Derek,

Still haven't worked out how to refer to other comments!

Glad you both enjoyed it, Jonny Mitchell told me that they always worried about that bottling seeing as it coincided with that awful hepatitis a outbreak the company experienced in '57

Justin K wrote: ↑14:49 Mon 03 Apr 2017 Justin K wrote: ↑Maynards 20 year old tawny (Aldi)
Sounds awful. I'm stuck here with this Irish bottled Cockburn 55 with fancy writing on the bottle wondering where it came from - but it's lovely, and I'm glad Julian brought it along

Derek,

Still haven't worked out how to refer to other comments!

Glad you both enjoyed it, Jonny Mitchell told me that they always worried about that bottling seeing as it coincided with that awful hepatitis a outbreak the company experienced in '57

Finishing up a bottle of 2003 Warre's LBV Port that's been opened for a few days. Damn good stuff, and easily as good as a few of the vintage Ports I've had before.

I'm also in "finishing off" mode now I'm back home. I have a Tesco Tawny, Cockburn Special Reserve, Tesco 2011 LBV and a Sandeman 20yo tawny. All are leftovers from an introductory port seminar I presented on Wednesday. The Dow 1977 I opened was unaffected by TCA and was the overall winner of WotN, but not by all!

Last couple of weeks have seen me drinking a couple of light-coloured bottles from previous auction houses; the first was (a) a Ferreira '60; too light (and much lighter than other bottles bought in the same batch); still drinkable, but nothing special, and not what it should have been; and (b) a Warre '60 which was also light, and not worth drinking. So tonight I opened a nice looking Warre '77, which is lovely, and as a consequence is mostly gone

A '76 Krohn's Colheita has been opened for a few days, and now an '86 Graham's Malvedos joined it in the fridge.

Suffice it to say it doesn't suck to be drinking Port at my house this week.

Malvedos 99

A GC83 and a T70 which has sprung a leak.

I opened a bottle of Vargellas 1986 yesterday, having been inspired by a splendid bottle of Malvedos 1986 that Ben opened earlier in the week. The Vargellas had what I thought was a spauled cork but turns out it was probably heat damaged. However, the good news is that despite the port being a lovely shade of orange and heavily oxidised, it is rather tasty and comes across just like a 30 year old tawny.

And to think I nearly threw it away!

Now I've got an '88 Graham's Malvedos open. Doesn't play in the same league as the '86, but still enjoyable.