Jonathan S wrote:
Derek, all those Ports between June 24th and 29th? If I were not seated, I would be in a heap on the floor! You are now on my short list of heroes in the Pantheon of Port! I'm speechless...
That was the line up from our recent Douro trip, plus some that aren't mentioned. The component samples Derek mentions were another 19 bottles alone! It was a lot of tasting and writing of notes, so now you understand why I said in "MY Douro Trip" thread why it would take some time to type up all my notes. :help:
Wow! That must have been a wonderful time! When I went to Oporto last year, the best I could do is bumble around and visit a few of the Port lodges for a few tastings... Okay, my bags are packed and I'm ready to go with you on your next trip. When do we leave? Don't I wish...
Jonathan S wrote:You wouldn't happen to have a lead on acquiring one of the those newly discovered two bottles, would you? The blend you describe in the TN sounds heavenly!
Unfortunately the two bottles he refers to are mine. I'd never heard of the 150th Anniversary Port either until, I think, the Port Gala this year. Roy or possibly Andy mentioned it and said it was extremely rare, so the very next morning I went out on wine-searcher.com and found these two bottles in California. I called the store and bought them immediately, and they're the last two bottles of it that I've ever seen listed anywhere.
Glenn,
You are one lucky guy! Hopefully, you got it at a great price, too, for, in digging around the web, I learned that that particular bottle was selling at highway robbery prices in relation to what it actually contained. I'm trying not to be jealous, I really am...
Well they weren't any worse than any other really good, rare bottle, so I was pretty happy. Actually I was just happy to have been able to find it at all, because I tend to prefer tawnies over rubies and there are several Rocha and Kopke tawnies in my top 10. So I figured they were a pretty safe bet!
Jonathan S wrote:
Derek, all those Ports between June 24th and 29th? If I were not seated, I would be in a heap on the floor! You are now on my short list of heroes in the Pantheon of Port! I'm speechless...
Jonathan,
There are some things that a man must doFor the Love of Port - I was simply doing my duty :devil:
As Andy says it was a fabulous trip and something that will live in the memory for a very long time.
Jonathan S wrote:
Derek, all those Ports between June 24th and 29th? If I were not seated, I would be in a heap on the floor! You are now on my short list of heroes in the Pantheon of Port! I'm speechless...
Jonathan,
There are some things that a man must doFor the Love of Port - I was simply doing my duty :devil:
As Andy says it was a fabulous trip and something that will live in the memory for a very long time.
Derek
How does one get in on one of these trips? Is there any chance in my lifetime I could join you guys? It seems like a dreamscape... :lick:
Check out the travel link above. These are exactly the kind of things you will experience on Roy's trips. And I say that as someone who has been on a few of them now, as a paying guest like everyone else. They are worth every penny. I'll be back on the one this coming October, so email Roy for more specific details. You will love every minute of it.
If you want some personal rec's shoot me an email and we'll chat.
My most memorable VPs of the first half of 2007 were the component samples of some of the final blends of the 2007 VPs. It was really educational to be able to try the final blend, then taste the components and then the final blend again to pick up each of the components. I was astonished at how one-dimensional some of the components were - some had great perfume but no palate presence, some really tannic but little fruit. Yet when they were all put together they produced something masterful.
It left me in awe of the work done by the blending team. My palate was shot after just 10 minutes.
But best wine of the first 6 months has got to go to Quinta do Noval Nacional 1963, which was just awesome and at its best. I am very tight with my points, but this managed to get a perfect score - and it beat some pretty impressive wines also in the line up.
:devil: 
