Tasting: Offline in LA

Kris Henderson · Post by **Kris Henderson** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:56 am

I'll be in LA (El Segundo actually but LA is more glamorous) this weekend (6/23 and 6/24). Would any forumites in the area like to get together to drink some Port or Douro red wine over a casual dinner? If so, send me a PM and we can figure out when / where to meet.

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 1:00 pm

Kris rocks. Reach out to this serious FTLOP Porto-phile for a fun evening of F&B. (food and beverage, in case you were wondering).

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 1:11 pm

Kris,

I'll send you a PM

Kris Henderson · Post by **Kris Henderson** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 2:20 pm

Thanks for the kind words Roy.

FYI to all, I'm also free on Friday 6/22 and it looks like some Port will be consumed that evening. I'm tentatively planning to bring a '60 Kopke Colheita and a '83 Taylor VP. The Colheita should travel well. I know the 80's weren't that great for Taylor but it will be a good opportunity to try the Hersh method of decanting.

Marc J. · Post by **Marc J.** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 2:25 pm

Kris - Sounds interesting...I'll contact you directly to work out the details.

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 2:47 pm

Marc

Kris and I talked about meeting up on Friday evening, as I have to work sat/sun night. Hopefully your free and able to meet up, it would be great to see you again.

If we need a place to meet, my place is always open.

Kris Henderson · Post by **Kris Henderson** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 3:09 pm

Andy V. wrote:If we need a place to meet, my place is always open.

Andy, That would be great. We could also do this in a restaurant but I would need someone local to set that up since I'm not familiar with the area.

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 4:27 pm

I have no problem with dinner at my place, then onto the drinking. I've got some stems to cover you two, so no worries there.

Sending PMs to both of you.

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 8:10 am

Tonight four of us FTLOP'rs are gathering at mi casa for some Port drinking fun. Nothing better than spending an evening talking, and of course, drinking Port with some fellow FTLOP'rs. More to come later.........

Jay Powers · Post by **Jay Powers** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:08 pm

Andy V. wrote:Tonight four of us FTLOP'rs are gathering at mi casa for some Port drinking fun. Nothing better than spending an evening talking, and of course, drinking Port with some fellow FTLOP'rs. More to come later.........

SoCal stinks. I bet you can get no enjoyment out of your Port due to the pent up aggression you have built up driving around in LA. Plus the heat! :twisted:

NorCal now, thats a much more suitable place to enjoy a bottle or two. Wheres the offline up here?:D
Jay

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 2:48 am

Sorry Jay but L.A. is where its at, LOL!. It's now almost 3am, the last man standing has now left the building. It was a great evening that increased to 6 of us at the last minute. Im a bit

and its time for me to hit the sack.

BTW, the next time I head up your way, we gotta meet up and have some drinking fun

Jay Powers · Post by **Jay Powers** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:44 am

Sounds like you had a great time, are we going to see some notes on the results?

Whenever you plan a trip up let me know and we will get together.

Jay

Kris Henderson · Post by **Kris Henderson** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 3:09 pm

We had lots of fun last night. Thanks for hosting Andy! Lots of good food, fun, and excitement. Including a grease fire! Don't worry though, it was small and contained to the grill. Those prime steaks really throw off a lot of fat when cooking.

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 4:59 pm

I dont have time to give a full reviews yet, as I am heading off to work soon. But here is what we drank and hopefully the others can start things off.

Dry Wines:
2005 Niepoort Redoma Branco
1997 Ramos Pinto Reserva "Duas Quintas"
2003 Carmignano "Piaggia" Riserva (Italian)
1999 Quinta do Crasto Touriga Nacional

Ports:
1989 Warre's Quinta da Cavadinha SQVP
1983 Dows VP*
1983 Taylor Fladgate VP
1960 Kopke Colheita (B. 2001)

*-seems the oddest thing happened since it was a very last minute dinner and tasting. We ended up with two, that right two, bottles of Dows 1983 VP. It was fun tasting them side by side, as one was decanted 7-hours before the other.

gotta run, more later.

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:58 pm

OK time for some TN's and the run down. As you can see from this thread, this was a really last minute offline. But what time we lacked in planning, we sure made up for it in fun...including the grease fire

Nothing like Kris and I trying to blow out the flames on the BBQ and wondering if we should call 911. Anyways, at the 11th hour we ended up with a couple of others, Alex Rodriguez (from FTLOP), Marc's fiance, and a friend of mine from the wine store. Kris was nice enough to have some Flannagen's (sp?) 40-45 aged steaks shipped out for the festivities, and I made a homemade mint and zuchini soup. I'm not much in the way of a cook, but Kris sent me some easy to follow instructions and I was able to pull it off.

The only little snag we ran into, and we overcame it in true Port drinker fashion, was we ended up with 2 bottles of 1983 Dow's VP. What looked like a "What do we do next" quickly turned into "Hey, one was decanted 7 hours before the other...lets do a side-by-side comparison of decanting times." Ahh, we Port drinkers are quite resourceful chaps

Since Kris and I were busy in the kitchen I didn't take any written notes on the dry wines, so here are my impressions from a hazy memory.

