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Ok, it might just be a bit early for this, but I want to see if we can drum some interest together for a summer offline in the Netherlands, much as we did two years ago. LadyR and I will certainly be in the area for some time to visit family and friends, and of course to show off the soon to be born MiniR.

It would be great to see old friends again, and perhaps meet a few new. For you Brits, it would be very good to get on a cheap flight and drink in Holland instead of the Crusted Pipe for a change. Perhaps this time we can also persuade our German friends to join?

Somewhere beginning or half July is probably most realistic for us.

What do you think?

It’s only a train from Paris. Please include me as a likely attendee.

Great initiative, I'm in!
And of course I can host the tasting...

Santé,
Joost

jdaw and Joost, that's great!

The train from Paris is very comfortable, pretty fast and not expensive. No reason why your likely attendance shouldn't be definite.

If it is not within the school holidays I would be in too. Any idea about the subject? 75 Horizontal to please JDAW?

Axel

I’d love an 1875 horizontal. Alas I’d have nothing to contribute.

RonnieRoots wrote:No reason why your likely attendance shouldn't be definite.

Axel P wrote:75 Horizontal to please JDAW?

Axel P wrote:75 Horizontal to please JDAW?

Actually, a 75 horizontal is not such a bad idea given that the invitation has come from a 75 baby

The second two weeks of July will not work for me but either side of that will make me a definite possible

I'm sure LadyR would veto a 75 tasting, so jdaw is not alone in that.

Definite attendees:
- LadyR
- RonnieRoots
- Joost

Likely / possible / definite possible:
- jdaw1
- DRT
- Axel P

When? TBC, but somewhere beginning of July 2010

Where? Joost's place in Utrecht

What? TBC, but definitely no 75 horizontal

I think Sandra will try some of the Ports as well, after not really drinking for 2,5 years. So she would like to attend as well...

In my opinion the theme doesn't have to be a single year! Maybe we can get together a 'matrix'-tasting, 4 years and 4 houses? I do not have that much 'old' bottles, only 10 out of the 140 are older than 20 years! But of course there is still 4/5 month to collect some bottles...

Santé,
Joost

Seems like a wonderful opportunity to get to meet some more / other port enthousiasts!

Given my (still) quite limited port collection, I don't know if I am able to contribute something great or special (will depend on the theme of course).

But I would very much like to be there, so please include me as an attendy (maybe +1, nut I'm not sure about that at this time yet).

Best regards,
Gerwin

RonnieRoots wrote: Definite attendees:
- LadyR
- RonnieRoots
- Joost
- Sandra
- Gerwin

Likely / possible / definite possible:
- jdaw1
- DRT
- Axel P
- Gerwin +1

When? TBC, but somewhere beginning of July 2010

Where? Joost's place in Utrecht

What? TBC, but definitely no 75 horizontal

I like the 'Port Matrix' idea, but here are some others just to stimulate discussion:

- The 'F' Plan II (a Fonseca vertical)
- The Off-Years (ports from years that were not generally declared, such as 2001, 1999, 1995, 1987, 1976 etc.)
- Portuguese vs. British style vintage ports
- The knights who say NI(epoort)

Other ideas are most welcome.

I like the idea of a Fonseca or Niepoort vertical... And have a small stock F's and Ni's...

Santé,
Joost

Count me in as a 'likely'

KillerB: Done. With much pleasure.

RonnieRoots wrote: Definite attendees:
- LadyR
- RonnieRoots
- Joost
- Sandra
- Gerwin

Likely / possible / definite possible:
- jdaw1
- DRT
- Axel P
- Gerwin +1
- KillerB

When? TBC, but somewhere beginning of July 2010

Where? Joost's place in Utrecht

What? Some ideas:
- The 'Port Matrix'
- The 'F' Plan II (a Fonseca vertical)
- The Off-Years (ports from years that were not generally declared, such as 2001, 1999, 1995, 1987, 1976 etc.)
- Portuguese vs. British style vintage ports
- The knights who say NI(epoort)

Other ideas are most welcome.

2 wine-friends, with some special interest in Port, are interested as well in this tasting... Their attendancy can be classified as 'likely' at this stage and their names are Jeroen and Thijs...

