A bit of a surprise...

Tom Archer · Post by **Tom Archer** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 7:48 am

Drove over to Abergavenny last night to pick up a few bottles I'd bought at the last sale there.

At the same time, I arranged to have dinner with Tom Chadwick, who is one of the auctioneers there, and open one of the bottles I'd bought, which was an old 'unknown'.

We met in the bar of The Angel Hotel, suitably equipped. Originally I'd planned to try out the port tongs I'd bought in VNG earlier this year, but found they didn't fit the bottle very well, so resorted to the careful use of a corkscrew instead.

The cork began to rise cleanly, but then, as so often happens, the tail end came adrift and stayed in the bottle.

In the dim light of the bar I could read QUINTA DO NO... and VINTAGE, but initially thought the date was on the bit left in the bottle - so nipped back to my room to fetch an Ah So to tease it out.

When I got back, Tom Chadwick was peering at the cork under one of the bar spotlights - and looking a bit excited.

'You can just read the date' he said...

..It's 1931

TN's will follow soon

Tom

Richard Henderson · Post by **Richard Henderson** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 9:12 am

Wow, the Holy Grail!

Roy may be in the air by now.

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 1:19 pm

Ok, so stop holding us in suspense...how was it

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 4:24 pm

I am assuming this was the regular bottling and not the Nacional, so not THE holy grail, but still an extraordinary find and what a fabulous experience.