A Taylor Offline

[Tom D.]

DATE: Saturday, March 1, 2014 (Afternoon, dinner, and evening sessions)
LOCATION: Los Angeles/Orange County, CA

Participant list:

Tom D. (1945, 1948, 1955, 1966)
Andy V. + 1 (1935)
Glenn E. (1982-1988 auction lot*)
Marc J. (1972 Vargellas, 1977)
Brad B. (1975, 1980, 1988 Vargellas)
Eric M. (1968 Vargellas, 1991 Vargellas, 1992)
Roy H. (1970, (2011))
Steve P. (1982-1988 auction lot*)
David S. (1963)

Vintage Ports to be included:

1935 Taylor VP
1945 Taylor VP
1948 Taylor VP
1955 Taylor VP
1963 Taylor VP
1966 Taylor VP
1968 Taylor VP Quinta de Vargellas
1970 Taylor VP
1972 Taylor VP Quinta de Vargellas
1975 Taylor VP
1977 Taylor VP
1980 Taylor VP
*1982 Taylor VP Quinta de Terra Feita
*1983 Taylor VP
*1985 Taylor VP
*1986 Taylor VP Quinta de Vargellas
*1987 Taylor VP Quinta de Vargellas
*1988 Taylor VP Quinta de Terra Feita
1988 Taylor VP Quinta de Vargellas
1991 Taylor VP Quinta de Vargellas
1992 Taylor VP
(2011 Taylor VP)

[Eric Menchen]

I too am interested, and could offer:
1968, 1970, 1977, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2000 VVV, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 (all the off years are Quinta de Vargellas)
Guess I like Taylor too.

[Andy Velebil]

I'm game and will have to check to see what I've got for Taylor's in the cellar.

I'm happy to host or help set something up in the L.A./Orange County area if that works best for most people.

[Glenn E.]

I'm still interested. SoCal would work for me, though I'd need time to plan ahead. (2014 is going to be a busy travel year!)

I don't have much Taylor to contribute. I have some 1970s, but off the top of my head I think that's about it.

[Tom D.]

I'm game and will have to check to see what I've got for Taylor's in the cellar.

I'm happy to host or help set something up in the L.A./Orange County area if that works best for most people.

Andy, if you're happy to host, that's fine with me.

A couple more thoughts, open for comment from others...

I'm thinking great Ports call for some great food, either during or between tastings.

I'd be happy with a smallish group of participants (say 8 really serious people, especially if we're tasting old stuff, as I like a good size pour) and a smallish group of Ports. I tend to prefer that approach rather than an over-the-top type mega-tasting event

Let's see, if we take those 6 bottles from the 80's, throw in VP's from 45,48,55,63,70, and/or 77, that makes a maximum of 12 bottles. If that could be split up over 2 tasting sessions, it's a nice manageable quantity of Port and plenty of time to savor each of them. Even if we add a couple from the 90's, that still makes a nice comfortable 2-session event.

Thoughts?

[Glenn E.]

I'd be happy with a smallish group of participants (say 8 really serious people, especially if we're tasting old stuff, as I like a good size pour) and a smallish group of Ports. I tend to prefer that approach rather than an over-the-top type mega-tasting event.

+1

[Eric Ifune]

So Cal would be best for me.
I could offer up the 63, 77, 83, 85, 91 Vargellas, 92, or 94.

[Marc J.]

I'd be interested in participating in this this tasting. I have quite a bit of Taylor, so selecting a bottle shouldn't be a problem. According to Cellartracker I have a good number of older Taylor vintages and my schedule does have a bit of flexibility. Of course I would prefer a So Cal tasting, but I'm also willing to travel (not to the ends of the earth, but within the western U. S.).

[Andy Velebil]

I'm a great BBQ'er and an average at best cook. So if it's here at my place, I can hopefully enlist a couple people to help. I can order some dry aged Flannery beef for the BBQ, etc.

