The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

This site is for discussion of travel to the "Land of Port & Madeira" as well as food related to Port or Portugal. Additionally your Offline tasting events can be planned and reviewed here.

Moderators: Glenn E., Roy Hersh, Andy Velebil

User avatar
Al B.
Posts: 6016
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2005 1:06 am
Location: Wokingham, United Kingdom - UK

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Al B. »

We're organised in London for the 29th March - 6 (or 7...or 8...) reserve rubies before dinner and an unknown mixture of other ports after dinner.
Carl D
Posts: 268
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:51 pm
Location: El Dorado Hills, CA, USA

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Carl D »

Roy Hersh wrote:Well good on you and Phyllis for organizing this event and finding people in your area who want to participate and enjoy Port. Great going Carl!
You can see our event announcement on the restaurant's facebook page here. You'll have to scroll down a page or so. This local restaurant is home to our favorite chef in the area - Gabriel Glasier. When chef Gabe's own restaurant was a victim of the economy back in 2009 we were despondent! When he re-appeared at Maranello in 2011 we were elated! As you well know, Roy (and I expect most people on this forum), there's nothing like a restaurant with a great chef that really cares about food, service, hospitality and forming a genuine, long-lasting relationship with his customers.

We're really looking forward to this first tasting event! Hopefully, between the wine and the food we'll be able to form the nucleus of a long-lasting Port group in this area, because there are so many more tastings that WE want to experience and we simply can't put them on if it's just the two of us!
User avatar
Roy Hersh
Site Admin
Posts: 21427
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2005 1:27 am
Location: Sammamish, WA
Contact:

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Roy Hersh »

Someday when I croak, that will be the legacy of FTLOP. All the friendships and Port tasting groups that were formed because of it, all over the map. I love visiting the places where those groups have formed and if you get this up and running, Carl, you and Phyllis are destined to have a Port slurping visitor in the future. :winepour:
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
User avatar
Glenn E.
Posts: 8162
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:49 am
Location: Sammamish, Washington, United States of America - USA
Contact:

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Glenn E. »

Well the Seattle version being held this Friday has grown and expanded a bit!

We now have 10 people coming and we'll be tasting 9 different ruby reserves:

Graham's Six Grapes
Noval Black
Fonseca bin 27
Warre's Warrior
Broadbent Auction Reserve
Cockburn Special Reserve
Taylor Fladgate First Estate
Sandeman Founder's Reserve
Kopke Special Reserve

We'll be tasting them blind, of course, so it will be really interesting to see how the voting goes!
Glenn Elliott
User avatar
Roy Hersh
Site Admin
Posts: 21427
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2005 1:27 am
Location: Sammamish, WA
Contact:

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Roy Hersh »

Thanks Glenn, that was remarkable. Why not write up your article for the next Guest Corner article? I am blown away by the results and it just shows how blind tasting removes all biases. Please take a couple of photos of the lineup to include in the article. [friends.gif] Great to see everyone and thanks to Carl and Phyllis for joining us from CA, it was nice to have you both with us. [cheers.gif]
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
Carl D
Posts: 268
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:51 pm
Location: El Dorado Hills, CA, USA

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Carl D »

Roy Hersh wrote:Thanks Glenn, that was remarkable. Why not write up your article for the next Guest Corner article? I am blown away by the results and it just shows how blind tasting removes all biases. Please take a couple of photos of the lineup to include in the article. [friends.gif] Great to see everyone and thanks to Carl and Phyllis for joining us from CA, it was nice to have you both with us. [cheers.gif]
Thanks Glenn and Roy! It was a great night with some interesting and unexpected results. I'm so looking forward to our Sacramento event next weekend and seeing how our experiences will compare with last night. Extra compliments to Glenn for a fine dessert selection as well!
Phyllis D
Posts: 74
Joined: Sat Jan 28, 2012 4:29 pm
Location: CA
Contact:

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Phyllis D »

Roy Hersh wrote:Thanks Glenn, that was remarkable. Why not write up your article for the next Guest Corner article? I am blown away by the results and it just shows how blind tasting removes all biases. Please take a couple of photos of the lineup to include in the article. [friends.gif] Great to see everyone and thanks to Carl and Phyllis for joining us from CA, it was nice to have you both with us. [cheers.gif]
Glen & Roy thank you so very much putting this event on. I was completely blown away by the results.

Being a complete newbie to blind tastings, I found this to be most educational and just downright fun! With the wide range of tasters from professionals, to absolute armatures (Carl and me) the way we all fit together so well was amazing.


Now it's time to get some breakfast and start making our way down south.
- Life is too short to drink bad Port
User avatar
Glenn E.
Posts: 8162
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:49 am
Location: Sammamish, Washington, United States of America - USA
Contact:

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Glenn E. »

Thanks to everyone for coming - without the people, a Port tasting is just a lonely guy getting drunk by himself on a Friday night! :lol: :thanks:

Really fun results. I was surprised to have such a clear winner, and then even more surprised that it was a tie! But the gap between the two tied for 1st and the Port in 3rd place was remarkable. And surprising, given which three Ports those were.

