What have you opened this week?

[John M.]

Graham's 20 yo Tawny.

How do you like the Graham's 20?

It's decent. Not a great 20 year old but quite drinkable. What's your favorite 20 year old Tawny?
If you haven't had a Pacheca 20 year old, I highly recommend it.

For me the 30 gets interesting and is quite good. The 40 is a little disappointing for what it is; the easy choice is the 30.

[Moses Botbol]

What's your favorite 20 year old Tawny?

For the stuff that is easy to find I like Ferreira, Noval, and Taylor are my go to's.

Maynard's is one of best buys out there, but not as common.

[Mike J. W.]

What's your favorite 20 year old Tawny?

For the stuff that is easy to find I like Ferreira, Noval, and Taylor are my go to's.

Maynard's is one of best buys out there, but not as common.

I have not tried any of the 3 bigger names you mentioned, but The Maynard's is pretty plentiful down my way and I've tried the 20 yo a few times. It's good, especially for its
price point. I have a 30 year old Maynard's in the cellar as well.

[Tom Archer]

The Wine Society's Centenary 1985 VP bottled by Martinez

- I don't know if this is the same as the regular Mz 85 - or a custom blend..

An odd bottle from a mixed auction lot secured earlier this year.

Taking the capsule off last night I was confronted by a slightly depressed cork with a puddle of smelly brown goo sitting on top of it. Not encouraging.

After wiping off the goo I drew the cork which was not obviously branded. The cork smelt rancid. I then cleaned the neck of the bottle to remove any vestiges of the goo before decanting. I felt slightly surprised when the wine emerged as red.

Not only was the wine red, but after a little bottle stink blew off, there was nothing obviously faulty with it. Only briefly sampled last night - will visit again this evening..

Edit: On day two a hint of VA was detectable, but with the aeration of pouring a few glasses, that disappeared and the wine gained more body. A very middle of the road VP, no superstar, but respectable after a long decant. Score: 5-5

[Phil W]

Taking the capsule off last night I was confronted by a slightly depressed cork with a puddle of smelly brown goo sitting on top of it. Not encouraging.

After wiping off the goo I drew the cork which was not obviously branded. The cork smelt rancid. I then cleaned the neck of the bottle to remove any vestiges of the goo before decanting. I felt slightly surprised when the wine emerged as red.

Not only was the wine red, but after a little bottle stink blew off, there was nothing obviously faulty with it. Only briefly sampled last night - will visit again this evening..

A good example of why you should thoroughly clean the top of the bottle after capsule removal, both before and after cork extraction.

[Moses Botbol]

A good example of why you should thoroughly clean the top of the bottle after capsule removal, both before and after cork extraction.

This is a good habit in general.

[Thomas V]

30 Anos Quinta das Lamelas Branco
30 Anos Kopke Tawny

The Lamelas is really something. Just focused and hits on all parameters that an older white should.

[Andy Velebil]

2000 Offley Colheita (b. 2019) last night. Will retaste today and post a TN

[Bert VD]

Vieira de Sousa Fine Ruby. in my opinion it's better than Noval Black. and cheaper too.

[Al B.]

On Monday I opened a bottle of Sandeman 1968, an unusual vintage to share with someone born that year. Initially full of VA, by Friday the VA had gone to give a midweight mature Port.

[David Spriggs]

Kopke Colheita 1957
A very different animal from all the other Kopke Colheitas I’ve had. More subtle and vegetal than I expected.

I have one of those. Do you remember the bottling date of your bottle?

[David Spriggs]

For me the 30 gets interesting and is quite good. The 40 is a little disappointing for what it is; the easy choice is the 30.

Agreed!

[Andy Velebil]

1997 Souza VP.

[David Spriggs]

Maynard's is one of best buys out there, but not as common.

Palmer's as well. (Same company - Barão de Vilar)

[David Spriggs]

30 Anos Quinta das Lamelas Branco
30 Anos Kopke Tawny

The Lamelas is really something. Just focused and hits on all parameters that an older white should.

Quinta das Lamelas is seriously under appreciated.

[Mike J. W.]

1997 Souza VP.

How is that '97 Souza, Andy? I have two of those in my cellar.

[Andy Velebil]

1997 Souza VP.

How is that '97 Souza, Andy? I have two of those in my cellar.

Posted a TN on it.

[Glenn E.]

1976 Krohn Colheita, bottled in 2006

An "oldie but goodie" that I've had for many years. One of the last of those bottles, in fact... I may have one more but I'm not sure. Most of the rest of my Kr76s are later bottlings. This was tasted alongside a Quevedo 40 year old. The Krohn was darker in flavor profile as well as being sharper and more precise. I also felt like the alcohol was more prominent, but no one else seemed to notice. The Quevedo was rounder in the mouth and had a noticeably more full body weight, both of which I preferred over the Krohn. I didn't score either at the time, but probably would have had the Quevedo at ~93 and the Krohn at ~92.

[Eric Menchen]

1980 Dow VP. This was a tasty bottle purchased from WineBid, but not as great as when I had it in Portugal at a tasting with Dominic Symington.

[Al B.]

1991 Morgan Brothers - a bottle from the big parcel we bought from Christie's in February 2007