We started out with the 2005 Niepoort Redoma Branco with some appetizers. This took about 1 1/2 hours after double decanting to start showing is legs. A smooth and slightly oily wine that is well balanced with some nice citrus notes. It was not overly buttery or oaky, which I don't like, and was a wine I could drink all day. 90 points

We moved on to the 1997 Ramos Pinto Reserva "Duas Quintas" and this was double decanted about 2 hours before we started drinking it. This started out a bit thin and not showing a whole lot. What I would say was a decent middle of the road Douro. By the time I had a last glass about 3 hours later it was finally starting to come alive with some aged fruit and better balance. I know the next time I open one to give it more time before finishing the bottle. 89+

Then onto the last two wines. One was a slight deveation from Portugal and a short hop over to Italy with the 2003 Carmignano "Piaggia" Riserva I've had very little good Italian wines, and although this wasn't really my style, it was shaping up to be a very good one. It was very tight and closed almost the whole time we drank it. There was some left at the end of the night and I tried it. It was just barily starting to loosen up and I liked what I saw. If you like these types of wine, this is one to get. 92+

Then on to the 1999 Quinta do Crasto Touriga Nacional This had around 2 hours decant time when we got around to drinking it. Of the several vintages of this I've tried, I see what all the fuss is about. One heck of a wine here. Still showing some young fruit but those secondary charactaristics were also starting to show. An elegant long finish completed this...my dry wine of the night 93+

OK, on to the Ports...
1989 Warre's Quinta da Cavadinha SQVP: Decanted 13 hours. A nice cinnamon, spice, and spearmint nose with a nice touch of heat that rounded it out. While this was a medium bodied SQVP, it was quite elegant on the palate with some tannins still showing. The finish was medium/long. While this appears to be hitting its stride, and should hold there for another 5 or so years, this is a classic example of a mid-term drinking SQVP. 91

1983 Dows VP: (both of them) The one that was decanted was just barily lighter in the center, the edges being about the same. While the just decanted one showed more primary fruit on the nose, the 7 hour decanted one was showing some deep marion berries and had lost that in-your-face plums of the just opened bottle. The decanted bottles tannins was not so rough and had integrated quite well, but make no mistake, the tannins are still plentiful in these babies. While it was fun to compare two bottles side by side, the decanting really showed. 91+ for the decanted bottled and 89+ for the just opened bottle.

There was a little of the Dows left, and I finished it a few days later. While it wasn't the gem it was earlier, it was still a very tasty VP and I was glad there was some left overs.

1983 Taylor Fladgate VP I've had this about 4-5 times now and this bottle was no different. The color was a very light ruby, clearly showing a ton of age. It was very light on the palate with faded fruit and smoke with a medium finish. 85 (If you got em, drink up fast folks it aint going to get any better

)

1960 Kopke Colheita (B. 2001): Brown with a redish orange hue. Nose of carmel, nuts, mahogany, and some VA (what a couple people describe as Bual like). I was smelling and I was liking this already. A nice heavyweight on the palate with seemless layers of vanilla, almonds, carmel, acid, and a long elegant finish. This is one heck of a Colheita. 94 and my Port of the night.

It was a great time and I cannot thank everyone enough for their generosity, great company, and for making it happen on such short notice.

Marc J. · Post by **Marc J.** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 7:19 am

Great tasting notes! It was interesting to compare the two Dow's and the differences we saw between them. I agree that the Taylor's was somewhat disappointing. I was really hoping for a bit more from that bottle. All in all it was a terriffic evening of food & drink!

Kris Henderson · Post by **Kris Henderson** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 8:48 am

Andy,

Great notes! I pretty much agree with your impressions with some minor differences here and there. My notes are back at the hotel so I'll see if I can get them typed up in a couple days. The steaks are from Bryan Flannery. Good stuff. It was great seeing you again.

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 11:55 am

I feel like a proud papa. This is great and one of the things I hoped would eventually take root the longer we continue to get to know one another. The friendships formed here are pretty cool and the FTLOP community is spreading!

This was the second time that Kris & Andy have had the opPORTunity to drink together. Actually, Kris hosted a bunch of FTLOPers at his home not to long ago, for a very memorable Colheita tasting.

I have a feeling that before long, Kris will get to drink with Andy again, although probably some pretty young Colheitas next time.

Andy, you did a really fine job of posting your TNs and impressions of the dry wines and variety of Ports. Now how do I get you, Kris or others to write these up as "Guest Corner" articles for the newsletter instead of just postings.

I know ... you are afraid of being googled, right?

Kris, I had the B. Flannery steaks last Friday night and was REALLY impressed at how tender and juicy they were. They certainly rival the depth of flavor of Lobel's!

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 1:19 pm

Roy Hersh wrote: Andy, you did a really fine job of posting your TNs and impressions of the dry wines and variety of Ports. Now how do I get you, Kris or others to write these up as "Guest Corner" articles for the newsletter instead of just postings.

Just ask

This was the second time that Kris & Andy have had the opPORTunity to drink together. Actually, Kris hosted a bunch of FTLOPers at his home not to long ago, for a very memorable Colheita tasting.

This was also the second that Marc, Alex R., and I have met up at my house. They are all a great group of guys...Alex, next time I'll have that cigar you spoke about to celebrate my postings

I have a feeling that before long, Kris will get to drink with Andy again, although probably some pretty young Colheitas next time. Laughing

Ohh good, I only like the younger stuff :joker:

Alex R · Post by **Alex R** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 2:17 pm

I will definitely bring the cigars to our next offline and a dow's 83 j/k