For The Love Of Port

We thought it would be interesting to taste these two beauties alongside in a mini Noval vertical. Both from 1/2 bottle format... Noval Colheita 1974 Mid amber mahogany cut through with a hint of ruby. Sweet 'porty' nose with a slight oxidised Madeira hint. A very rich almost creamy mouthfeel with m...

Derek - Thanks for the TN. I have just one bottle which is on my Christmas tasting line-up. Never tried one before.

Stuart - Berry's have Fonseca '85 on their website at £658 per case dp which looks a bit toppy. Were they offering a further discount yesterday?

Philip

Thanks for the hot tip. I picked up: 2 x Graham Crusted 2000 at £7.50 each 2 x Quinta do Crasto '96 at £15 each 2 x Guimaraens '87 at £15 each. I would have bought more of the Guimaraens but I just bought 24 bottles at auction. I wouldn't worry too much about the 'top shelf' factor if you go to a la...

Thanks for the hot tip. I picked up: 2 x Graham Crusted 2000 at £7.50 each 2 x Quinta do Crasto '96 at £15 each 2 x Guimaraens '87 at £15 each. I would have bought more of the Guimaraens but I just bought 24 bottles at auction. I wouldn't worry too much about the 'top shelf' factor if you go to a la...

Glad you raised this Derek as I spend a lot of time fretting about this one. We live in quite a small house with three children, one au pair and no cellar, so space is at a premium and a big 'Eurocave' type wine cabinet is out of the question (apparently). So I have installed six storage 'cubes' und...

Roy

I'm sure you're right. Trouble is, we have no idea when that second release may be - 10yrs, 20yrs - who knows?

So in the meantime ... :lick:

Glad you liked the '81 and you're quite right about the crispness which really stands out. I asked Ricardo de Freitas (the winemaker at Barbeito) about this and he said that the '81 spent the first five years of its life in cask at a warehouse with a lower temperature than their usual warehouse and ...

Roy/Reidar In this particular sale (Christies London 12.12.06) there are three lots of Maderia with low estimates as follows: (lot 362) 6 bottles of Terrantez 1862 (bottled 1977) - est £300 to £360 (lot 363) 12 bottles of Bual Leacock 1933 (bottled by Blandy's in 1979) - est £360 to £400 (lot 364) 1...

Drunk over two nights 19.11.06 & 20.11.06 Darker than the Barbeito Sercial of the same year with a smokey slightly opaque tawny amber colour and a lovely green tinge at the edges. An overpowering bottle stink when first opened (stale cabbage water) which eventually started to blow off after a co...

Thanks Reidar. I'll put in a bit but I can't help thinking the christies estimate is way too low. I'll let you know what happens.

Philip

Christies in London are offering a complete case (x12) of Bual Leacock 1933 in their December 12 sale, bottled in 1979. The estimate is £360 - £400 which doesn't seem too extreme for 12 bottles such a venerable wine. Does anyone have any experience of this particular Madeira? Any input gratefully re...

Roy I think it woudl be a great if you were able to expand your vintage chart to include some recommednations from each vintage. I think just two or three recommednations for each year along the lines of say 'best port', 'best value' and 'best avoided' or something like that. In addition, it woudl a...

Stuart

I'll gladly split a case of SW or GC 77 any time. London is no problem so lets stay in touch. Like you, I'm not at all confident that my stocks will last through to 2008.

Philip

Doooh! Thanks Stuart. As you say, may be worth ordering a couple in a mixed case for curiosity value.

The Wine Society in the UK are listing Harvey's 1983 vintage port (bottled by Martinez Gassiot). This isn't a name we see that often and I'm curious to know if anyone has any experience with this name?

(sorry if a version this post comes twice) I think it's worth mentioning that more Maderia producers are now using the 50cl format. The arguement I understand relates more to affordability that to the usefulness of the actual format. As Madeira remains deeply unfashionable (long may it last!), the r...

If it's including all taxes, yes that sounds fine. Don't forget that these will be imperials (ie 50cl) which would equate to around £45 for a 75cl bottle. Barbeito bottled 900 50cls of the 81 Verdelho last year and I think 250 75cl bottles but I haven't seen any of these on the UK market yet.

Philip

Will do. I suspect we'll see a few more cases appearing soon now the 30yr anniversary is upon us. Hopefully also some Gould Campbell 77 will work its way out onto the market.

Gentlemen I am currently on the lookout for a case or two of SW77 to top up my fast dwindling reserves. The best I can find on wine-searcher is J&B's 9 cases at 365 ib. A bit pricey but impeccable provenance. Does anyone have a whiff of Smith out there at a lower price. I've been keeping one eye...

Tom Their website is raymondreynolds.co.uk where you will find the usual contact info. They are a specialist Portugese wine importer but they seem to keep in touch with their retailers and who has stocks of what. Alternatively, give Glen Mitton at the Wine Press in Carlisle a call. His prices are al...