Best Vintage Port in 1st Half of 2012

[Roy Hersh]

Tough choice or easy decision, which VP was your favorite during the first half of the year?

[David Spriggs]

1966 Graham's Vintage Port

This bottle was a leaker, but showed very well!

[Glenn E.]

That'd be a 1955 Cockburn Vintage Port (Loeb bottling) from a 375 ml bottle, which I gave 96 points at Roy's house.

I also scored the 1994 Taylor Vintage Port from the ACPT tasting in NYC 96 points. After that it's the 2000 Niepoort Vintage Port from the "Roy's Top 12" tasting which received 95+.

It's been a pretty good year for Port so far!

[Eric Ifune]

That 1997 Nacional we had at Noval on the Fortification Tour. I'm going to have to post that photo of me sucking the sediment out from the bottle.

[Sandy Becker]

That 1997 Nacional we had at Noval on the Fortification Tour. I'm going to have to post that photo of me sucking the sediment out from the bottle.

Eric, you didn't get all the sediment out. I brought the bottle home with me (first having put the t-cork back in). i just went and smelled the bottle - it still has a wonderful aroma. , no port left, though.

[Al B.]

I've still got a load of tasting notes to write up from June, so this is really a snapshot of my favourite port from the first 5 months of 2012, but it's a three way tie (all on 96 points) between Fonseca 1977, Fonseca 1970 and Cockburn 1908.

I just love Fonseca and old port, especially old Cockburn.

[Rob C.]

Graham 70 and Noval 66. And in more general terms, vintages 1960 and 1966 have both been performing outstandingly in H1 2012.

Vesuvio 1998 and Sandeman 2007 for post-1990 ports.

[Andy Velebil]

It's a tough call but the 1927 Graham's Vintage Port was stunningly good and I gave it 99 Points.

Close behind was the best showing of a 1963 Fonseca VP any of us, including someone who's had it more than any of us, has had. And a 1942 Graham's VP and 1912 Taylor's VP were also close behind.

[Mike L.]

Anyone have any tasting notes on the Top 12 Vintage Port tasting? I thought Roy had said it would be in this newsletter? Hoping to hear about it?

[Glenn E.]

Anyone have any tasting notes on the Top 12 Vintage Port tasting? I thought Roy had said it would be in this newsletter? Hoping to hear about it?

I have notes but just haven't gotten around to entering them yet. Soon, I hope!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Gary Richardson]

So far this year, the best Vintage Port I have had was a leaky unlabeled 1963 Warre's. It was a very pleasant surprise. Based on the mixed bag of tasting notes on this Vintage, it looks like I got lucky.

As I was reviewing my notes, it seems that I have been a bit heavier on the aged Tawnys / Colheitas this year.

-- Gary

[David Spriggs]

Anyone have any tasting notes on the Top 12 Vintage Port tasting? I thought Roy had said it would be in this newsletter? Hoping to hear about it?

Roy's notes were in the May newletter. Current FTLOP subscribers can download that here: http://www.fortheloveofport.com/index.p ... Itemid=201
I am looking forward to TNs from Glenn, Blair, and Sandy!

[Roy Hersh]

I have a three way tie, all of these VP's were great bottlings that earned my rating of 97 points ... during the first half of the year:

1970 Fonseca
1970 Quinta do Noval Nacional
2000 Niepoort

[Brian G r a f s t r o m]

1994 Vesuvio (for what it is and will be)
2009 Niepoort Bioma (for what it will be)

I reckon that I will eventually prefer the Niepoort at its peak more than I will prefer the Vesuvio at its peak. To put it another way, the Niepoort excites me a bit more than does the Vesuvio.