What Port(s) have you purchased this week?

[Eric Menchen]

Well that's a fine price then Peter. You can't do much better than that at retail.

For 2003 Dow LBV, I've just popped and poured and enjoyed it. Some decant time might be nice, but don't fear the LBV.

[Jørgen Thomsen]

Burmester Colheita 1951 USD 127 (102 ex VAT)
Burmester Vintage 1997 USD 18,25 (14,60 ex VAT)

Especially the 1997 is a real bargain. Pleasant to drink right out of the bottle and also next day, but should be drunk before day 3.
Both nose and taste are in harmony wth soft tannins. I have had much more expensive VPs with less enjoyment.

[Lamont Huxley]

Purchased this afternoon:

1x 2003 Fonseca VP
2x 2004 Royal Oporto VP 375's (based on the strength of the one I drank recently)
1x 2007 Quarles Harris VP (to replace the one I just finished drinking )
1x Quarles Harris 10yr Tawny (never had a QH tawny before)

[Glenn E.]

Burmester Colheita 1951 USD 127 (102 ex VAT)

That's a great price! I wish we could find relatively inexpensive Colheitas that old here in the US. Well done!

[Kurt Wieneke]

Found some 1995 Dow's Quinta do Bomfim in a local liquor store for $34.99. Picked up one and will open soon.

[Gary Richardson]

I just picked up a case of Taylor's 2003 LBV.

-- Gary

[richard schwab]

I just got a case of Fonseca Vintage 2007 for $600 at Costco. Was $80/bottle but dropped to $50/bottle on close out (I guess they wanted it sold after the 2007 Vintage Taylor Fladgate sold out.) My daughter was born in 2007 so I've been looking at it every week when I go there!

[Peter W. Meek]

BTW, that Ramos Pinto 20 yr was Quinta do Bom Retiro

I didn't realize there were two versions.

[Lester Lee]

1x 1970 Grahams VP
1x 1998 Grahams Quinta Dos Malvedos VP
1x Quarles Harris 10 yr Tawny

[Gary Richardson]

1967 Quinta da Romaneira Colheita, bottled in 1995.

-- Gary

[Glenn E.]

BTW, that Ramos Pinto 20 yr was Quinta do Bom Retiro

I didn't realize there were two versions.

Are there? The Quinta do Bom Retiro is the only one I have ever seen.

[Bryan H.]

3 x 2007 Graham's VP ($69 per)

[dom carter]

1 x 2004 Taylor's LBV (£11) and a Grahams crusted 2002 (£17) - both on special at the Supermarket, both IMHO good day to day drinkers.

[Peter W. Meek]

BTW, that Ramos Pinto 20 yr was Quinta do Bom Retiro

I didn't realize there were two versions.

Are there? The Quinta do Bom Retiro is the only one I have ever seen.

FTLOP TNDB has RP 20, 30, 10 Quinta de Ervamoira, 20 Quinta do Bom Retiro. So, maybe there are two versions of the 10 and 20, and maybe there is no Over 40. Also, I can post one of my useless TNs (nice - tastes {more/less} like Nimrod) for the 10 so it will at least have an entry in the TNDB. I will be getting label pictures uploaded soon for the three RP tawnys I have here. If anyone has pictures of other versions of these wines, it would be nice to see them and also get them uploaded here, as well as to CellarTracker.

CT lists under Ramos Pinto (tawny with indication of age): 10, 20, 30, 10 Quinta de Ervamoira, and 20 Quinta do Bom Retiro. There is no 30 with a quinta listed, and the quintas are different for the 10 and the 20; also no Over 40, with or without a quinta.

Should I cite it in the CT forum section for corrections and merging? I did notice there was a different average price/community valuation for the two versions (non-quinta is a little cheaper). I'll wait to hear from a few more people before I request a correction. Frankly, I trust the port-expertise here more than at CT. It would be nice to have an authoritative list before bringing it up with Eric.

BTW, so far, all the RP tawnys (wioa) I've seen came in gift boxes (paper, but nice). I'll try to upload a picture of those as well. Boxes are nice, as they keep the light out while they sit upon store shelves.

[Glenn E.]

