For The Love Of Port

Have lots of port and madeira for sale. It all came for England in refrigerated containers recently and is stored in wine lockers at 55 degrees. 1967 Taylor Very Old Single Harvest Port (in very nice wooden box) $200 1968 D'Oliveira Bual $200 1908 D'Oliveira Bual $525 1903 D'Oliveira Bual $675 1980 ...

I'm old enough that I'm not buying the 2015s. But it is sad because I know I'm missing some great port. I think the Cockburn centenary should be a great port at a reasonable price. The Symington's probably are trying to show that their ownership is going to make the brand a top one again. With the 2...

I have lots of Quinta do Vesuvio wooden six-pack boxes for sale. Boxes from 1989 - 1995 are available for $20 + shipping at cost.

They are beautifully made and would be great for somebody born in those years or an anniversary year.

Probably best to send me a private message if interested.

I have Quinta do Vesuvio from 1989 - 1995 (1993 not made). All were bought directly from the distributor when I had a wine shop (heavy on port). They have been stored at 55 degrees since then. I'd like to have the tasting from 1989 - 2000. That is enough port for a tasting. I'm setting a date for th...

I have seen the names of American families on Madeira. I presume they had casks shipped to them and put it into demijohns.

Yes the word "Garrafa" means "bottle" so the word "Garrafeira" makes sense for the demijohn aging done by Niepoort and others in the port trade. Niepoort uses the word on the bottle itself. Yet for Madeira all aging is done in cask. I've never heard of demijohn long ter...

Thanks both of you. I did find "Frasqueiras" in Liddells Madeira book but had never seen it used before. The word "Garrafeira" used to be seen more often, now it seems "Frasqueiras" is coming into more common use. Maybe because "Garrafeira" is used for port al...

I first tried vintage madeira in the 1970's and have built up a nice collection. I have four books on Madeira. But the term "Frasqueiras" is not known to me. When did it come into use and what is its official meaning?

Real Companhai has released a tawny port from Quinta das Carvelhas. It is a blend of 93% from 1867 refreshed with 7% 1900. Tasting notes from The Wine Spectator (99 points) and Wine Advocate (96 points) show a concentration and intensity one would expect from this age. Does anybody know more about t...

1931 belongs on the list. It certainly has the great Quinta do Noval and the Noval Nacional which are iconic, everybody has heard of them. Many people who do not drink port have heard of the 1931 vintage because of Noval. Fonseca, Graham, and Taylor did not declare so the vintage reputation rests on...

Happy Birthday and thanks to everybody for their hard work.

Topping: For a large lot of wine with many barrels, a barrel is used for topping and the balance left (which may not be very much) is put in small neutral containers. At the next topping the wine in small containers is used up first then another barrel is used and broken down. So the actual amount u...

Re: Quality improvement of VPs over the decades by Eric Ifune » Wed Aug 01, 2012 1:41 pm I believe that there is much more knowledge these days in both viticulture and winemaking. There are more consistent results. No bad wines. Rubies and LBV's are better as a result today.One could argue that win...

When I imported wines I was required to have federal label approval for each wine (COLA - Certificate of Label Approval). It is then up to US Customs to check what is in the container to the paperwork. Customs does not check every container and checking wine containers is probably very low priority....

by Al B. » Fri Jun 08, 2012 7:35 am Based purely on recent personal experience, I would rank the following up there with the ones you have listed. They may not have the same "street appeal", but they are fabulously good wines. 1922 - Warre 1927 - Croft 1934 - Noval 1942 - Niepoort 1945 - ...

by Moses Botbol » Mon Jun 11, 2012 7:00 pm It's a shame not to include 1970; I don't know of one brand that is "not at full potential yet" and I have had most. Not including Niepoort and Fonseca 1970 would be a shame. I would include Taylor in the list of 1970s that are not ready.These ar...

Three different people have listed a Dow as a greatest port, the 1896, 1900, and 1924. I've heard the 1896 & 1924 are legendary but do not know much about the 1900. The great variation in bottling often means people are not tasting the best made. I have attended a Dow vertical from 1927 on so ha...

Dirk Niepoort has confirmed that he is coming. He is bringing the 1927 & 1955. I already had the 1945 so we will have three great vintages of Niepoort and the pleasure of Dirk's company.

I've seen Sandeman, Fearon Block, Justerini & Brooks and Averys on the 31 QN. The Sandeman I did not get to try but they seem to be a quality bottler based in Scotland I believe. I've heard they have no relation to the port Sandemans. I own quite a few old ports bottled by Fearon Block but know ...

I've been lucky enough to have had the 1931 Quinta do Noval at least ten times. A few of those times the English bottler was known and I feel the variation is quite dramatic. Does anybody feel that one bottler is better or worse that another back then?