For The Love Of Port

What are you planning to open to celebrate Thanksgiving?

It is one of the few occasions throughout the year that I get a pass to open nicer stuff and feel OK doing so. The whole family gets to drink along and it is nice to have them share in my fondness of Portuguese wine.

Not sure how you approach it, but on my end I tend to plan it way in advance as I look fwd to it so much!

afternoon: Quinta Santa Eufémia Special Reserve White
dinner: 2005 Quinta do Crasto Touriga Nacional
post dinner: 1977 Dow VP (Silver Jubilee bottling - do you know if any different from the regular bottling?)

Miguel Simoes wrote: post dinner: 1977 Dow VP (Silver Jubilee bottling - do you know if any different from the regular bottling?)

No it is not.

Miguel Simoes wrote:What are you planning to open to celebrate Thanksgiving?

It is one of the few occasions throughout the year that I get a pass to open nicer stuff and feel OK doing so. The whole family gets to drink along and it is nice to have them share in my fondness of Portuguese wine.

I started a similar tradition with a 1963 Fonseca a few years ago. So now I open some nice bottle every Thanksgiving and share it with whichever family we're with that year. (We alternate years between my wife's family and my family.)

This year I plan to open a 1955 Graham and a Kopke 40-yr old after dinner. If there's interest, I may also open something younger to drink with dinner... maybe a 1997 Quinta do Tedo?

Actually, none. Due to a number of family members out of town it will be a very small gathering (I come from a small family to begin with). I'm really the only one who'll be there who drinks Port, or wine for that matter. So it'll probably be a one beer day, if that.

I am so busy with my nose to the newsletter grindstone that I had not even considered Thanksgiving wine and Port. I will look forward to other people's suggestions. It will likely be a Vintage Port this year, but possibly a Tawny thrown in for good measure. Wednesday night I'll get down to serious decision making. Maybe a 2011 for good measure?

Andy, if you would like a turkey meal and all of the fixings, we have room at the table and no, I am not joking!

Thanks for the offer Roy, if I could get out of going down here I'd be on a plane with lots of port and wines in a heartbeat.

1983 Grahams

I also am starting out with Quinta Santa Eufémia Special Reserve White before dinner, then Noval 2003 LBV unfiltered after dinner.

1985 Dow, with a little 2005 LBV currently drinking as a starter!

I'm planning on opening a 1995 Rosenthal Cab. (magnum) to go with Thanksgiving dinner and a 1966 Warre for the after-dinner festivities.

2004 JJ Prum Graacher Himmelreich auslese
1977 Warre's VP

I am a spoil sport and decided to make an exception this year and ONLY do wines produced in USA, from start to finish:

a. Gruet Blanc de Noir - from New Mexico ... nice bubbly for domestic

b. 1994 Stony Hill Chardonnay - classic CA vintage and old-school producer

b. 2005 Kutch Pinot Noir - Jamie Kutch's first vintage and one of my last two bottles, initially a Kosta Browne fruit bomb knock off, now much more mature and with a lot less primary fruit.

c. 1983 Hanzell Pinot Noir - 30 year old domestic PN doesn't get any better than this when they show well. No guarantees, but back ups are close at hand.

d. Prager port Works - 1993 Royal Escort LBV port - Who knows what this will be like at 20 years of age? If not great, I'll open a 10 year old Tawny by the same producer, which is the only other bottle of domestic port-style wine I own anymore.

Working and on-call for me so I'll celebrate later.

Roy Hersh wrote:
b. 2005 Kutch Pinot Noir - Jamie Kutch's first vintage and one of my last two bottles, initially a Kosta Browne fruit bomb knock off, now much more mature and with a lot less primary fruit.

Actually it is Costa Browne juice, not a knock off

Of a dozen or so bottles (we had guests), three stand out:

First, a 1997 Seghesio Omaggio. I had six of these originally and drank three soon after purchase. I decided to let the others age a while and when I opened the fourth, it was flat and listless; I think it had gone "dumb". So, I waited a few years and opened the fifth. Still dumb, maybe even dumber! Last night, while showing a guest (Alan Collins, the new wine guy at Paesanos) around the cellar, we got to discussing how I had let some wines go past their prime just as we were passing the rack where the Omaggio lays. (I also have two remaining bottles of the 2001.) At any rate, I decided tonight was the night to find out whether the 1997 had reawoken or just gone out the door. It was the wine of the night.

I was worried when the cork came out in crumbles, but the outer half inch was still solid. The bottom must have been solid before I put the corkscrew into it as the crumbles were not wine soaked (except the ones that fell in). Decanted through a strainer, and consumed over a couple of hours. The wine was just fine - just, really fine.

.

Alan brought two California Pino Noirs. As the wine guy in an Italian restaurant, he now has limited opportunity to share California Wines; but as a former wine guy at Whole Foods, he once had good opportunities to buy them. A 2007 Gary Farrell Russian River Valley Pinot Noir; and a 2007 Joseph Swan Cuvée de Trois (also Russian River Valley Pinot Noir). About even on the impressions of these two wines, but both close to WOTN quality.

Alan seemed to really like the Ferreira 20. He and his girlfriend settled in with a bottle after dinner, and did some serious tasting for a few hours.

My/Odell Friek, first bottling from 2011.
Barrel aged kriek homebrew by my host and others.
2005 Bernard Dugat-Py.
1970 Graham VP.

Eric, how did the 1970 G VP show? Hope v nicely!

On my end ended up fairly disappointed w my lineup. The 77 Dow went down the drain Sunday morning. The 2005 Crasto Touriga Nacional, even though it was nice, failed to wow me. The Quinta de Sta Eufémia White was much appreciated, as were tastes of 1989 d'Oliveiras Malvazia (WOTN to name one), 1988 d'Oliveiras Terrantez and Kopke 20 Yr Tawny.

Miguel Simoes wrote:Eric, how did the 1970 G VP show? Hope v nicely!

Very well. I didn't take notes, but will try to scrap together a TN.