Santé,
Joost

Niepoort: yes please. Though I wouldn’t be able to contribute without adoption.

jdaw1 wrote:Niepoort: yes please. Though I wouldn’t be able to contribute without adoption.

Or win a bid at auction...

since I am planning on a quite large scale Niepoort vertical with Dirk on November 11th in Leverkusen, I would rather stick to Fonseca.

At this vertical, where I most probably will be getting the elder Ports from Dirk (perfectly stored), I will invite you in a bit. So noone has to bring any.

Best

Axel

Joost wrote:2 wine-friends, with some special interest in Port, are interested as well in this tasting... Their attendancy can be classified as 'likely' at this stage and their names are Jeroen and Thijs...

Santé,
Joost

Is that the Jeroen that I know? And I presume that that's Thijs van Leer, in which case a yodelling good time will be had by all.

KillerB wrote:

Joost wrote:2 wine-friends, with some special interest in Port, are interested as well in this tasting... Their attendancy can be classified as 'likely' at this stage and their names are Jeroen and Thijs...

Santé,
Joost

Is that the Jeroen that I know? And I presume that that's Thijs van Leer, in which case a yodelling good time will be had by all.

It won't be Thijs van Leer, but he can play the guitar! And of course it could be possible that you met Jeroen before, but as Jeroen is such a common name in NL, and even under winelovers, it would highly coincidental...

Santé,
Joost

Hi there,

Sorry for the late reply, I am to much abroad these months. I like the idea very much. I am always in for some good Ports.
But especially I like it to remeet some of you and to meet some others for the first time.
I don' t have special ideas or wishes.

Até mais from a hot Brasil,

Herman.

Another update:

RonnieRoots wrote: Definite attendees:
- LadyR
- RonnieRoots
- Joost
- Sandra
- Gerwin
- Herman

Likely / possible / definite possible:
- jdaw1
- DRT
- Axel P
- Gerwin +1
- KillerB
- Jeroen
- Thijs

When? TBC, but somewhere beginning of July 2010

Where? Joost's place in Utrecht

What? Some ideas:
- The 'Port Matrix'
- The 'F' Plan II (a Fonseca vertical)
- The Off-Years (ports from years that were not generally declared, such as 2001, 1999, 1995, 1987, 1976 etc.)
- Portuguese vs. British style vintage ports
- The knights who say NI(epoort)

Other ideas are most welcome.

We have fun ports to share for both Niepoort and Fonseca themes, but I also quite like the idea of an 'off-year' tasting. For one or another reason (probably because I was able to find good deals on these) I have a reasonable stack of ports from non-generally declared vintages. It would be fun to try a number of these ports and see how they hold up. But I'm happy to go with the majority.

I will also try to fix some dates as soon as possible. But that depends on getting some information from the powers that be here, which is usually a time consuming and frustrating task.

KillerB: I'm quite sure that's a different Jeroen. Joost, I believe I met Thijs before at the 2000VP offline?

Herman, good to hear from you, and looking forward to meeting you again!

If there is any space, I would love to attend. I can't say I have much of a preference regarding theme -- I'm quite confident it will be very much worthwhile regardless.

Regards
chiris

Hi all,

Considering that this tasting is only 40kms from home, I would (depending on the exact date and if Joost still has place available) like to join as well.

Similar to Gerwin, my port stock is still rather small but depending on the theme, I might find something interesting

Dries

We are pretty close to knowing when we will be in Holland, so I'll let you know soon.

Ronnie. This sounds a great idea....Could you please count me in if there is still space. I also do not have a preference but a Fonseca Vertical is something I haven't experienced as yet.

Thank you

Cookie

Our dates in Holland are now clear. We are in Utrecht from Saturday July 3 until the next Saturday, the 10th.

We don't have a preference for a specific date, but either Friday the 9th or Saturday the 10th would suit Joost very well, so let's look at those dates first. If these don't work, we can always try another.

So far, we have a potential number of attendees of 16 people. That's a bit much, both in terms of accommodation and to secure a decent taste of port for everyone. After consulting Joost, we came to an ideal number of 12. Let's see how far we get and please confim your attendance so. I will compose a waiting list once we reach a confirmed number of 12 attendees.

