What have you opened this week?

[Mike J. W.]

How was it? I really like their Colheitas.

Really good. I opened this to go with dessert at the end of an Easter dinner, and didn't take notes. Roughly I'd say it wasn't as good as S.Leonardo 40 (just had one of those, which of course costs more too), but lived up to my expectations. 94 points?

It's a rockin' good Colheita, Mike, and I strongly suspect that you're going to get to try it in a few weeks!

I do like the 1991 better than the 1992, but they're both excellent. And I agree with Eric that neither is quite as good as the S. Leonardo 40 Year Old... but then again, they're only 30 years old so that's not really a fair comparison!

I'm looking forward to trying their '91 Colheita. I've had their '92, '80 & '82 and all were very good. Their LBV's are excellent as well. I've had their '92 and '95 LBV's and the '95 is the best LBV I've had to date. I have one more bottle left of the '95.

[Glenn E.]

DR 30 Year Old Tawny Port

It will be interesting to see if the blend for this changes significantly now that DR is no longer making a 40 (they're skipping straight from 30 to 50).

[Al B.]

Martinez 1997 to share at a varied wine dinner.

A bit closed. If you have any, I’d leave them 2-3 years before seeing how they are.

[Lucas S]

Am visiting family in Hong Kong and opened a 2017 Taylor LBV I was able to find here.

It's super duper solid. Smooth and impressive. And held up very well for a full week, only half of which was in the fridge which I assume bodes well for it's longevity.

Definitely will be keep an eye out for more when I get back to the States.

[Glenn E.]

Am visiting family in Hong Kong and opened a 2017 Taylor LBV I was able to find here.

It's super duper solid. Smooth and impressive. And held up very well for a full week, only half of which was in the fridge which I assume bodes well for it's longevity.

Definitely will be keep an eye out for more when I get back to the States.

I've always found Taylor's LBVs to be quite solid. They're filtered but still age surprisingly well. I have one last 2003 that I plan to open some time this year because it's finally 21 years old and so of legal drinking age.

What do you mean that's not how that works?

[Mike J. W.]

Martinez 1997 to share at a varied wine dinner.

A bit closed. If you have any, I’d leave them 2-3 years before seeing how they are.

I had one of these 2 years ago and I scored it at 88 points. Here's what my notes said Very dark but also extremely cloudy. Decanted about 8 hours. It's a simple Port, nothing fancy and nothing really stood out for me. It showed better 24 hours later but had a whiff of band aids and iodine on the nose. Stewed fruits on the palate with a short finish. Surprisingly, this 1997 Port felt like it was already declining. I have 2 more bottles. I'll hold them for a few years as you suggested and see if they improve at all.

[Mike J. W.]

1987 Offley Baron de Forester Colheita (bottled 1999). Horribly corked and undrinkable.

1992 Taylor Fladgate VP from a half bottle. Decanted a few minutes ago to drink tonight. Had a first taste as I always do when decanting and it's delicious. Very, very smooth.

[Moses Botbol]

1998 Vesuvio. One of the better the pre 2000 Vesuvio's in recent memory. Still fruity and balanced after 5 days open.

[Lucas S]

Am visiting family in Hong Kong and opened a 2017 Taylor LBV I was able to find here.

It's super duper solid. Smooth and impressive. And held up very well for a full week, only half of which was in the fridge which I assume bodes well for it's longevity.

Definitely will be keep an eye out for more when I get back to the States.

I've always found Taylor's LBVs to be quite solid.

For fun, I also found a 2016 Taylor LBV and opened it before i left also. The spirit was much more pronounced and was overall harsher than the 2017. This improved with air but, perhaps contrary to the VP, the 2016 will need much more time in the cellar to have a hope of rivaling the '17.

Am jetlagged but back home finally.

[Glenn E.]

For fun, I also found a 2016 Taylor LBV and opened it before i left also. The spirit was much more pronounced and was overall harsher than the 2017. This improved with air but, perhaps contrary to the VP, the 2016 will need much more time in the cellar to have a hope of rivaling the '17.

For me, 2016 has been a strange year. I understand why many people liked it and why it was declared, but virtually everything that I have tasted from that vintage - both VP and LBV - has seemed out of character for its house style. I'm not enough of a wine nerd to know what the weather might have had to do with that, but it's pretty distinct for me.

What I do not understand is why TFP thought it was so much better than 2015 that they failed to declare 2015. And then declared 2016, 2017, and 2018. So any argument about "not wanting to declare back-to-back" kind of false flat on its face, though I suppose that might have been part of the rationale at the time.