March Madness: The next Port Buying Op - details.

[Russ K]

thanks Andy, at the very least I was hoping to see what all the fuss was about, but I usually do like to get on these things...

[Roy Hersh]

Hi Russ,

As I know of one individual who was able to see and order as of last night (while we were at a tasting in NYC) he downloaded the newsletter last night. This is a problem today (Sunday) and the 404 Error Message will be looked into and fixed asap by those with greater tech skills.

When it is fixed, and IF you would like to place an order, CC me on your order sent to the importer. They have strict instructions NOT to take any orders after Saturday night. So if you CC me, I can intercede on your behalf.

Thanks for bringing this issue to the fore.

Sincerely,

Roy

[Russ K]

thanks Roy, if the cut off was last night, then I would of been out of luck anyways and I think it likely unfair for me to participate given others ordered when they were supposed to. I will try to download later tomorrow though to check it out.

Cheers
Russ

[Roy Hersh]

Double good news:

a. the .pdf download has just been fixed, so it is now available again for all.

b. there are times where an exception can and should be made. As a long time subscriber and given you were away on vacation, IF you choose to want to place an order, as mentioned above, I will intercede on your behalf. The entire reason for these buyer's ops is to thank and reward loyalty of subscribers, so indeed, I must do so for someone who has supported FTLOP for years as you have.

Roy

[Russ K]

thanks Roy, I will put something in.
Russ

[Roy Hersh]

Glad you were able to take advantage of it!

Best regards,

Roy

[Miguel Simoes]

Ended up getting

18 x 2004 Grande Reserva
5 x 20 Yr Tawny
4 x 30 Yr Tawny
2 x 40 Yr Tawny
1 x 60 Yr tawny

Shifted things around considerably after learning that packaging+shipping+insurance would come to ~$100/15 bottle case.

V exciting. Thank you Roy for putting it together!

[Roy Hersh]

Well for whatever reason, Alex asked to get some post-offer info on what was ordered.

Between the EU, Canada and the USA, over 120 cases x 12 were ordered by 80 individuals. The largest order was for 5 cases and there were at least three or four people that ordered 4 cases and quite a few that ordered 3.

That is a pretty solid showing given so few people had previously tried these wines and Ports.

Thanks to all of you that participated in the offering!

I am most proud that now that this is in the rear view mirror, the aftermath is that Miguel's wines and Ports will always be available in the USA and Alberta, Canada in the future.

Likely in the next couple of weeks, a mailer will go out to all non-subscribers and subscribers too, to offer the same wines at the retail pricing. Subscribers will then realize how great a deal this actually was. But in looking at 120+ cases, I think that is already clear.

[Andy Velebil]

Wow that's a lot of wine/Port. I love it, great job my fellow FTLOPers!!!!!


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[Bradley Bogdan]

Wow that's a lot of wine/Port. I love it, great job my fellow FTLOPers!!!!!


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+1!


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[John M.]

Wow that's a lot of wine/Port. I love it, great job my fellow FTLOPers!!!!!


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+1!


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+2...way cool!

[Glenn E.]

120 cases x 12 were ordered by 80 individuals.

That's awesome!

I think that shows that us Port geeks had a lot of pent-up demand for Miguel's product. We've always known how good it is, we just haven't been able to get our hands on it. Now we just need to spread the word so that the launch into the US is as successful as the FTLOP offering!

(Kind of scary that I was merely an "average" order - 1.5 cases! Mine was almost all the top-end stuff, though.)

[Al B.]

Thanks for sharing with us how much was bought. Even though I didn't buy any, I am still really pleased for you and for Miguel that all your hard work paid off. 120 cases is over two pipes - that's not too shabby!

[Roy Hersh]

Thanks Alex. Funny that Miguel asked me why no one in the UK bought any. I told him that I really did not know, but that Tawny is not a big thing over there. He said, "Well, we did have Vintage too." I moved the topic to a more positive note at that point.

Anyway, for any non-subscribers, there will be another offering that will be sent by email. The same wines will be offered at the regular retail prices and I may include the pricing that subscribers paid so that people can see how advantageous they were by comparison. It really would've been fairly easy to pay for a subscription even if buying in just Douro wines, no less a few bottles of 30 or 40 year old. Oh well, at least I feel very good for Miguel, the importers and of course the subscribers who took advantage of the offering. My sincere thanks to all.

[Roy Hersh]

During the buyer's op, (since the 60 and 100 year old will both be in 500 ml in the future) but only the 100+ year old will be in 500 ml for subscribers of FTLOP, while the 60 year old will be in 750 for us; please note that the label doesn't make the 60 year old very clear but there will be a neck tag that clearly states that it is the 60. Otherwise, it might be easy to mix up with the 40. Just a pre-warning before they arrive as I was not made aware of this until after the fact.

[Glenn E.]

Just to be explicit so that there's no confusion:

The 1-week long subscribers-only offer for the 60-yr old was for 750ml bottles. The now-current retail offer that is available to everyone for the 60-yr old is for 500ml bottles. It isn't possible to order the 750ml bottles anymore.

That's why the current offer's price only seems like it's a little higher than the subscriber's offer price - it's for 2/3 as much Port. That probably also explains the labeling - the "real" labels were made for 500ml bottles, so couldn't be used on a 750ml bottle.

(Roy please correct me if I've screwed up this summary, but I believe this is correct based on our conversations.)

[Richard Beeken]

If the label on the 60 yr old doesn't clearly state that it's the 60 year old, what does it say? Does it say it's something else? If it does, this would, to me, be a significant concern.
A bit hard to fathom what would be the impediment to putting an accurate label on the 60 as they presumably did on the rest of the wines.

[Andy Velebil]

If the label on the 60 yr old doesn't clearly state that it's the 60 year old, what does it say? Does it say it's something else? If it does, this would, to me, be a significant concern.
A bit hard to fathom what would be the impediment to putting an accurate label on the 60 as they presumably did on the rest of the wines.

The IVDP and their wacky regulations???

[Eric Menchen]

A bit hard to fathom what would be the impediment to putting an accurate label on the 60 as they presumably did on the rest of the wines.

The IVDP and their wacky regulations???

+1
According to the IVDP, you can label TWIOA as 10, 20, 30, and 40+. There is no 60 or 100 or anything else.

[Eric Ifune]

When received, I'll reinforce the neck tag with some clear tape. I've done this for other wines whose vintage was on neck labels. (The old Beaulieu Private Reserve Cabernets or Macarini Barolo for example)