Weekday Ports

This forum is for discussing all things Port (as in from PORTugal) - vintages, recommendations, tasting notes, etc.

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Andy Velebil
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Weekday Ports

Post by Andy Velebil »

We all run across deals from time to time, or just have our favorite daily drinker, so the "daily drinkers" tend to change from time to time. So time to revisit this topic and see what everyone is drinking on a daily bases (Not the special bottle here and there, but the true daily drinker).

Mine currently is Fonseca's Bin 27. As I was able to get several cases of 1/2 bottles for $5 per .375ml at a retailer near me. Don't really care how he got it that cheap, I was just happy to get what is now my daily drinker for cheap. [cheers.gif]
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Glenn E.
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by Glenn E. »

My "everyday" Port is starting to change. It used to be that you could count on there being a bottle of 20-yr old Tawny open at my house at just about any time, but that's less and less the case these days. Those are probably still 40-50% of my "everyday" bottles, but they used to be 80-90%.

The other half is now an LBV, and oddly enough it's usually a filtered LBV. They're just so easy to drink! And they're quite a bit less expensive than a 20-yr old, too. ;-)
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john rk
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by john rk »

I am currently enjoying Churchill 1991 as my weekday port. This reminds me of the famous sale of the Mentmore cellar in the late 1970's when Sothebys described a particular lot as "His Lordship's everyday drinking port" - Taylor's 1912... [cheers.gif]
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by Andy Velebil »

john rk wrote:I am currently enjoying Churchill 1991 as my weekday port. This reminds me of the famous sale of the Mentmore cellar in the late 1970's when Sothebys described a particular lot as "His Lordship's everyday drinking port" - Taylor's 1912... [cheers.gif]
Must be nice to be a Lord.
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Mahmoud Ali
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by Mahmoud Ali »

Wow, a '91 Churchill as a weekday port - that's impressive!

My everyday port has been the '07/'08 Cockburn LBV, a bargain for just under C$15, but am down to my last few bottles. Like Andy, I don't care why the retailer was selling it for that price but it's okay with me. Hopefully I will find something else but I'm not counting on it.

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Roger L.
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by Roger L. »

At the moment I'm switching between the following...
Sandeman Vau Vintage 2011 (young, but pretty cheap and a very fine drink)
Quinta do Noval Black (an easy drink, and, again, cheap) - I don't drink this cold, as they suggest - it's fine at "normal" port temperatures
2008 Quinta do Noval Porto Late Bottled Vintage Unfiltered (I'm trying to save some of these, but it's not working)
2008 Graham Porto Late Bottled Vintage
2007 J.W. Burmester Porto Late Bottled Vintage (they were on special offer a while ago in the supermarket)
Ferreira Porto Dona Antónia Reserva (these are always available in the supermarkets for 10 euros, ofttimes with a free glass for my wife to break)
As well as any number of fairly recent LBVs ('07, '08, '09) that keep appearing in the supermarkets in the 12 -> 20 euro range - a couple of weeks ago 2009 Offley Porto Late Bottled Vintage was on offer for 10 euros - why did I only buy one?

It must be said that my "weekend port" (I'm retired - every day is a weekend) are not high flyers. I tend to drink "cheap" wine when I have a "good" bottle of port in the decanter, and "more expensive" wine (15->30 euros) when I have cheap port in the decanter.
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by Moses Botbol »

10 year Ferreira Tawny and D'Oliveira Madeira for $25 each are my weekday. When I can't find those, Quinta do Infantado Ruby or Ruby Reserve are next ones I've been digging recently.
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Alan McDonald
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by Alan McDonald »

For a few months it has been either Offley or Ferreira Ruby, but a string of corked bottles in Nov/Dec (3 Offley and 2 Ferreira in 4 weeks) means I have stopped buying those brands. I did this once before after 5 out of 6 Offleys were corked. I do not suppose the loss of my 20 cases a year will put much of a dent in the profits, but it is the principle that matters.

I have been buying Calem's Velhote for a few weeks, along with a few supermarket own labels. I will go the rounds of whatever I can find - half a dozen of each, and then make a decision. I prefer to switch among three brands just in case one becomes better or worse than the others.
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Andy Velebil
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by Andy Velebil »

Alan McDonald wrote:For a few months it has been either Offley or Ferreira Ruby, but a string of corked bottles in Nov/Dec (3 Offley and 2 Ferreira in 4 weeks) means I have stopped buying those brands. I did this once before after 5 out of 6 Offleys were corked. I do not suppose the loss of my 20 cases a year will put much of a dent in the profits, but it is the principle that matters.

