Roy,
Thanks for the decanting page info. I did indeed read through the decanting page and joined the newsletter as I am a newly budding port aficionado.
However, I didn't find an answer as to how best to decant my 1977 with the intent being to re-bottle it & savor it over a one - two week period. Is this possible at all?
I am (sadly) only one of two people I know that really love port so, I was hoping to make this bottle last as long as other bottles of LBV or Tawny I normally buy.
Here's one for you all... When pouring a decent sized / normal sized glass of port (VP, LBV, reserve.... ) how large a glass do you serve yourself (2oz, 4oz, 6oz?). Just trying to see if my bottles are lasting too long due to my miser like 2oz sipping.
Cheers all,
Nick
Decanting 1977 Vintage Port
Moderators: Glenn E., Roy Hersh, Andy Velebil
-
Nick Solga
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:18 pm
- Location: Fort Wayne, INdiana - USA
-
Tom Archer
- Posts: 2789
- Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Near Saffron Walden, England
It'll keep OK for a week without serious deterioration. It will probably be a bit jammy and tired after two. Be sure to keep the wine 'cellar cool' throughout.
Try to get a decanter - so much nicer to serve from than putting it back in the bottle. They sometimes sell for a song on Ebay.
Never put too much in a glass - small measures that you can swirl - and many of them!
I use the basic Riedel red wine glasses (not the ultra expensive types!) and put about 3/4" depth in at a time.
- Enjoy!
Tom
Try to get a decanter - so much nicer to serve from than putting it back in the bottle. They sometimes sell for a song on Ebay.
Never put too much in a glass - small measures that you can swirl - and many of them!
I use the basic Riedel red wine glasses (not the ultra expensive types!) and put about 3/4" depth in at a time.
- Enjoy!
Tom
Nick,
While I agree with everything that Tom says, in practice I do things slightly differently from him.
If I know that I am going to drink a bottle of port over a 2-4 day period then I will use a decanter. Unfortunately, I don't have the facilities to keep my decanter at cellar temperature so if I am using a decanter it tends to live in a fairly cool room - say 18-20C. It is fascinating to see how the port changes in taste over the 4 days, but by the fourth day the wine does tend to get a little flabby and jammy.
However, if I want to enjoy a port over a longer period I will commit FTLOP heresy. I will decant the port into a jug. From the jug I will fill a half bottle to the brim and then stopper the half bottle (ie. excluding all the air) and put the half bottle in the fridge. I will do this for any type of port and of any age (although the oldest I have actually done it with was a 60 year old wine). The rest of the wine will go into a different half bottle which will also live in the fridge. The very full half bottle will remain untouched until the "working" half bottle has been drunk. To my taste, the wine in the very full half bottle does not change significantly for up to two weeks.
I tend to drink my port out of Reidel Vinum port glasses. These cost around £10-15 in the UK, depending on where you buy them. I generally fill the glass until the wine level reaches the widest part of the glass. Not sure how many ounces that would be, but it means that I get about 8 glasses out of a decanted bottle of port.
Alex
While I agree with everything that Tom says, in practice I do things slightly differently from him.
If I know that I am going to drink a bottle of port over a 2-4 day period then I will use a decanter. Unfortunately, I don't have the facilities to keep my decanter at cellar temperature so if I am using a decanter it tends to live in a fairly cool room - say 18-20C. It is fascinating to see how the port changes in taste over the 4 days, but by the fourth day the wine does tend to get a little flabby and jammy.
However, if I want to enjoy a port over a longer period I will commit FTLOP heresy. I will decant the port into a jug. From the jug I will fill a half bottle to the brim and then stopper the half bottle (ie. excluding all the air) and put the half bottle in the fridge. I will do this for any type of port and of any age (although the oldest I have actually done it with was a 60 year old wine). The rest of the wine will go into a different half bottle which will also live in the fridge. The very full half bottle will remain untouched until the "working" half bottle has been drunk. To my taste, the wine in the very full half bottle does not change significantly for up to two weeks.
I tend to drink my port out of Reidel Vinum port glasses. These cost around £10-15 in the UK, depending on where you buy them. I generally fill the glass until the wine level reaches the widest part of the glass. Not sure how many ounces that would be, but it means that I get about 8 glasses out of a decanted bottle of port.
Alex
-
Stuart Chatfield
- Posts: 214
- Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2005 5:08 am
- Location: London, England
bridgema wrote:However, if I want to enjoy a port over a longer period I will commit FTLOP heresy. I will decant the port into a jug. From the jug I will fill a half bottle to the brim and then stopper the half bottle (ie. excluding all the air) and put the half bottle in the fridge. I will do this for any type of port and of any age (although the oldest I have actually done it with was a 60 year old wine). The rest of the wine will go into a different half bottle which will also live in the fridge. The very full half bottle will remain untouched until the "working" half bottle has been drunk. To my taste, the wine in the very full half bottle does not change significantly for up to two weeks.
No heresey - unless we are both heretics? That is exactly what I do all the time. If you stopper right to the rim (no air) and keep at fridge temp, I can't see how the port will notice its been moved. A good way to have a vertical or horizontal when you can't get enough halves.
Stuart Chatfield London, England