For The Love Of Port

Tom If you are looking to build up yor collection, see if you can lay your hands on a few bottles of Barbeito's 1981 Verdelho which will still be singing long after you and I have gone. You should pay around £35 per 50cl. Don't hang around though as only 150 six bottle cases were produced last year,...

Now here's a find. Rooting around in my mother's cellar, I find two bottles of Maderia. Both have the faint remains of completely unreadable labels (probably the UK merchant's) but fortnunately, both bottles are beautifully stenciled "10 yr old Malmsey VJH" and "10yr old sercial VJH&q...

Of course, one attribute of a wine that is impossible to rate is the 'time and place' factor. Put simply, you could have a glass of port that just hits the right spot on one day when it might crash and burn on another. Example: A well decanted bottle of vintage port accompanied by a clean glass, a l...

Derek et al I couldn't agree more. I have always been a bit mystified by a points system. As you say, I've never seen a Parker score below 80 so presumably, a wine gets 80% of the available marks just for being the right colour and turning up at the tasting. I would argue therefore that Parker uses ...

I couldn't wait and opened my bottle on Thursday. Apologies Tom for cutting in on your note - impressions as follows: On decanting No sign of any leakage and a nice solid cork which came out all in one piece - always a good start. Like Tom's sample, masses of gloopy sediment - the level of wine in m...

Great! I stood a bottle up yesterday morning in anticipation of a Warre victory and will be reaching for the corkscrew as soon as I log off (I probably would have opened it anyway). Look forward to your TN.

I'm with Derek and voted the Warre 1970. I was only thinking yesterday that I should open one at the weekend to celebrate the birth of our new baby - 1970 was the year my wife was born. It would be interesting to compare notes.

Roy

Do you have a tasting note for the Croft 1991?

Thanks

I only have two 1991s in the cellar, Smith Woodhouse and Quinta do Vesuvio . I have tried a bottle of each this year to celebrate their 15yr aniversaries and while the Smith was drinking fine just about now (as is the '94), the Vesuvio was perplexing. Very sweet, a mound of fruit but lacking balance...

Continuing my journey through the current Barbeito portfolio, one new offering and one re-tasted as follows: Barbeito – Malvasia Single cask 18a 1994 (1,540 x 50 cl bottled in 2004) 22.07.06 Sparkling bright amber mahogany. Furniture polish nose. Somewhat subdued toffee and caramel flavours – very g...

A client of mine gave me a bottle of Fonseca Bin 27 last Christmas - the wine was very ho-hum but the wooden presentation box it came in was a hit with the kids. They use it as a pencil case.

I have to admit that my interest in resealing is purely aesthetic - I just don't like the look of those chipped capsules in their storage bin.

Tom, I'll drop you an email regarding the wax. And thanks.

I've recently bought a few bottles of port and madeira with damaged wax capsules. The bottlings are fairly recent (all within ten years or so) so the corks should be fine. Also, no sign of leakage. However, it would be good to reseal them if possible. Is there a certain type of wax I should buy? I'm...

Mario, I haven't seen the 'Don' logo around for a while in the UK but I can now reveal the identity of the man beneath the hat. It is of course none other than Don Alejandro de la Vega himself, the scourge of Count Armand and scores of witless Mexican soldiers and swordsmen, otherwise known to us as...

Roy, I voted no. I think that focusing the site on VPs is the right direction to go as this is the style of wine that most people will have come accross (apart from ruby I suppose) and creates most interest in the wine world. Keep up the good work! Like Andy, I'm looking forward to your updated/addi...

I'll have to another Gould Campbell '77 - can't keep my hands off them.

UK tawny lovers note that Berry Brothers list Noval 20yr Tawny under their own "William Pickering" label at £22.95 per bottle (inc all taxes) or £20.65 if you buy 12.

Again, very reasonable pricing for a top drawer 20yr and the provenance is always very good.

Philip

Quinta do Vesuvio 1991 Vintage Port - 25th May 2006 Decanted at 7.30am , a dull dark ruby/crimson with just a hint of wine gums on the nose at this stage. A small sip showing sweet fat fruit and a slightly medicinal note, reminiscent of cherry flavoured Tunes. 12 hrs – A very muted nose still but wi...

I recently cracked open a Quinta do Vesuvio 91 and was pretty disappointed. It didn't seem to have any real life or lift left in it - just a mass of sweet fruit but lacking the tannins to suggest a long life. Could have been a dud I guess. I'd be interested if anyone's tasted a QdV 91 recently. Philip

Fred, How does drilling the cork before sending the corkscrew in help? After all, the drill makes a hole straight down while the corkscrew is a helix and doesn't therefore follow the drill hole. Is the function of the hole to equalise the pressure behind the cork so that when the cork is pulled, a p...