For The Love Of Port

1997 Quinta do Vesuvio VP. You know it's good.

I love Port (...my name's Alex and I'm a Port drinker...) but I'm also really interested in fortified wines in general and in particular where the wine-makers follow Port as their model. Have you tried 1959 Cantine Antonio Ferrari Solaria Jonica? It won't pass as Port, but it is a fun one where the...

I have heard of some recorking by producers, but I think those are few and far between. I brew beer and have a corker, but the only time I've recorked a bottle was when I was travelling and planning to drink the wine immediately upon arrival. Decant off of sediment, re-cork to travel, enjoy sediment...

I will limit myself to one, because it stood out so much to me:
1963 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port
Best VP I've ever tasted.

Perhaps "baked" is going too far. But heat without ruining the wine can give different pleasant flavors.

Temperature is another factor that can really affect the flavor profile. I've heard of plenty of people refer to the "Douro bake," as the wines stored upriver classically (without refrigeration) get more heat than those stored in VNdG. As I recall (but I'm scratching my head), I think the ...

1968 Andresen colheita
DR L70 tawny
1994 Fonseca VP
All were excellent

Glenn E. wrote: ↑Sun Dec 21, 2025 2:43 pm But the description of the corks and their removal does fit my experience very closely.

+1 here. I had a bunch of bottles where the center of the cork came out in crumbles. I haven't noticed it lately, but I haven't opened many bottles from that timeframe lately either.

I am so surprised that 1994 Taylor didn't do better. I've bought and opened a bunch of Taylor 375s and been happy with them. But checking my notes, they were more recent vintages. The 1994 Taylor in 750 has been such a beast. It sounds like maybe I should check in on one of those to see if the 750s ...

Glenn E. wrote: ↑Sat Dec 13, 2025 12:23 pm For a wine-focused Christmas party tonight, a magnum of 1977 Smith Woodhouse VP.

I would love to get your take on this. That wine has long been a favorite of mine, and I was thinking of opening a magnum of it soon for a celebration.

Roy Hersh wrote: ↑Tue Dec 02, 2025 10:25 pm ... I was granted residency status.

Parabéns! I'll drink to that

Glenn E. wrote: ↑Fri Nov 28, 2025 7:31 pm 4 x 1875 D'Oliveiras Malvasia Madeira

Barbeito 30 Year Old O Engenheiro Tinta Negra

Rocha 40 Year Old Tawny for Thanksgiving dessert. This had been long in the bottle, but was still quite nice.

I bought a three-pack of 2003 Ficklin, with a bottle each of Tinta Cão, Touriga Nacional, and a "Port" blend. Unfortunately the two bottles I've tried thus far have been a bit over-stewed in flavor. I bought it at auction in 2012, so it may have been stored too warm for a while.

IIRC, I think that Graham prioritizes their Six Grapes Ruby Reserve over even their LBV, so it is usually pretty stellar for a Ruby Reserve. If you thought Noval Black was sweet, you should try a bottle of Graham's Six Grapes! Before they made Noval Black, I thought Noval had the best non-reserve r...

... but solo the Heitz might fool me into thinking it's an actual Portuguese Port, probably a Ruby Reserve or LBV. ... Kristin Hill Winery Vin Doux Naturel Recall that I put a 1994 Heitz Port in the 1994 tasting at my house. I think Stewart was the only person to call that out as not being a Port. ...

I think they should get +1 for the use of "Portmanteau" in the name.

Stuart, first, I was wondering if you had any sort of summary feelings about these wines in general. I've enjoyed many non-Port Ports, but I often find that they try to straddle the line between ruby and tawny, with lots of deep fruit flavor, and then some oxidation that starts to go into the tawny ...

$125 in the U.S. market

Without going into opportunity cost or storage expense, makes me happy for the bottles that I bought for $35 back in 2010.