Your thoughts on the Enólogo Buying Op

[Roy Hersh]

i WOULD APPRECIATE PRICES NOT BEING SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED, as Subscribers did get more advantageous pricing. All else is fair game.

It is never easy to introduce (as Dylan phrased it:) "a complete unknown" and so, with best of intentions to introduce America and the EU, to a collection of 5 White and 5 Tawny Ports, that will be bottled, only after the ordering period is over ... currently, these Ports are only known to Port enthusiasts in Denmark. Getting these Enólogo Ports into the USA was challenging enough, but Hawaii and Alaska were not possible. That said, those that do trust my palate, the pricing was as advantageous as could be arranged and still fair to the producer, who cut margins to make this work. Understandably, these are not "bargain-priced" ... nor should they be, as they rival the majority of Ports of equivalent age ... with very few exceptions, qualitatively speaking!

This was the reminder for subscribers and tonight the non-subscribers version will be sent out:

Dear Subscribers to FTLOP,

Thank you for your confidence over the past 14 years that I have been providing exciting Port buying ops for you. As mentioned in last week's newsletter, this is a limited time Port offering, and consider this your 1st reminder that the clock is ticking and to get orders in to insure you're able to take advantage of these 10 great Ports.

While I realize 99% of you have never even heard of Enólogo, but having purchased Port, Madeira, Moscatel and table wines that you have never tasted, solely based on my recommendations and reasonable prices in nearly 20 previous buying ops, have I ever steered you wrong? EXACTLY! These Ports are widely sold in Denmark only. I convinced the 2 owners, to allow me to introduce their wonderful lineup of Ports across America and to EU countries too. There is no question as to their excellence!

A close friend of mine asked on Sunday: "Roy, but we do not know the source of these Ports, that would be helpful." I had not asked that question of the owners, as I felt it was impolite and with a brand nobody knew, was almost besides the point. Today I asked them. Their response:
"The large majority of what is is sold by the Port trade, is bought from families in the Douro, origins are often unknown. We purchased these well-stored stocks of Whites and Tawnies, and Joana who trained years ago with the best master blender in Douro, put her stamp on this visible brand, by painstakingly blending these Ports which sell extremely well in Denmark, a very sophisticated and competitive market for Port wine."

In the attachment, I've included all of the tasting notes, and made it easy for you to make a sound decision. Prices are solid given the top quality of these Ports, shipping made very easy. The rest is simple, do you trust me to offer you Ports or not? I believe my track record speaks for itself, and I would never jeopardize my reputation to bring you something new, that practically no one else owns ... IF it did not offer both great quality and value for money.

The choice is yours!

Roy Hersh ... Founder, FTLOP

[Glenn E.]

currently, these Ports are only known to Port enthusiasts in Denmark.

... and a small group of Port enthusiasts who were on my birthday tour in May!

I typically prefer slightly sweeter and slightly less acidic Ports than Roy does. And I'm not a professional critic, so I make no attempt to rate the "objective quality" of a Port in my scores. My scores are to remind me how much I liked a Port, not whether or not I thought it was objectively good. Sometimes, if my score seems out-of-whack to the objective quality of a Port (either better or worse), I might make a note of that in the tasting note itself, but it doesn't affect my score.

So sometimes my scores may look a bit weird.

That's the case with these whites. But they're "weird" only in the sense that I liked all 5 of the whites about the same, giving the 10 year old 93 points like Roy, but then giving the rest all the same 94 points. I liked the 30 year old more than he did, and liked the 50 less than he did. That said, 94 points still means "outstanding" in my ratings (which is above "excellent"), and is something I will want to find and add to my cellar. So I did... I have 10 whites coming from the buying op.

The tawnies were less exciting for me. I thought the 10 and 20 were fine, but that they seemed a touch out of balance. The 10 more so than the 20. That might resolve itself with some time in bottle, but it's hard to say. They also both exhibited a slight sharpness that I blamed on a little bit of alcohol showing through. It's funny that Roy mentioned the original Bulas 20 year old in the newsletter, because in looking back at my notes just now I made the exact same comparison in May... I was just a point lower than he was. The 30 seemed better balanced and I thought it was excellent but not outstanding. I was again a point lower than Roy. The 30 is something that I'd happily drink any time, but don't need to stock because I already have more Port than I can drink in my lifetime. The 40 was my favorite and I gave it 95 points like Roy, but I dropped the 50 back down to 94 because it seemed a bit too heavy. Flavor-wise they were both superb, so I bought one of each to fill up my case.

Joana is an incredible master blender, and while her style is distinct I could sense some of the knowledge that she picked up years ago. I think that these Ports for Enologo are some of her best work to date!

Torben knows the Danish market very well, and as he said it is a very sophisticated and competitive market. Especially for wood-aged Ports. So the success of Enologo in that market is a strong indicator of the quality of these Ports!