I have only ever seen the Quinta de Ervamoira 10-year old, Quinta do Bom Retiro 20-year old, and Ramos-Pinto 30-year old. I have been told (at the lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia) that they do not make a 40-year old.

CellarTracker is a useful tool in many ways, but this really isn't one of them. For instance, it took me several months to get the listing for my 1994 Broadbent Vintage Port corrected even though it was clearly printed on the label picture that someone had uploaded. (It was listed as produced for Broadbent by someone other than Niepoort, though I no longer remember who. The back label very clearly lists Niepoort Vinhos S.A.) There are also about 20 different listings for the Santa Eufemia Special Reserve White - an admittedly confusing Port. The problem is that a lot of people simply type in a new listing without bothering to check whether or not someone else has already entered something appropriate. Thus you'll often find listings for "20 Year Old Port," "20-year old Port," "20y old Port," and so on. Ramos Pinto makes matters worse because sometimes it is hyphenated on their labels (Ramos-Pinto) and sometimes it is not (Ramos Pinto). My Quinta do Bom Retiro is listed as "Ramos Pinto", my 1985 VP is listed as "shipped by Adriano Ramos-Pinto," and my 1994 VP is listed as "Porto Vintage Ramos Pinto."

Which is a long way of saying that just because CellarTracker lists both a Ramos Pinto 20 Year Old Port and a Ramos Pinto Quinta do Bom Retiro 20 Year Old Port does not mean that they both exist. It may very well mean that someone was simply too lazy to type in the full name or simply mis-typed the name and created the non-Quinta version by mistake.

I agree that the boxes are nice, even if just fancy thick paper/cardboard.

[Peter W. Meek]

...CellarTracker is a useful tool in many ways, but this really isn't one of them. For instance, it took me several months to get the listing for my 1994 Broadbent Vintage Port corrected even though it was clearly printed on the label picture that someone had uploaded. (It was listed as produced for Broadbent by someone other than Niepoort, though I no longer remember who. The back label very clearly lists Niepoort Vinhos S.A.) There are also about 20 different listings for the Santa Eufemia Special Reserve White - an admittedly confusing Port. The problem is that a lot of people simply type in a new listing without bothering to check whether or not someone else has already entered something appropriate. Thus you'll often find listings for "20 Year Old Port," "20-year old Port," "20y old Port," and so on. Ramos Pinto makes matters worse because sometimes it is hyphenated on their labels (Ramos-Pinto) and sometimes it is not (Ramos Pinto)...

Right now Eric is in the middle of shepherding a new version of CellarTracker into being, so currently (1st qtr 2010) there might be some delays. In the past, I have found that (at least the easy and obvious) duplicate listings get fixed within a day or two after posting them in the special CT forum topic for such changes. With well over half a million different wines listed, keeping them all straight, merging duplicates, normalizing producer names, and the like, is a never-ending task. I'm glad he does as well as he does.

I've had my own issues with how Eric does things. For instance, I don't think NV wines should be allowed to have drinking windows, or at least they should be described as "within xx years after bottling" rather than by calendar years. He is always willing to discuss things, but like any one-man-show, he gets the final say. He allows a much more "wild and wooly" forum atmosphere than I care for. Thank you, Roy, and thank you all, for the general level of politeness that prevails here.

[Dylan Howard]

1 x Gould Campbell 1997 Vintage Port

I'm a big spender, I know. Don't be jealous.

[Eric Menchen]

1977 Gould Campbell, 1991 Smith Woodhouse, 2003 Sandeman, 1 each.
My wife likes the 1977 Gould Campbell, we both like Smith Woodhouse and we've never had their 1991, and the Sandeman was cheap at less than $35.

[Espen S.]

Bought a 2006 Quinta do Vesuvio VP and a 2003 Graham's VP.

[Andy Velebil]

Bought a 2006 Quinta do Vesuvio VP and a 2003 Graham's VP.

Both excellent Ports. I had the 2003 Graham's Monday and while young is showing very well. Put it away for a long long time.
The 2006 I, and several others here, helped tread the grapes for this. It will be an earlier maturing Port compared to the 2003 Graham's but is still a very solid port that will last for several decades.