1963 Taylor Vintage Port

Ray Queally · Post by **Ray Queally** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 7:05 am

Alex,
thanks for chiming in.
My birthday is tomorrow the 27th. But I've decided that I should open the port when my Mother next visits, considering she had a major role to play back in 1963 (and ever since) though it would still be lovely to meet both yourself and Mr. Sandeman !
By the way Uncorked have the Taylors for about £180

cheers

Ray

Al B. · Post by **Al B.** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 12:19 pm

Ray,

Many happy returns for tomorrow.

Reading the chain of emails between you and Richard this afternoon sparked a day dream in my mind - with the result that I have just started a new chain in the forum asking if anyone is interested in a "Roy" style port event in London.

Who knows, maybe you and I and 18 other people could meet up in London one evening for dinner and a couple of dozen bottles of port - maybe even themed around 1963!

Alex

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 11:41 pm

There are many people who disagree with my extended decanting theory that I have espoused for years for VPs. I remember when first mentioning it to James Symington in 1994 while dining as his guest at the Factory House. He did not comment, but I could tell by his expression change that he was amazed by what I was telling him. Then again, I know of hundreds of folks who have thanked me over the years by watching how much better their VPs performed with extended decanting. At the same time, there have been some that still think that over two hours for any VP is a violation of that bottle of wine!

Just check Doug's post on his very first experience with a bottle of VP, Dow 1983 in fact. He clearly explains his decanting regimen and the results.

I will have to look in on the London Port tasting as I will be there in late October and it would be great to meet folks from this Forum for a Port tasting!

Did I really mention only 2 hours decanting time for a 1963 Nacional? I find it hard to fathom that I ever typed such heresy!

Richard Henderson · Post by **Richard Henderson** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 6:31 pm

Where were you Roy? Hope you made a million.
I knew I had to be right about the number of hours you would decant a 1963 of any house. WOuld you say your average is 6-8 hours?

Ray Queally · Post by **Ray Queally** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 12:56 pm

I last had a regular Noval '63 on March 25th of this year. The bottle was ex-cellars and it was consumed along with the managing director, Christian Seely. The fruit was fading a bit leaving the alcohol to show too prominently and this was a full mature Port that was on the other side of its apex. FWIW, I rated it 86 points at that time.

So, IF that was a typical well-stored bottle of this, I'd reccomend only decanting for two hours, no more than that.
_________________
Thanks for your input,

Roy

Look he says 2 hours !!! I'm not going mad :?
or am I ??

Richard Henderson · Post by **Richard Henderson** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 3:04 pm

I am opposed to cannibalism.....Just out of curiosity, just how long did it take you consume the bottle " along with the managing director"? We'll miss old Christian.

( I love plays upon words!)

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 2:11 pm

I tend towards 4-5 hours on most '63s at this point, the Nacional and a few others change the dynamic. Some longer and some way shorter. It really depends. For example, the Sandeman I'd suggest just 2 hours, the Nacional 6-8 hours. But things like provenance enter into the equation as well and if that is known, it weighs in heavilly.

I was away on assignment in Puyallup, Washington USA.

Al B. · Post by **Al B.** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 11:59 pm

I recently picked up a small parcel of older wines from the clearance of an old country house in Hampshire. As far as the owner knew, the wines had been acquired by his father and grandfather over a number of years and had been left lying in the cellar untouched since first brought to the UK.

One of these wines was a Taylor '63, which started leaking when moved to my cellar. On inspection, I could see the "cork particles" evidence of some cork weevil appearing from under the sealing wax. Since the bottle level was around mid-shoulder, I decided to open the bottle rather than to attempt a recorking.

Opening the bottle gave me hope. Although cork weevils had clearly been at work, the cork came out with a satisfying pop to show that it had done its work and maintained a seal.

Tasted after 1½ hours in the decanter but drunk over a period of about 5 hours, followed by a couple of glasses each of the following two evenings, this is my tasting note. I did not find that the wine changed substantially enough over the 5 hours it was being drunk to merit a new note.

Deep centre the colour of red mahogany, clear and transparent rim with definite brown present. Very little on the nose except spirit, perhaps a little high toned fruit carried on the spirit. Acidic impact into the mouth, slightly unbalanced heat from the spirit but then the flavours recovered the balance in the mid-palate. Minty tones, plenty of mature fruit, leather and some sweetness. Aftertaste was huge and long with flavours of coffee and dark chocolate. 93/100.

This was a real pleasure to drink and a wine that I really enjoyed.

Alex

Richard Henderson · Post by **Richard Henderson** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 5:48 pm

Talk about reviving a long dead thread. I had almost forgotten the many posts I made on this thread. Very nice notes. What else was in that cellar?

Al B. · Post by **Al B.** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 12:29 am

One of the things that I have tried to do with my tasting notes is to append them on any existing threads of previous tasting notes for the same wine. The idea (at least in my mind) being that it then becomes easier to follow a series of tasting notes through to their end. The alternative is for lots of different threads all relating to the same wine - and that just doesn't seem as neat to my minimilist mind.

And as for the question on what else was in the cellar - a bit of this, a bit of that. I'll tell you the details if and when we ever meet face-to-face, but I will say that the youngest wines were the '63s. I'll post tasting notes as and when I open the bottles. There are a couple of leakers that I will need to open over the next month or two.

Alex

Richard Henderson · Post by **Richard Henderson** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 2:43 pm

I am curious about the other , older things.
Such finds are not as likely in our climate. We have set records that have stood for decades here in Fort Worth, Texas in the past 2 days. It has been over 100 degrees farenheit .
I do not like it! :twisted:
Even in a real cellar, our heat would not permit wine to age gracefully.