Great question - a fifty would not be enough to go and buy a monumental wine so the question deserves a good thought.
Of course, my first action would be to return the fifty to the rightful owner and only when he could not be traced and the police returned the money to me would I have to go through this dilemma.
For £25 at retail I would be looking at probably a half bottle of a nice semi-mature port. Something along the lines of a half of Grahams 1977, drinking nicely and probably quite ready in half bottle format.
Alternatively, many of the 1983s are in the sort of price bracket under consideration and I am very fond of the Warre '83 but it is hard work to find one these days for as little as £25 a bottle. Perhaps more realistic would be the Fonseca Guimaraens 1987 - very enjoyable today and widely available in the UK supermarkets.
Or maybe another 3 bottles of Morgan 1991 - great value for money and a wonderful house port for today and the next 5-10 years!
(Also, I would have to be pretty quick in my choice. What I could afford in the UK today for $50 I may not be able to afford with the way that the dollar is declining at the moment!)
If I have to choose one and only one - it would be the half of Grahams 1977. I've not had this in a while and it would be great to revisit and see how it is getting on.
I wish I had those options, but unfortunately 50 pounds is twice as much as 50$ can
Used to be 50$ but now around 60$, Calem Quinta do Pego 2000 is one good port I like around that price. For something ready to drink I'd go with Warre's Colheita 1986, faboulous concentration, nice length, worth buying a few!
Living the dream and now working for a Port company
Great question Roy (as always, you have a knack for coming up with some really interesting "what if" scenarios!)
So, with the state of the US vs CAN dollar, for the first time since I was merely a thought in my mother's mind, $50USD is more like $52CAN, so perhaps I would pick up a bottle of Graham's Malvedos 1996, why? Because I have never tried a Graham's VP or Malvedos and this is about what $50 will buy you in Edmonton.
I could also pretend that the US dollar would be trading at November rates (using the crystal ball here) and say that would be worth $53CAN, so I could then (for the extra buck) pick up the '95 Malvedos (see reasons above.)
But what I think I really would do with a fitty found in the street (if, like Alex says, you cannot identify an owner) is purchase a bottle of 1997 Ferreira. Yes, availability has a lot to do with this, as does outrageous Canadian pricing, but really, this was a great bottle and it was the first VP I ever tried. I fell in love with it and it was a good bargain for the market.
Frederick Blais wrote:Used to be 50$ but now around 60$, Calem Quinta do Pego 2000 is one good port I like around that price. For something ready to drink I'd go with Warre's Colheita 1986, faboulous concentration, nice length, worth buying a few!
Fredrik - The Quinta do Pego was sold a few years back in Denmark for around 15$ at a discount supermarket. Apparently there was some dispute between the old and new owners and they dumped a lot on the Danish market. :)
50$ being what it is these days (not much) I'd most likely end up with a 1983 Krohn Colheita or a 20 year old Tawny of some sorts.
Hmm... if I was going to sip it tonight the 20 year old tawny would be the way to go. I think I might be able to find a "90 or 91 Dow for $50 but both seemed at an awkward stage when I had them last Port season. For tonight it would be the tawny.
you invest the big fitty on Port. 
and spend a fine evening of sipping. 