Definite attendees:
- LadyR
- RonnieRoots
- Joost
- Sandra
- Gerwin
- Herman

Likely / possible / definite possible:
- jdaw1
- DRT
- Axel P
- Gerwin +1
- KillerB
- Jeroen
- Thijs
- Chris Doty
- Dries
- Cookie

When? Somewhere in the week of 3-10 July 2010, preferrably 9th or 10th

Where? Joost's place in Utrecht

What? Some ideas:
- The 'Port Matrix'
- The 'F' Plan II (a Fonseca vertical)
- The Off-Years (ports from years that were not generally declared, such as 2001, 1999, 1995, 1987, 1976 etc.)
- Portuguese vs. British style vintage ports
- The knights who say NI(epoort)

Other ideas are most welcome.

Ronnie,

personally I would prefer the 9th and the F-Plan.

Best

Axel

Axel, since you will be able to attend, I think it's only fair to skip the Niepoort option. People interested in doing a Niepoort vertical can join you in November in Germany.

I like both the F-Plan and Off-Years themes, and will go with whatever the majority decided.

LadyR (who is about to pop any minute now) has a preference for The Off-Years, her reasoning being that this theme will give us the opportunity to taste a larger variety of styles. Makes sense.

For both themes we have some nice contributions.

There’s been a lot of teasing talk about 1975: surely it is time to gather evidence rather than rely on anecdote. What about a big 1975 horizontal?

Also, my wife now has me on a non-port holiday across early July, so, alas, I’m out. Happy to make placemats though.

Sorry to hear you won't be there Julian. We'll save the 1975 theme for a time you will be there.

RonnieRoots wrote:We'll save the 1975 theme for a time you will be there.

That is the politest dis-invitation that I have ever received.

jdaw1 wrote:

RonnieRoots wrote:We'll save the 1975 theme for a time you will be there.

That is the politest dis-invitation that I have ever received.

RonnieRoots wrote:

jdaw1 wrote:

RonnieRoots wrote:We'll save the 1975 theme for a time you will be there.

That is the politest dis-invitation that I have ever received.

Hi Ronnie,

It's my wife's birthday that week so please put me on the reserve list since we usually invite some people on the Friday or Saturday. If there's space available and the actual date is decided, I'll try to join.

About the theme: Personally I do not have a major preference but I do believe that the Off-Years theme is the easiest for all participants with regards to the availability of bottles and it might give some nice surprises.

I've put the date on July 9th for the moment. If there are major with that please let me know.

Dries, everybody knows birthday celebrations are best done on Saturday.

I'm afraid I will be unable to make this event, as my family is visiting London from the States that weekend.

Sounds like a lovely time. Save a drop for my spirit.

RonnieRoots wrote:I've put the date on July 9th for the moment. If there are major with that please let me know.

Dries, everybody knows birthday celebrations are best done on Saturday.

Hi Ronnie,

I have just learned that my wife has booked a surprise-weekend away (the surprise being the actual location) for her and me from 9-11 july for our wedding anniversary . And I am afraid that the weekend will not be in the Utrecht region.

So if the offline stays on the 9th of July, unfortunately I will not be able to join you this time .

Gerwin

gerwin.degraaf wrote:

RonnieRoots wrote:I've put the date on July 9th for the moment. If there are major with that please let me know.

Dries, everybody knows birthday celebrations are best done on Saturday.

Hi Ronnie,

I have just learned that my wife has booked a surprise-weekend away (the surprise being the actual location) for her and me from 9-11 july for our wedding anniversary . And I am afraid that the weekend will not be in the Utrecht region.

So if the offline stays on the 9th of July, unfortunately I will not be able to join you this time .

Gerwin

Are you available earlier in that week and would that be a problem for the others?

RonnieRoots wrote:

gerwin.degraaf wrote:

RonnieRoots wrote:I've put the date on July 9th for the moment. If there are major with that please let me know.

Dries, everybody knows birthday celebrations are best done on Saturday.

Hi Ronnie,

I have just learned that my wife has booked a surprise-weekend away (the surprise being the actual location) for her and me from 9-11 july for our wedding anniversary . And I am afraid that the weekend will not be in the Utrecht region.

So if the offline stays on the 9th of July, unfortunately I will not be able to join you this time .

Gerwin

Are you available earlier in that week and would that be a problem for the others?

Yes, I am availble on Monday through Thursday.

Sorry Gerwin, but Friday is the only option for Joost, so we'll have to keep it on that date.

