Very nice to meet you at last Derek - and yes we did indulge...
Derek phoned me the following morning for a cab number - I was struggling to see straight - I began to type a report a little later but ran out of steam...
The consumption was not entirely linear, as Trevor and his missus (and Anne, the landlady) drank very small amounts.
The four key participants (me, Derek, Dave & Cookie) therefore
each consumed about a bottle and a quarter of port, nearly a bottle of wine, not to mention a couple of pints of ale as a warm up...
We were therefore entitled to be a little fragile the following day - I think the old tawnies were the principal culprits - I felt very overdosed on grape sugar!
Derek's line up is almost right - the Taylor '63 preceded the Fonseca '55 and the three Bordeaux (Cantemarle '75, Branair Ducru '98 and D'Issan '99) were supplemented by a Passadouro '94.
The loose theme was 'old and peculiar'
The 40yr Burmester set a rather high benchmark for an opener - a wine to be sipped rather than guzzled (which, unfortunately, it was..)
Derek's 1937 Souza - labelled as a Tawny, but clearly in the style of a Colheita, was very rich, but a tad tired. It struggled against the Burmester, but was nevertheless a very respectable and interesting bottle.
I included the '72 to have my first encounter with wine from the Alcohol Scandal - coal spirit instead of grape. As we were still relatively sober at that stage, we had quite an interesting discussion as to whether you could tell the difference. You could talk yourself into believing that you could, but in truth, I doubt anyone would identify it tasting blind.
That bottle was very slightly corked - Derek clocked it too, but we agreed that it did no more than take the edge off the bouquet. A competant mature wine, holding up reasonably well, but nothing very noteworthy.
Score
(3-2)
I included the Martinez '67 because I can't recall ever opening a bottle from this vintage before. Both at first sip and later, the wine proved to be surprisingly similar to the Vargellas '72, but without the compromised bouquet.
Score
5-4
The Taylor '63 fitted the bill of 'peculiar' very well. It was sold to me as a T' 63, and this was confirmed by the capsule and cork, but neatly scribed on the paint splash it was marked as 'Taylor '45'.
The wine had some Taylor attributes, but it tasted like neither a '63 nor a '45. Derek looked at the moulding of the bottle, and reckoned it was too old for the 1960's.
The wine bore more than a passing resemblance to a 1950 wine - tired and a little hazy. It was very drinkable, but not a kosher T'63
Score
(2-1)
Setting aside the last glass of N31 and Derek's half bottle of Kopke '85 which we tackled at the very end ( which was very sound, I recall, even though I was somewhat the worse the wear at that stage...) the last decanter was the Fonseca '55..
What a beauty. The spiciest bouquet I can recall, with a palate to match.
Fully mature, but still on it's plateau. Missed a 10 score by a whisker, and not going south anytime soon.
Score
9-9
Next year we need more people to consume the goodies!
Tom
Have a great time, and maybe I'll open one on this side of the water and join you virtually 
