A year on from the original planned date for this tasting, I am proposing that we invite Oscar to join the Port Forum on Wednesday 14th December to open the first of his Closure Experiment cases of the 2014 Vintage Port from Quevedo.
I suggest as well as the four bottles of Quevedo 2014, we also have a theme of "Bring an interesting bottle to share with Oscar and Nadia". It doesn't have to be Port - it doesn't even have to be fortified - but it should be something which Oscar will hopefully find interesting. (I suggest not bringing a Quevedo product since Oscar gets lots of opportunities to taste these.)
Where: The Lutyens Room, 67 Pall Mall When: 18.00 for 18.30 on Wednesday 14th December 2022 Theme: The Quevedo 2014 Closure Experiment and a few interesting bottles Who:
Oscar Quevedo
Michael Mee
Tony Carter
Julian Wiseman
Ben Petrie
Mike Meehan
Neil Colman
Christopher
NOT ATTENDING DUE TO THE STRIKE
Simon Doggett
Ian Johns
Charles Redshaw
Ben Read
Wolfgang Starz
Reserves:
-
Please don't everyone bring an "interesting" bottle. Doing so would mean (a) too many bottles and (b) a large bill @ £30 per bottle corkage. Please would each odd-even pair (eg. Tony and Charles, Ben and Wolfgang) agree between them who will bring a single bottle and an appropriate way to share the cost of the bottle brought.
Top Ports in 2022: Quinta do Noval Nacional 1931. I have never drunk such a wonderful bottle of Port. I cried with joy.
2023: Fonseca 1966. There are not many better Ports, except a good bottle of Fonseca 1927. Wow!
I purchased 4 of those closure experiment packs, retained 2 for myself which are stored differently, and distributed 2 others to Port friends who have storage capabilities different than mine. So my 4 packs are being stored in:
1. my wine refrigerators
2. my study at room temperature, which in the study is a pretty constant 68 F
3. a friend's wine cellar
4. another friend's wine storage room, which is not "room temperature" but is also not cellar/refrigerator temperature
1 and 3 are likely to have similar results because they're kept at similar temperatures. 4's temperature is likely normally in the mid 60s F and fairly constant, whereas 2's temperature is normally around 68F but likely ranges between as high as 70F to as low as 62F seasonally.
I am very interested to hear the results of this opening and tasting!
Time to start thinking about what to eat on Wednesday 15th. We have the Christmas menu to choose from so please let me know your choice of the following (NB: price will be £55-60 per person, including service, corkage etc.)
STARTERS
- Wild Mushroom soup, chive cream (v)
- Chapel & Swan oak smoked salmon, roasted beetroot and orange
- Duck liver pate, toasted sourdough bread, house pickles
- Roasted pumpkin and candied beetroot, quinoa salad (v)
MAINS
- Cod loin, lemon and caper herb crust, mash, red wine jus
- British roast turkey with sage and apricot stuffing, pig in blanket
- Salt baked celeriac, roasted leek and sweet potato Wellington, tomato and tamarind sauce (vg)
- Slow braised beef bourguignon, mash, orange gremolata
- Chargrilled Surrey Hills sirloin steak 240g and Bordelaise sauce (£5 supplement)
All mains are served with roast carrots, brussels sprouts, and roast potatoes
DESSERTS
- Christmas Pudding with clotted cream or Bailey’s ice cream (v)
- Chocolate brownie, hot chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream (v)
- Chocolate and cherry trifle
- British cheese plate: Tuxford & Tebbutt Stilton (v), Cotswold Brie (v), Westcombe Cheddar, grapes, ale chutney, biscuits
Please let me know your choice by posting below. Your deadline for doing so is close of business on Tuesday 7th December so I can get our order in to Plantation Place a week ahead of our dinner.
Top Ports in 2022: Quinta do Noval Nacional 1931. I have never drunk such a wonderful bottle of Port. I cried with joy.
2023: Fonseca 1966. There are not many better Ports, except a good bottle of Fonseca 1927. Wow!
Julian - the table is looking as though we might be very tight for space and we may need to re-use glasses. Are you able to draft glass stickers plus tasting note sheets and voting sheets for the tasting?
Top Ports in 2022: Quinta do Noval Nacional 1931. I have never drunk such a wonderful bottle of Port. I cried with joy.
2023: Fonseca 1966. There are not many better Ports, except a good bottle of Fonseca 1927. Wow!
- Chapel & Swan oak smoked salmon, roasted beetroot and orange
- British roast turkey with sage and apricot stuffing, pig in blanket
- Christmas Pudding with clotted cream