I have been buying Calem's Velhote for a few weeks, along with a few supermarket own labels. I will go the rounds of whatever I can find - half a dozen of each, and then make a decision. I prefer to switch among three brands just in case one becomes better or worse than the others.
Do Portugal retailers take back corked bottles for refund or replacement? With that many I'd be taking them back or at least notifying the producer of an issue. Were these t-corked sealed bottles or regular driven-cork bottles?
Andy Velebil Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used. William Shakespeare http://www.fortheloveofport.com
Joni H
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by Joni H »

Dow's Colheita 2002 is a good weekday port. Not as nutty as I like best but a good price-quality ratio.
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by Andy Velebil »

Joni H wrote:Dow's Colheita 2002 is a good weekday port. Not as nutty as I like best but a good price-quality ratio.
I would imagine being that young it still has some fruity elements to it. Is that the case?
Andy Velebil Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used. William Shakespeare http://www.fortheloveofport.com
Joni H
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by Joni H »

Andy Velebil wrote:
Joni H wrote:Dow's Colheita 2002 is a good weekday port. Not as nutty as I like best but a good price-quality ratio.
I would imagine being that young it still has some fruity elements to it. Is that the case?
Yes, it has a lot of fruityness. Still, as a whole better quality for the price compared to 10-year-olds.
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by Alan McDonald »

Andy, re your post on 13 Jan. Sorry for the delay, but this is my first visit back - extreme internet connection problems, plus a heavy workload pruning olive trees, have led to shortage of time for anything except essential business use of my computer. This is a "pleasure" site.

I would imagine that I could have returned the bottles, but I regularly buy in 3 different supermarkets and it would mean keeping records of where I bought which bottle along with the till receipts. It has been unusual to have bottles corked - except for a batch of Offley quite a few years back, and the more recent ones. I have only had corked bottles under these two labels. Past experience of complaining to manufacturers is that they insist you are looking for a hand-out and ignore the complaint. Even telling them no recompense is sought does not work, so I do not bother anymore, I simply stop buying their products.

I accept a rare bottle of anything corked, and Ruby (all T-corks) is so cheap here that I take a chance. By judicious use of loyalty cards, special offers and promotions I pay from €4 upwards, so no great loss for an occasional problem bottle. Last week I managed to get some Bin Nº27 for €5-50. Unfortunately only three left on the shelf.

I tried a new "cheapie" label too - Contemporal. I have not had a chance to do any research, but I think it is part of Dão Sul, again about which I know nothing at present, and the Supermarket chain Modelo/Continente appears to have some involvement because Contemporal is now their own label brand. The Ruby is bottled by the same people as the Nº27. I am also trying Madeira and some wines under this label.
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Andy Velebil
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by Andy Velebil »

Alan McDonald wrote:Andy, re your post on 13 Jan. Sorry for the delay, but this is my first visit back - extreme internet connection problems, plus a heavy workload pruning olive trees, have led to shortage of time for anything except essential business use of my computer. This is a "pleasure" site.

I would imagine that I could have returned the bottles, but I regularly buy in 3 different supermarkets and it would mean keeping records of where I bought which bottle along with the till receipts. It has been unusual to have bottles corked - except for a batch of Offley quite a few years back, and the more recent ones. I have only had corked bottles under these two labels. Past experience of complaining to manufacturers is that they insist you are looking for a hand-out and ignore the complaint. Even telling them no recompense is sought does not work, so I do not bother anymore, I simply stop buying their products.

I accept a rare bottle of anything corked, and Ruby (all T-corks) is so cheap here that I take a chance. By judicious use of loyalty cards, special offers and promotions I pay from €4 upwards, so no great loss for an occasional problem bottle. Last week I managed to get some Bin Nº27 for €5-50. Unfortunately only three left on the shelf.

I tried a new "cheapie" label too - Contemporal. I have not had a chance to do any research, but I think it is part of Dão Sul, again about which I know nothing at present, and the Supermarket chain Modelo/Continente appears to have some involvement because Contemporal is now their own label brand. The Ruby is bottled by the same people as the Nº27. I am also trying Madeira and some wines under this label.
No worries, work does come first. Thanks and I am in the same boat for inexpensive bottles. Not worth my time to try and return. In the past I've never taken a corked bottle back, save one time when a friend made me but that was only because he worked at the wine store where I bought it and I opened it when he was over for dinner. My attitude on returning TCA infected bottles has now changed for more expensive younger bottles, where it can easily be returned. Why should I bear the burden of an expensive bottle that is flawed, and was flawed from the moment the producer put a cork in the bottle. If more pressure is put on the producer, they in turn will get upset and put more pressure on the cork industry to clean up their act. At least that's my theory, hopefully.
Andy Velebil Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used. William Shakespeare http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by R Bull »

Starting to drink more and more of the 2007 Quinta do Noval as a standard weekday port
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Roy Hersh
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by Roy Hersh »

While the 2007 Noval is about as good as it gets from that vintage, it was so tannic when born that if I owned them, I'd have locked in a corner of the cellar and not opened one for a decade. Has it softened up a bit already?
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Bradley Bogdan
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by Bradley Bogdan »

I've been drinking a lot of Noval and Crasto LBVs of various recent vintages (the stores here have two or three different ones between them usually)


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R Bull
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by R Bull »

Roy, I do think the "97 Noval is softening although I am quite certain our palate/tolerances are very different. On a pop and pour it is still rather tannic but with 5-6 hours of decant and the next day, I find the Noval very enjoyable
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by Mahmoud Ali »

Are we talking about the 97 Quinta do Noval or the Noval LBV?
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Re: Weekday Ports

Post by R Bull »

Quinta do Noval
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