For The Love Of Port

I have taken to decanting my TWAIOA (as well as Colheitas) because I find that after a day in the decanter with a little air, they drink much better (for my taste at least). Does anyone else do this or are you all pretty much pouring a glass straight from the bottle? There is no definitive answer, ...

I largely gave up on white port a couple of years ago, save for Ferreira reserve white. The latter is rubbish on its own though mixes very nicely with a good tonic, lemon and mint. Evidently like Glenn, I came to the conclusion that the prices commanded for white ports with any age were not commensu...

If the resources are to hand, it would be ideal if the team which did the analyses to this point tested the equivalent ports produced, say, thirty years ago. Assuming the accuracy of the carbon dating, it would quickly be determined whether there are substantial differences betwixt what is passed of...

Some things we are looking for in our visit to Portugal: Things that are beautiful and unique in Portugal (in March) Beaches Mosaics History Castles Great restaurants (ambiance?) where I might also taste a variety of port that is unavailable in the USA. Best way to travel from Lisbon to Porto, and ...

I had a bottle of the '66 Kopke only last week; it was superb, as ever. The '96 Justino's tinta negra colheita - which I normally quite enjoy - consumed alongside the Kopke came across like water in comparison.

Quinta do Barão Carcavelos Última Reserva, unknown year, but it has a DOC sticker with "Decreto Lei Nº 246/94" followed by guarantee bottle number. 1994 seems a reasonable guess from the condition of the bottle. Eric - If you have not figured it out already, you purchased a fifteen-year-o...

I have a 1970 Borges, and also got to taste one ~6 months ago, and thought it was nice but not great. I gave it a 92. If all you can produce from 1970 is "nice but not great" then that's a fairly strong indicator that one should not have high hopes for other vintages. Likewise with the 19...

Prior to the 1970s, Borges vintage ports made for, at best, second-tier drinking - although this producer held a great deal of tawny stock, some of it very good. In 1975, Sociedade de Vinhos Borges S.A., then owned by Banco Borges & Irmao, found itself a ward of the Portuguese State, which that ...

An interesting piece. I note in particular Avillez's assertion that ten to fifteen percent of restaurants have failed already, and his view that another fifteen percent will go under by the end of this year owing to their inability to maintain existing debt loads now that such government subsidies a...

I couldn't find much if anything although I did come across the attorney's name, but I didn't see a connection online to the the Port producer. I will definitely reach out to him and let you know what I find out. Mike - When you do reach out would you please ask the chap if (or otherwise confirm) t...

Glenn E., Andy V. and indeed others might wish to opine as to whether this is likely to be a colheita or a VP. For what it is worth, I would suspect the former, notwithstanding the appearance of "vintage" on the label.

Thank you for your query; it got me thinking about a bottle in my own cellar. From a quick look online: This is a small family operation (Sociedade Agricola Manuel Carlos Agrellos, Herdeiros); it was initially centred on Sao Mamede de Ribatua in, as the name suggests, the Tua River valley. Thirty ye...

In terms of producers which have been bottling VPs for ages and are still at it: Burmester and Ramos Pinto.

Is Q. da Prelada situated in the Douro valley or is it a property within, evidently, the Porto city limits (which is what I found online)? If it is in Porto, where are the grapes coming from? David's note was the first that I had heard of this producer.

If it were a recent bottling, Maynards warrants higher than 89 points. I concur fully Moses: when I lived in Brussels a few years back, I drank piles of Maynard's, which I recall being very good and certainly inexpensive relative to its peers. However, at that point I was relatively new to port, su...

I thought that I would give a 2013 bottling of this same tawny a try when the opportunity presented itself recently for the princely sum of EUR 20. What could go wrong? Happily, nothing much. In the glass on 13 February 2021, the wine looked much as had the previous exemplar: amber hues crowned by a...

Never heard of this Port brand before. I'll keep an eye ope, I'm curious to know who is behind this! Fred - Kranemann is the same producer which used to bottle vintage ports, whilst under different ownership, using the Senhora do Convento label. The full name of the property is Quinta do Convento d...

What it cannot do is go toe to toe with the superb 1999 Kranemann colheita, which for my money is the far better purchase at a like price from the same producer. I'm intrigued when a producer puts out a Colheita of approximately the same age as an age stated Tawny - and the Colheita is far better. ...

Never heard of this Port brand before. I'll keep an eye ope, I'm curious to know who is behind this! Fred - Kranemann is the same producer which used to bottle vintage ports, whilst under different ownership, using the Senhora do Convento label. The full name of the property is Quinta do Convento d...

Thanks for the tasting note. I had this colheita port a year ago, and it is really something to look for. Indeed, Rune, I saw your tasting note recently and was pleased to learn (i) that Kranemann is getting busy with wider distribution, at least in Europe, and (ii) I am not the only one who found ...