I recently purchased a few bottles while down in the US and brought them back home to Canada with me.
As soon as I opened the suitcase I knew something had gone horribly wrong.
The suitcase was drenched with a sickly-sweet 'port-smell'. I had packed four bottles (Taylor '77, Vesuvio '94, Otima 20 yr Tawny and the Niepoort 1976 Colheita)... the Taylor 77 and Vesuvio 94 (being the two treasures for me) were in a shippers box and the other two were on either side, double-wrapped in various articles of clothing for protection.My first thought was "Not the '77... NOT the '77!!!"
It was not. Thank god!
The Niepoort 1976 Colheita was destroyed. In my packing (whilst under the influence of 1991 Krohn VP) in my hotel room, I inadvertently packed that particular bottle right on top of what I suspect was the metal "rib-cage" of my suitcase (I generally try to avoid the rib cage when packing anything of value, especially bottles). I suppose that even though the bottle was double-wrapped (a sweater and a pair of slacks) that a sharp blow to the side of the suitcase (for example when it lands on the conveyor belt from rough baggage-handler treatment) would force the rib of the suitcase into the bottle. Enough force would (and did apparently) shatter it.
I'm crushed.
The Niepoort Colheitas are not available up here, at least not that I can find in Edmonton, and worse it was a bottle (the first I could find) of anything from my birth year. <sigh> In any case, at least the '77 Taylor ($190USD!!!
) survived as did the Vesuvio. I will eventually open both these and toast tha memory of my fallen comrade.(Talks with the airline did not go well - the suitcase itself was not damaged and as I had not placed it in a proper shipping case, there was little they could, or would, do.)
Learn from my mistake folks!!! Pack your bottles in shipping cases, no matter how much they cost!!!
Todd