Theme: there seems to be a slight preference for Fonseca, and I'm happy to go for that theme. LadyR and I can easily supply the 1985 and 2003, but could also do 1977 should that be necessary. We will definitely bring one extra bottle: Fonseca Guimaraens 1976.

Joost said that he can provide 1992 and Guimaraens 1987. Both excellent choices as far as I'm concerned.

I can bring 86, 88 and 96 Guimaraens - willing to supply two, three would just be getting heavy.

Great, if you take along the 86 and 88 we have a very nice comparison to make: 85 through 88.

So far we have:

• Fonseca 2003 (RonnieR / LadyR)
• Fonseca 1992 (Joost / Sandra)
• Guimaraens 1988 (KillerB)
• Guimaraens 1987 (Joost / Sandra)
• Guimaraens 1986 (KillerB)
• Fonseca 1985 (RonnieR / LadyR)
• Guimaraens 1976 (extra bottle ”“ RonnieR / LadyR)
• If someone else wants to bring 85 or 03 we can supply 1977 alternatively.

Definite attendees:
- LadyR
- RonnieRoots
- Joost
- Sandra
- Axel P
- KillerB

Likely / possible / definitely possible:
- Jeroen
- Thijs
- Dries
- Cookie
- Herman
- Chris

1986 and 1988 have been extracted from their coffins

KillerB wrote:1986 and 1988 have been extracted from their coffins

So they weren't next to the Vesuvio 1994 then?

A bit late perhaps, but if it is still possible, than Petra and myself would like to attend as well! We can provide 85, 95, 96, 97, 00 and / or 03. I'll let Ronnie pick his favourites, but I do think a '77 should be included...

Ronnie,

I am very sorry, but cannot be there on your July tasting as my boss arranged a flight for him and me over the weekend to work. Although I am aware that there will always be another time and another port, but I very much would have liked to meet you guys there.

So best wishes for an excellent tasting with no faulty bottles

Axel

StevieCage wrote:A bit late perhaps, but if it is still possible, than Petra and myself would like to attend as well! We can provide 85, 95, 96, 97, 00 and / or 03. I'll let Ronnie pick his favourites, but I do think a '77 should be included...

Of course that is possible! Chris (who you probably know from the Utrechtse Wijnsociëteit) may want to adopt a bottle of 1985. If you want, it would be great if you and Petra could contribute the 1997 and 2000. That way, we have a couple of very nice comparisons to make, being:

• 1976 vs 1977
• 1985 vs 1987
• 1986 vs 1988
• 1992 vs 1997
• 2000 vs 2003

Axel P wrote:Ronnie,

I am very sorry, but cannot be there on your July tasting as my boss arranged a flight for him and me over the weekend to work. Although I am aware that there will always be another time and another port, but I very much would have liked to meet you guys there.

So best wishes for an excellent tasting with no faulty bottles

Axel

I am very sorry to hear that Axel, I would have loved to have finally being able to meet eachother. Hopefully a next time.

I can provide:
1983 Fonseca
1986 Guimaraens
1995 Guimaraens

Considering that the 1986 is already provided and the 1995 was recently tasted be Chris Doty and considered WAY too young (viewtopic.php?p=33854) I suggest to bring the 1983 Fonseca.

rgrds,
Dries

Good to hear you'll be joining Dries. The 1983 sounds fantastic.

Definite attendees:
- LadyR
- RonnieRoots
- Joost
- Sandra
- KillerB
- Smisse
- StevieCage
- Petra
- Chris

Ports so far:

• Fonseca 2003 (RonnieR / LadyR)
• Fonseca 2000 (StevieC / Petra)
• Fonseca 1997 (StevieC / Petra)
• Fonseca 1992 (Joost / Sandra)
• Guimaraens 1988 (KillerB)
• Guimaraens 1987 (Joost / Sandra)
• Guimaraens 1986 (KillerB)
• Fonseca 1985 (likely to be adopted by Chris)
• Fonseca 1983 (Smisse)
• Fonseca 1977 (RonnieR / LadyR)
• Guimaraens 1976 (extra bottle ”“ RonnieR / LadyR)

Hi Ronald,

Jeroen will attend as well! I assume his contribution will be revealed soon...

Santé,
Joost