I'm finally back in the US, caught up on most things, and have the time to start getting TNs posted. Whew!
First off, this is definitely the way to do a Port Harvest Tour. Having a few days in London before a couple of days in Porto, all before the official start of the Tour, really set things up nicely for a great vacation. I apparently didn't think that the usual ~150 Ports on the tour would be sufficient, because I managed to taste 46 before the tour officially started!
The Premier Inn Holborn was a fine hotel. It's nothing fancy, but fancy wasn't needed. We barely spent any time in the room at all when not sleeping, and the beds were quite comfortable. Well, other than the Premier Inn having adopted what seems to be the current craze at hotels, which is to provide nothing other than a duvet on the bed. A duvet that would probably be sufficient outdoors under the stars in December in the Shetland Isles. This craze needs to go! Please put a sheet and a blanket on my bed... anything more is far too much. Thankfully the staff was happy to provide a sheet so that we could sleep without waking up drenched in sweat.
TBH is just around the corner, so we did get to at least see it, though it was completely gutted and under renovation.
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So we needed an alternate venue. Luckily Davy's at Woolgate is also nearby.
I thought the private room at Woolgate was fine. At minimum, it is similar to the private rooms we have used on occasion in Seattle. My experience with restaurant rooms is that they're more interested in serving you food than providing space for tons of glasses, and the experience at Woolgate followed that tradition. That said, we did have plenty of room for 8 people and didn't have to make too many sacrifices for space while the food was present. All-around a good experience, but not a spectacular one. I'd rate the room itself 87 on the 100-point scale - very good but not excellent. I'd happily use it again, but would always be on the lookout for a better location.
The food, on the other hand, was superb. The fries (chips?) were outstanding. I'd go back just for a plate of those fries and a bowl of béarnaise sauce. My first ever pork pie was amazing - thank you Daniel! Were it not for the dozens of glasses on the table when we arrived, I'd have been content with dinner and conversation.
But there were glasses to be filled and Port to be consumed!
This was one of the best showings I've had for the '52 Dalva Golden White. It's always a superb Port, but this bottle had something special going on. I'm pleased to have been able to ruin white Port forever for a couple of people in attendance.
(Side note: I had the 1935 Kopke and 1917 Niepoort on the Harvest Tour, and neither could best the 1952 Dalva Golden White.)
The 1964 Pocas Colheita was my #2 on the night. Another excellent showing for a Port that I wasn't even aware existed not that long ago. It is rich and pleasant; overall an excellent example of what a 50-yr old Colheita can be.
The 1966 Graham Vintage Port prevented a clean sweep by the wood-aged entries, though the 1964 Taylor (Krohn) Colheita put up a decent fight. I just thought that the Graham's velvety smooth and rich palate won out. The Taylor also felt a little bit rough to me, but since this was my first time tasting it I can't say whether or not that's normal or just an attribute of this particular bottle.
As others have already mentioned, the 1985s were very interesting. I've never had a Taylor that good, nor have I had a Fonseca or Graham that lackluster. (I won't call them bad, because they weren't, but based on my experience they clearly weren't up to par.) Most telling for me, though, was that the Churchill was the best of the 4 on this night. That's as unusual for me as the Taylor's performance. I was a point higher than usual on the Churchill (usually a solid 92), 1-2 points higher on the Taylor (usually 90-91), and 2-3 points lower than usual on the Fonseca and Graham (both usually in the 94-95 range).
The 1969 Vargellas was an odd bottle for me. If I hadn't known it was 45 years old, I'd have thought it might be in a phase. It seemed a bit hot, peppery, and unsettled, so contrary to the consensus (2nd overall) I had it in 9th on the night, edging out only the oddly muted 1977 Smith Woodhouse and the merrily jammy 1994 Tesco.
It was a pleasure finally meeting everyone in person. Thank you all for getting my 50th birthday trip off to a grand start. If any of you are ever going to be in Seattle you must let me know so that we can arrange a gathering. If the time of year is appropriate, I'll make barbeque!
