For The Love Of Port

You may have scored an amazing bottle of Port, like paying for a Noval and discovering when it arrived that it was actually a Nacional. Or you might have purchased a bottle 20 years ago for $18 and it is now worth hundreds of dollars. It happens, albeit rarely. So are there bottles in your cellar that you'd likely feel uncomfortable opening due to it increased value?

You know, I've always wondered about this when people mention it and I can't say I can relate. I've been the beneficiary of a Noval/Nacional snafu and while I'm going to make sure they don't get opened on a spur of the moment, they are bottles I may never have the opportunity to replace, even I I had the cash, and so I feel obligated to drink them. If you've got a cellar worth enough to fund another part of your life that you value more, sell off what you will and just do it. Otherwise, appreciate the good fortune you've had to scoop up the bottles you have and start working on a plan to drink them. No one should ever feel there is something in their cellar they can't touch (unless investment was the goal all along). Just my take.

I feel if I let out how much of a deal I got on some bottles over the years, it diminishes the value or perception. Like low ball street hustle vs. paying retail. Thereare a couple of bottles I own that I doubt I will ever drink and that is a bottle of 1981 Fonseca British Royal Wedding commemorative in a 700 ml. bottle. The other is a 1977 Taylor double magnum that would have to be a special occasion; perhaps 2017 0r 2027??? Remind me if you would like to join!

The short answer is no.

The longer answer is that it depends... if there are other bottles being opened by other people that are of similar value, then I'll open just about anything I have. (The exceptions being bottles that I have planned for specific occasions.) I buy my Port to drink it!

Carpe Diem

I may be waiting, but I intend to drink them all...well maybe leave a couple for my funeral.

All of the bottles I own are held with the intention of one day drinking them. Neither of my children show any real interest in wine or port at the moment, so I have not built up a cellar to pass down a generation, just a cellar to consume over the next 30 years or so.

I don't plan to replace any of the bottles that I open, and don't plan to sell any bottles but my circumstances might change in the future - who knows.

But in the meantime, every bottle I own is on notice that one day it will be opened and drunk. Some will be opened at home and drunk by just me - those tend to be the less valuable bottles - and some will be opened in the company of friends and similar bottles. Sometimes it's hard to picture the right occasion so I do worry about when they might all get opened, but I'm sure I'll find the right time for every one of them. Last year I had a couple of friends round to my place and I opened a bottle of Noval '78 and a bottle of Nacional '78 with the challenge of "What is the connection between these two wines?".

Successfully reaching Friday night seems to be a good reason to open a special bottle of port sometimes!

Roy Hersh wrote:...So are there bottles in your cellar that you'd likely feel uncomfortable opening due to increased value?

Exactly the opposite: I'm always LOOKING for a reason to drink my best wine -- and I usually don't have much trouble finding one!

There are too many other things in life to fret about, for me wine must never become one of those things.

I have a few that I would be leery of opening today, but that has less to do with value and more to do with them being too young to drink--infanticide. Those 1997 Noval Nacionals will be opened some day, as will everything else in the cellar I hope.

Everything I have is to open and drink one day. There is nothing in my cellar that I consider too valuable to drink. However...

I won't be drinking that 1521 Quinta da Hula Vintage Port tonight, but in the right setting it's a goner.

Al B. wrote: Successfully reaching Friday night seems to be a good reason to open a special bottle of port sometimes!

+1!

No.
I've some bottles my father bought, when he was still alive. They've appreciated considerably in 20+ years; but I'll drink them all, remembering him.
Anything I've bought is icing on the cake.

It's extremely rare that I allow a bottle to escape from my cellar - I can only recall 1 port - that being a 1963 Nacional. BUT I had two, drank the first, and didn't consider it worth saving the second. I salved my conscience by using the proceeds to buy 6 bottles of vintage Madeira (19th century). But honestly, I'd probably have bought those anyway!
My 'problem' (I'm sure there are many volunteers willing to help out) is when to drink these marketable bottles. Especially as they become even more valuable over time.

I guess the solution (actively pursued) is to get a group together occasionally to taste/drink these.

So anybody up for organizing a Nacional vertical somewhere (sorrry don't have the 63 any more! - but still have 5 others).

No, I don't.
Luckily for me I don't own that many really valuable VP's. I've 1 (of 2) 1955 VP Dow left, 1 Graham's 1977 VP Magnum, and 3 bottles of Sandeman 1945 VP. These last ones are from my dad's birthyear, and I've allready planned their drinking dates (respectively my dad's 70th, 75th and 100th birthday, and I really hope he's gonna be around to enjoy all three of them!
I'll even put it in my will to make sure it happen's this way ( in the unfortunate circumstance that neither my dad nor me will be around at the planned dates, in which case, my sons wille have to do the honours).

Andy Velebil wrote:I won't be drinking that 1521 Quinta da Hula Vintage Port tonight, but in the right setting it's a goner.

Is the 1521 any good? I thought the summer was too rainy to make decent ports - and wasn't there a problem with the corks in that year? On another note: I had their Colheitas from 1287 and 1354, and I think they are beyond their peak.

Christian Gollnick wrote:

Andy Velebil wrote:I won't be drinking that 1521 Quinta da Hula Vintage Port tonight, but in the right setting it's a goner.

Is the 1521 any good? I thought the summer was too rainy to make decent ports - and wasn't there a problem with the corks in that year? On another note: I had their Colheitas from 1287 and 1354, and I think they are beyond their peak.

Yea a bit wet. But the sun came out just in time hahahaha

Christian Gollnick wrote:
Andy Velebil wrote:
I won't be drinking that 1521 Quinta da Hula Vintage Port tonight, but in the right setting it's a goner.

Is the 1521 any good? I thought the summer was too rainy to make decent ports - and wasn't there a problem with the corks in that year? On another note: I had their Colheitas from 1287 and 1354, and I think they are beyond their peak.
Yea a bit wet. But the sun came out just in time hahahaha

One of my mantras is that no bottle is too old or too valuable to be drunk - eventually..

Drink them ALL!

Andy Velebil wrote:Everything I have is to open and drink one day. There is nothing in my cellar that I consider too valuable to drink. However...

I won't be drinking that 1521 Quinta da Hula Vintage Port tonight, but in the right setting it's a goner.

Wasn't that the last time the Oakland Raiders won the Super bowl . . .

I Fully understand the question. Whenever I buy a bottle of vinho do porto for more than lets say 300$, my girlfriend asks me, when do You open that bottle?
I have 2 bottles from 1927, and whenever we have good friends over for dinner, the same 2 bottles still sits in the winefridge after there visit...

But in the end, All of my Ports will be enjoyed...... All in good time...by the Way I just purchased the Durand corkscrew,so i am definitely going to open a old bottle next weekend.

All the Best to You
Allan