I also like the idea of a smaller group (max 8 or so) to have better pours and such. What works really well is either doing 1/2 the flight, break for dinner, then the last 1/2 of Ports. Or taste all, discuss, dinner break, then come back to just enjoy them, talk about them, and enjoy the evening. Both work equally well with a smaller group as you mentioned.

[Bradley Bogdan]

I don't have much special in the way of Taylor, but I'm sure I could find some. I would love to attend if in SoCal, weekend choice would be the issue for me. Unfortunately , I wouldn't know more until 2014 as for what good dates would be.

[Glenn E.]

I'm a great BBQ'er and an average at best cook.

You grill. I BBQ.

I also cook, but I'm really slow. Happy to help, though, if I'm needed!

And the next time you're up here during the summer, I'll make you some real BBQ.

[Andy Velebil]

Tom,
I know one other person who'd most likely be interested and has some older stuff. He's also known to some on here as well, a good chap. Can I "+1" for him?

[David Spriggs]

I am interested. So Cal works perfectly for me. I have many Taylors from 1963 on.

[Tom D.]

Yikes, this is filling up quickly. With indications of interest from Marc J, Bradley B, Andy's friend, and David S, that puts us at 10, already over the preferred limit. Plus, if there's any chance we can corral Roy for this, I'd like to hold a spot for him.

I've organized a bunch of offlines large and small, though never for the FTLOP crowd, so forgive me for making a few executive decisions along the way

At the top of this thread, I'm going to keep the initial list of 6 people as is, plus I'll start keeping a list of other interested folks. At the same time, let's see if we can settle on a date very quickly to see if that helps narrow the field. I hate to bog down the process trying to find a date that works for every possible person, so Andy, if you're hosting, you get first crack at picking a date. I'm hoping we can find a way to accommodate as many serious Taylor lovers as we can.

FWIW late March is bad for me, late April is bad, all of May is bad, plus the odd weekend here and there. Other than those, Andy, if you want to throw some dates out, please feel free...

[Glenn E.]

Yikes, this is filling up quickly. With indications of interest from Marc J, Bradley B, Andy's friend, and David S, that puts us at 10, already over the preferred limit. Plus, if there's any chance we can corral Roy for this, I'd like to hold a spot for him.

I've organized a few FTLOP gatherings over the years, and we're still "small" by those standards.

I think 10 is a fine size. That's still a full 2.5-oz restaurant-sized serving (not a 1.5-oz tasting serving) of each Port, which is really quite a lot.

But yes, to keep the smaller feel you'll want to cap it here.

[Moses Botbol]

I am in where ever it is. I'd prefer on the smaller side or if larger, we could do an additional theme too. Who says the two flights both have to be Taylor?

[Tom D.]

I've organized a few FTLOP gatherings over the years, and we're still "small" by those standards.

Very true Glenn.

As I've gotten older, I just gravitate away from large tastings, whatever their focus. When I read about big tasting events with buttloads of rare bottles, where each wine itself deserved to be the focus of an entire evening or at least an entire meal course, I just don't see the point. And I've hosted enough large offlines where "more wines is better," that's pretty much lost it's appeal, too.

Anyway, I agree 10 people is an ideal upper limit for this one. And while I usually spit, that number of participants will tend to set a natural limit on the number of bottles that can comfortably be consumed. I'd really prefer to keep it all Taylor, and ideally to include some bottles with lots of age on them.

Again, I'm happy to bring any and all of 1945, 1948, 1955, 1966, 1977, and perhaps Marc and others can kick in some of these or even older vintages also. I would very much want to consume those with some nice food and in a relatively leisurely manner. So I guess I'm thinking one "Pre-1980" session (say 10 bottles or less), with food and lots of time to savor. A second session could then feature the 1980's assortment plus younger stuff as desired, with maybe a larger number of bottles to slog through.

Just kind of thinking out loud...

[Eric Menchen]

10 and even 12 is reasonable. 16 does get to small pours.

[Eric Ifune]

Two bottles of each or a magnum?
We'd need a lot of decanters.

[Tom D.]

Two bottles of each won't work for me.