What are the 3 best Ports you've had in 2008

[Ted D]

OK, here goes:

Weise and Krohn 1961 Colheita.
Just love this wine. I have found some of theese Colheitas to vary widely depending on their disgorgement date, for example the 66 Krohn Colheita which varies from 87 points (2003 bottling) to low/mid 90s, earlier bottlings.
Can't tell you when it was bottled as it's not in front of me now.

1952 Delaforce Colheita
I like Colheitas!

1975 Smith Woodhouse -- blind, and unexpected. It simply appeared at a restaurant. Many points or the surprise. Big bold and full of fruit. I was shocked it was a 75!

Honorable mention: Grahams 70, Taylor 70

[Bob Parsons Alberta]

I was in Medicine Hat for Xmas, lovely time but non wine geek crowd. I took my last `94 Warres LBV and consumed over 3 days. Wonderful wine and yes, can confirm all the hype!

[Todd Pettinger]

As others have alluded to, several standout Ports in a year where my exploration of older, mature VPs has increased exponentially. This was a very good year and I got to enjoy many great bottles, some generous offers from Sean and Moses in Boston and from Conrad here in Edmonton. My top two are easy. The third required a lot of thought, and as a couple of others note, I have a few honourable mentions as well.

1. Quinta do Vesuvio 1994 VPMy oh my. What a kick-ass Port this was! As detailed in my Guest Corner article in December's newsletter, this was an eye-opener and i have decided I must simply track down at least a case of this for the future!

2. Fonseca Guimaraens 1976 VPMy birth year and a true epiphany for me. Sadly, I have just one bottle of this and must find more. Big, bold, beautiful and as close to perfect as I could imagine.

3. Fonseca 1966 VPAt a generous blind evening filled with Fonseca and Taylor in November, this was the winner. Showed exceptionally young and gorgeous.

Hnourable mentions go to:
1970 Fonseca VP
1970 Taylor VP
1966 Taylor VP
1985 Dow VP (tremendous upside to this bottle)
1994 Fonseca VP

Here's looking forward to 2009 and hopefully more Port epiphanies for me as I further explore aged/mature VPs!

Todd

[Roy Hersh]

OK, for anyone holding out hope that the last few days of the year would provide a Port epiphany worth entering in your Top 3, now is your chance to let us know.

[Derek T.]

1. Fonseca 1966 at the 1966 Horizontal in London
2. Cockburn 1977 at the Cockburn Vertical in London
3. Taylor 1970 at The Bell, Wendens Ambo, Cambridgeshire

...and a special mention for the 1831 Ferriera at Portal Restaurant in London, courtesy of Christopher Gee.

Derek

[Pedro Guimaraes]

My 3 highlights (2008 was a weak year for me in terms of Port...i promise i'll make it up in 2009)

Burmester Colheita Reserva "Novidade" 1922 - simply unbelievable....
Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage 1976 - special as i was born in the year but the wine is nothing short of greatness
Churchill's Quinta da Gricha Vintage 1999 - a pleasant Christmas surprise still young but very appealing...


Et voila...

[Ronald Wortel]

Not necessarily the best, but certainly the most special ports of the year:

- Fonseca Guimaraens 1976 - my wedding port. Great port, great memories.
- Cockburn 1977 - kindly donated by Cockburn to make the 1977 offline of last summer even more special
- Niepoort Garrafeira 1952 - the second time I got to drink this port. A rare and delicious gem.

[Moses Botbol]

This is a tough one... So many good ports this year, and no notebook to look at what I have had. Off hand, my picks are:

1948 Taylor - Same one Andy V. is talkin' about.

1967 Nacional - Roy's bottle from Croft weekend. Way to young to drink, but a honor to see how powerful and youthful port can be. This bottle will out live all of us

1950 Grahams - yummy.

I am sure I will be reminded of 10 other ports that I rated higher that are escaping my memory...

[Brian C.]

2008 was my first year of really getting into port, so my list is not going to be quite as impressive...

1955 Dow - I remember this had an incredible finish to it.

1983 Cockburn - (No, it was not corked.) I actually had it on the prior New Year's Eve, so it might very well have been before midnight. Close enough? My great uncle's girlfriend had a number of bottles of it in her basement, bought in honor of something once upon a time.

1992 Martinez Quinta da Eira Velha - I will always remember this bottle because it is the first bottle of vintage port I ever bought and decanted at home. It's not going to be on anybody's all time list, but it was my first.

I also had Taylor 40 Year and Graham's 30 Year, and both were quite good, but I was already a bit buzzed from prior wine intake to have any good notes to offer.

[Andy Velebil]

1983 Cockburn - (No, it was not corked.) I actually had it on the prior New Year's Eve, so it might very well have been before midnight. Close enough? My great uncle's girlfriend had a number of bottles of it in her basement, bought in honor of something once upon a time.

1992 Martinez Quinta da Eira Velha - I will always remember this bottle because it is the first bottle of vintage port I ever bought and decanted at home. It's not going to be on anybody's all time list, but it was my first.

Brian,
Glad the Cockburn's wasn't corked. When this isn't corked this is one of the best '83 you can have.