[Andy Velebil]

I’ve not tried them, but they sound like very good ports.

I’m on the fence because the timing of the Op is rough coming at the very tail end of the holidays and after a couple major wine auctions recently. Those have sucked my wine buying budget at the moment.

[Eric Menchen]

... and a small group of Port enthusiasts who were on my birthday tour in May!

I enjoyed that tasting and was hoping to get my tasting notes posted before this Op runs out. I think I might have liked the tawnies more than Glenn, and was definitely considering buying some.

[Eric Ifune]

I’ve not tried them, but they sound like very good ports.

I’m on the fence because the timing of the Op is rough coming at the very tail end of the holidays and after a couple major wine auctions recently. Those have sucked my wine buying budget at the moment.

I ordered a case. But I also have just bought a bunch of stuff.

[Eric Menchen]

I enjoyed that tasting and was hoping to get my tasting notes posted before this Op runs out. I think I might have liked the tawnies more than Glenn, and was definitely considering buying some.

Short version: I didn't taste the whites because I had a bad case of food poisoning on the trip and had to cut things out somewhere. For the tawnies:
10 - 91 points
20 - 92 points
30 - 92 points
40 - 94+ points
50 - 94 points
I'll probably pick up a case, with a bunch of 40 and 50, and a few others just to preserve some financial sanity.

[Glenn E.]

10 - 91 points
20 - 92 points
30 - 92 points
40 - 94+ points
50 - 94 points

We (and Roy) are actually pretty close. We're within a point on all but the 10.

10 - 88 points
20 - 91 points
30 - 93 points
40 - 95 points
50 - 94 points

So I guess it was really only the 10 and 20 that were "less exciting" for me, because I'm right in line with the 30, 40, and 50. We just tasted the whites first and those were pretty uniformly outstanding, so the 10 and 20 felt like a bit of a let down as we started through the tawnies.

[John M.]

We are Port Nerds---so am thrilled to have another Label to try -- that they are recognized as good to excellent makes me confident in purchasing. And how much better than bottled on demand? Love this OP. Getting a bunch and certainly every white up and down the ladder.

[Al B.]

I would have loved to have been able to buy some of the wines, but it was US and EU only so I had to pass.

But, as Andy says, this buying op came at the end of a stunning auction season and my budget was already pretty fully used, so it was a bit of a relief that the UK wasn’t eligible.

[Roy Hersh]

Fun to read everyone's thoughts. Of course palates and scores will vary. That's to be expected.

Alex, since these will be bottled in the not distant future, if there's anything you'd like ... let me know and I can ship it to you. That was the biggest issue ... for including the UK. Not that it is impossible, by any means. Just far more challenging than other countries not named Norway.

Appreciate everyone who took a moment to provide some feedback. It is always great to hear your thoughts!

If others want to chime in too, please do ...

[Eric Menchen]

I would have loved to have been able to buy some of the wines, but it was US and EU only so I had to pass.
... that the UK wasn’t eligible.

Is this really the case? I asked because while EU is mentioned and pricing is in Euros, the shipping chart lists shipping costs to the UK.

[Al B.]

I would have loved to have been able to buy some of the wines, but it was US and EU only so I had to pass.
... that the UK wasn’t eligible.

Is this really the case? I asked because while EU is mentioned and pricing is in Euros, the shipping chart lists shipping costs to the UK.

That's true, but then since Brexit we also have to add duty, VAT and the customs clearance fees on top of any pricing we're offered. They tend to eat into the attractiveness of pricing unless I can fly to Portugal and collect it myself - which is sometimes possible, but not on this occasion.

Alex, since these will be bottled in the not distant future, if there's anything you'd like ... let me know and I can ship it to you. That was the biggest issue ... for including the UK. Not that it is impossible, by any means. Just far more challenging than other countries not named Norway.

Thanks Roy. I might take you up on the offer...but I need to not buy Port!!!

[Roy Hersh]

Alex,

Trust me, I do understand!

[Mike J. W.]

I enjoyed the tasting back in May and preferred the Whites to the Tawnies, but that's just me. I thought the 10 year-old White drank more like a 20 year-old and in fact preferred it to the 20 year-old. It's an excellent QPR and I'll have a half dozen in my cellar along with a handful of the 40 year-old Tawnies and 1 50 year-old White.

[Roy Hersh]

Mike,

I agree ... the 10 White is killer, esp. for the price. If tasting completely blind, I'd believe it was a 20, for sure! A really excellent 10 for sure. I can't think of any that top it. Equal yes, but only a couple.

The 40 Tawny was a spectacular Port, really showed "game" and is right up there with some of the biggest names. It really boils down to the stylistic profile you like. The price was right, imo, and nobody who ever sips this fine 40 is going to walk away disappointed, that is for sure. It will be fun in the future, to put this up against the 40T of a couple of other producers' 40s.