For The Love Of Port

Also, a question about the Guimaraens 1976 vintage. Is there a story attached to the fact that this port is so incredible powerful, young, and dark, even now? It is head and shoulders above other 76's and will even give many a 1977 a run for its money. Was it sheer luck or did your father and his w...

Wow, this has been a really interesting thread to read through so thanks to all involved. :thumbsup: It's been great to have some info from the horse's mouth. Thanks David! I reckon that is a great idea to have Antonio in for a guest corner at some stage as it would be great to get a vitculturalist...

One of the significant changes in the Port trade has been the production of Vintage ports from Single Estates who are based in the Douro, and who do not distinguish between years of bottling these single estate Vintages. I believe the Vesuvio concept is one of bottling a Vintage Port from this magni...

David, Would you prefer vintages to be known as 'classic' and 'non-classic' rather than the more usual 'declared' and 'non-declared'? To the newcomer, it can certainly cause some confusion when ports are declared in a 'non-declared' year. Tom Tom, your question is quite pertinent. I generally use t...

In response to Derek's point, it is speculating, however if 2000 had not been good enough to be a classic, as was neither 1998 and 1999, we may well have declared the 2001. To me the 2000 has the edge over the 2001, and that was the critéria taken into account at the time. The question as to us decl...

Andy, Up until 1970, almost all vineyards planted in the Douro on Terraces had Xist Dry stone walls supporting them, where the weeds do not grow. The 1970's brought a new era of building terraces that were mechanisable, and where the terrace walls were left as erath, rather than buiding the dry ston...

[quote="Jay Hack"]I seem to recall reading somewhere that the Portuguese wine fascists (as opposed to the French wine fascists) have imposed a rule that a producer cannot declare more than three vintages per decade. Maybe I dreamt that rule, but maybe not. Having completed 20 years in the ...

Good afternoon, I have read the discussion on Organic Port with great interest. There is a wealth of different views, all of which I respect, so I will add my experience in this field as a contribution to the discussion. In 1992, inspired by my father, Bruce Guimaraens, we converted a vertical plant...

David, Many thanks for not throwing me under the bus on that last one, the Super Bock's on me next time :wink: :lol: :lol: And again I wanted to thank you for spending an entire week here with us at :ftlop: I assure you it has been most educational and very much appreciated. [notworthy.gif] Well An...

David, Then he said that a 10, 20, 30 and even 40 years old tawny does not mean that the wine is that old. It only says something about how a wine of that age should taste. These are a blend of mulitple vintages of Colheita's that when combined have an average age of 10,20,30,or over 40 years. Some...

Maybe I'm too late, one of my questions was already asked (Colheitas?) so I'll ask my second question. With 100+ bottlings/brands/labels of VP 2007, what do you think is the short term and long term impact to the trade and to the consumer? Is the IDVP too easy or is it getting that easy to make VP ...

David, Thanks for your all your answers this week and for taking time out of your very busy schedule to do this, it is very much appreciated. Before you leave us I have one more question. The Taylor's, Panascal, and Croft blogs which were started earlier this year give solid information about your ...

Hi David, Thanks for your insightful reply on my previous question about the Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage Port. You've mentioned the quality and approachability of the 1997 ports. Could you please share with us some of your recommendations for 1997 ports? Regards, Kurt Wieneke Kurt, the 1997 I know b...

David, Back in 2003, when a bunch of us American Wine Journos came to Porto & the Douro, (when you met my wife & Taylor at 7 mos.) one of the participants was Brian Dorsk. He asked me if I would be able to please post his questions here for you: "Inasmuch as I shall not be able to atte...

You have a 100% organic plot of vines at Panascal. Can you elaborate on the differences you have find on the final product compared to the other ports made from your regular growing techniques? Any plans to increase the size of your organic viticulture and eventually make a VP or include the juice ...

This came up in a different Topic, and I thought you might know the reasoning behind it. Vintage port is almost always decanted. Instead of the traditional strongly-shouldered bottle, why isn't it bottled in a long-taper bottle like some German wines? They can be poured incrementally with no incomi...

Dear David, I am 60 and have a son, 31, who also enjoys port. What should we lay down both for me now and as a comfort into my old age as well as for my son to enjoy after we're gone? Also, what do you think of the possibility of introductory level ports being dispensed in bladders? We've seen this...

David, Your Croft 2004 Unfiltered LBV has recently appeared in the UK in what appears to be vast quantities of half bottles. I have indulged in 6 or 7 of these already and have been very impressed with the quality but slightly surprised at how approachable it is. I have been unable to resist Tesco'...

If I'm allowed to make one other comment, I'd like to compliment you on this decade's Taylor LBVPs. I had found myself rather disappointed with the late-90s wines up to and including the 1999, but each I've had since has shown a real turnaround and improvement in quality, starting with the 2000, to ...

David, The few examples of white ports with extended barrel aging that I've tried have been wonderful and unique. Is there any chance that the TFP would try to enter into this niche port style? Marco, aged white Ports are magnificent, and it is an example of innovation in the trade that now allows ...