I still remember my first VP, the one that started me down the long slippery road to meet all of you wonderful people. That was the 1966 Taylor's VP back around 2000ish. I still have the bottle and i forever shall keep it as a reminder. I also still have one last bottle of my first case purchase, the 1986 Dow's Quinta do Bomfim. Not a great SQVP, but I'm not sure when I'll ever open that last bottle. As it has sentimental value far more than what it is worth.

[Derek T.]

What a waste! So sad that wine lovers won't get to enjoy them. Although I do understand his point about a few uber rich people buying things just for trophy's. If thats the case he should find someone who he knows will enjoy and appreciate drinking them and either sell or give them away. To me the memories of drinking a bottle are far far better than any full bottle sitting in a cellar that will never see light.

I also still have one last bottle of my first case purchase, the 1986 Dow's Quinta do Bomfim. Not a great SQVP, but I'm not sure when I'll ever open that last bottle. As it has sentimental value far more than what it is worth.

[Andy Velebil]

Well, it ain't exactly an expensive rare bottle, and it is the ONLY bottle. But it WILL be opened at some point to share with friends. Not sure when, but my goal is to drink all my cellar before I die...or die trying

[Alan Gardner]

Top two were 1970 Fonseca and 1947 Tuke Holdsworth (the latter with years still ahead of it).
Not sure of the third - but the greatest disappointment this year was the 70 Taylor, Fladgate (again- I've had a couple of good ones in the past but it often disappoints - is it possible there was more than one bottling (I'm referring to the Portuguese bottlings)?).

[Scott Anaya]

Top 3....

'94 Vesuvio----Wow, i need far more of this in my cellar too.

'70 Taylor---solid solid solid---

'01 Ramos Pinto LBV----Just because I can drink this over and over- all year long and I did!

[Soren Bodker]

In 2007 me and my wife and two friends (they didn't bring their wifes) were in Potugal with only one purpose - PORT. After this journey we agreed to meet (with wifes) 3 times every year to enjoy a lovely dinner and taste some Potugise Wine and of cause Port. It has become a rough competition - but it gives us all the possibility to open the best bottles knowing that everyone present are able to appreciate what is pured into the glasses. The dinner in April at my house gives med the top three. The first one is without any doubt the number one. Nu 2 and 3 perhaps most because of the dinner, the company and the memories - please forgive me.

1. Feist Old Port Reserve 1878 - pure gold in colour, nose and taste. I have never tasted anything that come close to this experience. I was lucky at an auction, nobody (including myself) knew what it was and with allmost 1 cm sediment it was a chance to buy it. I got for the same price as a good 1994.

2. Noval Nacional 1987 - Not one of the best Nacionals but still a good glass of port.

3. Morgan 1970 - fair for this year but won't get better.

[Andy Velebil]

1947 Tuke Holdsworth

Now there is a bottle you don't hear much about.

'94 Vesuvio----Wow, i need far more of this in my cellar too.

Yes, buy all you can. It is one stellar bottle.

Feist Old Port Reserve 1878

Sounds very cool. Do you know if this was a Colheita (tawny). I ask because many of the older bottles used "Reserve" to denote a wood aged Port.

[Soren Bodker]

Andy wrote
Feist Old Port Reserve 1878 Sounds very cool. Do you know if this was a Colheita (tawny). I ask because many of the older bottles used "Reserve" to denote a wood aged Port.

After enjoying the bottle I wrote Roy H. to hear if he could tell something about this bottle. He could but I am not able to find his answer for the moment (My pc died in May 2008, and the hardcopy I took is somewhere in one of several big boxes). Instead I send two pictures I took when I wrote to Roy H. One of the label on the bottle neck and one with the wine we got at our dinner - third from left is the Feist.

IMG_0138.jpg (98.25 KiB) Viewed 1697 times

[Roy Hersh]

Soren,

Would you please add these pictures to PORTraits! Thanks.

[Jose Costa]

Not usually being a white Porto drinker I am most impressed with the Special Reserve White of Casa Santa Eufemia (CSE). This superb nectar dates back to 1973, though due to IVDP legislation the year can not appear on the label. By now it looks only slightly lighter than an old Tawny. It has a magnificent array of aromas and flavours and a finish that just goes on and on. The first time I tried it I made the gross mistake of tasting a normally excellent Douro DOC, 20 minutes after the Special Reserve White and ... the Douro DOC was just so pedestrian...

Recently I tasted the Portal Vintage 2003 and think that is an excellent VP; still young but one that augurs very well for the long term.

Final one for my top 3 of 2008, is the Quinta Nova Vintage 2005. Still young, it is the closest VP to a good Douro DOC still wine that I have tasted and I had it with a meal rather than at the end of the meal. The main course was Beef Wellington and I thought that the Quinta Nova VP was a great match for the foie gras in the Wellington.

Cheers!

[David Spriggs]

Nice choices! I believe that we had lunch with the owner/winemaker of Quinta Nova on the first harvest tour. We had a 2000 Quinta Nova V.P which I liked a lot.
-Dave-