I'll take pictures of the bottles and write up a short article for the next newsletter.
Glenn Elliott
User avatar
John M.
Posts: 2097
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 2:15 pm
Location: Hunterdon County, New Jersey, USA

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by John M. »

The New Jersey contingent is meeting Friday, March 30th. [yahoo.gif]

Question for Glenn & Roy: Did you pop and pour or open in advance--if so, how far in advance? I'd like to be consistent if possible (I would tend to open 5-10 hours ahead as I think they're a little better with some air on them). Thanks.
Any Port in a storm!
User avatar
Glenn E.
Posts: 8162
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:49 am
Location: Sammamish, Washington, United States of America - USA
Contact:

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Glenn E. »

John M. wrote:The New Jersey contingent is meeting Friday, March 30th. [yahoo.gif]

Question for Glenn & Roy: Did you pop and pour or open in advance--if so, how far in advance? I'd like to be consistent if possible (I would tend to open 5-10 hours ahead as I think they're a little better with some air on them). Thanks.
I did splash decants from one bottle to another about an hour before we started tasting. My experience with Ruby Reserves is that they're typically best right out of the bottle or after about 24 hrs. A 6-8 hour decant doesn't seem to help them to me.

We did notice one bottle specifically that changed for the worse (slightly) the longer you left it in the glass, but I'll keep that secret to avoid biasing your tasting.

Have fun! I look forward to hearing your results. [cheers.gif]
Glenn Elliott
User avatar
Roy Hersh
Site Admin
Posts: 21427
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2005 1:27 am
Location: Sammamish, WA
Contact:

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Roy Hersh »

John,

Have a great time!

So Seattle, NY and London ... am I forgetting anywhere else? Did Eric in CO mention that he was going to be doing this too?
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
Carl D
Posts: 268
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:51 pm
Location: El Dorado Hills, CA, USA

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Carl D »

Roy Hersh wrote: So Seattle, NY and London ... am I forgetting anywhere else? Did Eric in CO mention that he was going to be doing this too?
Sacramento! Saturday night. We're making final arrangements now, including detailed drawings of the room and the place settings, note cards, swag for the guests and everything. I've resisted the temptation to actually try to draw food... fortunately.
Eric Menchen
Posts: 6329
Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2008 9:48 pm
Location: Longmont, Colorado, United States of America - USA

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Eric Menchen »

Roy Hersh wrote:Did Eric in CO mention that he was going to be doing this too?
Just got back from a week out of town, but still considering it. If anything, it will be a reduced affair, but might do something Sunday.
User avatar
John M.
Posts: 2097
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 2:15 pm
Location: Hunterdon County, New Jersey, USA

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by John M. »

New Jersey is ready for tonight! Here's our line-up:

Fonseca Bin 27
Sandeman Founders Reserve
Taylor First Estate
Noval Black
Grahams Six Grapes
Warres Warrior
Cockburns Special Reserve (square shoulder bottle)
and a Mystery Port

We'll be doing this in two flights.
Any Port in a storm!
User avatar
Al B.
Posts: 6016
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2005 1:06 am
Location: Wokingham, United Kingdom - UK

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Al B. »

A question - mostly for Roy I guess - how should we declare our results? I don't want the London tasting to bias any of the other tastings and we did our tasting semi-blind (we knew what we were tasting in total, but didn't know what was in each glass until after we had tasted them all and chosen our favourites).

I won't declare the result here yet, but I'll wait until others have finished their tastings.
User avatar
Glenn E.
Posts: 8162
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:49 am
Location: Sammamish, Washington, United States of America - USA
Contact:

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Glenn E. »

I'm doing a writeup of the Seattle taste-off for the newsletter. If you'd like, I can expand my article and add a section about the results of other taste-offs from around the world. We have Seattle, 2 in California, New Jersey, and London for sure and another possible one in Colorado.

If everyone likes that idea, please PM me with your information and make sure to send me all of the following:

1. List of Ports tasted
2. List of attendees
3. Complete ranking in whatever format you use, but in particular the Ports ranked #1 through #3
4. Explanation of your ranking regardless of format just in case I'm not familiar with your method
Glenn Elliott
Carl D
Posts: 268
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:51 pm
Location: El Dorado Hills, CA, USA

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Carl D »

Glenn E. wrote:I'm doing a writeup of the Seattle taste-off for the newsletter. If you'd like, I can expand my article and add a section about the results of other taste-offs from around the world. ...
I think that's a great idea! We'll be doing our tomorrow night, so we'll have results to share on Sunday (that's assuming that too much wine will be consumed - between the tasting, dinner and dessert - to write a cogent summary of the event Saturday night).
Phyllis D
Posts: 74
Joined: Sat Jan 28, 2012 4:29 pm
Location: CA
Contact:

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Phyllis D »

1 1/2 hours before we have to leave to set up our R.R. tasting event. It's pouring down rain right now, I just hope it stops before it's time to go. If it was in Seattle area, Carl's luck would win out and the rain would stop.

:winebath:
- Life is too short to drink bad Port
Eric Menchen
Posts: 6329
Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2008 9:48 pm
Location: Longmont, Colorado, United States of America - USA

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by Eric Menchen »

I have Graham's Six Grapes, Noval Black, Broadbent Auction Reserve, and Fonseca Bin 27 right now for a tasting tomorrow. I was thinking of adding the Cockburns as I know I can get a bottle locally. Anything else I should be sure to add, Glenn? :wink:
User avatar
John M.
Posts: 2097
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 2:15 pm
Location: Hunterdon County, New Jersey, USA

Re: The Reserve Ruby Taste Off

Post by John M. »

Eric Menchen » Sat Mar 31, 2012 2:53 pm
I have Graham's Six Grapes, Noval Black, Broadbent Auction Reserve, and Fonseca Bin 27 right now for a tasting tomorrow. I was thinking of adding the Cockburns as I know I can get a bottle locally. Anything else I should be sure to add, Glenn? :wink:
Eric: A lot of us have included the Taylor's First Estate, Sandeman's Founders Reserve, Kopke and Warres Warrior. Also, just for an experiment, our group created a mystery port by combining equal measures of each port on our slate into a decanter/bottle--it did very well.
Any Port in a storm!
Post Reply