For The Love Of Port

Why does nobody ever talk about this producer?

This just reminded me that I have indeed dropped a bottle of port :help:

I managed to throw a bottle of Osborn 10 yr old tawny on the floor of an airport duty free shop about 4 years ago. Very embarassing

I have never tasted an Osborn port so far as I can recall

It must have been pretty traumatic if you avoided it ever since!

I tried their sherry and was not too fond of it. I've actually seen Osborne port at few places, but have been hesitant to try it. I associate the brand is being lower tier... Is that acurate?

It is just not much available here. I remember the Vintage 95, it was correct, but nothing to really encourage to buy more of this over my favourite shippers.

Agree with others...I think I've only seen Osborne on a couple of occassions at stores around me and those were all LBV's or a basic tawny/ruby.

I have a 1985 Osborne Vintage Port at home. I got it for free with 6 0,375 bottles of 1994 Fonseca.
I was curious about this too, i will open it when temperature drops. Yesterday it was 34 degrees....ouch.

I heared my town was the hottest place in Europe yesterday :?

I just noticed some Osborne 1994 at a local retailer and I was thinking of picking it up. I have a bottle of Duff Gordon '94 in the cellar and I was thinking of comparing the two (since they are, in theory, the same juice).

Marc

I just purchased 6 bottles of 1997 Osborne (see my marketplace post for details) at $14.95 a bottle.

Why?
1) It's my son's birth year and I'm building a '97 horizontal for him with at least one bottle from as many producers as I can source.
2) I've never had it either
3) At $14.95 a bottle, it's a VP that is cheaper than a TAWNY port.
4) If it is really horrible, I've give it to my non-Port drinking friends as housewarming presents! :devil:

Once the weather cools and they ship it, I will pop one open and write a TN.

Derek T. wrote:I managed to throw a bottle of Osborn 10 yr old tawny on the floor of an airport duty free shop about 4 years ago. Very embarassing

I had one glas of this one yesterday. I bought the bottle at an European airport. As I recall it, the color was almost clear red, the nose was pleasant although not very interesting and the taste was a bit ... bland? The glass of Krohn Colheita 1992 I had just before the Osborne may have triggered my palate. Anyway, I have almost a full bottle left to figure out how it actually smells and tastes.

Morten O wrote: I have almost a full bottle left to figure out how it actually smells and tastes.

I can tell you when you are standing in a whole bottle of it in an airport duty free shop it smells of toffee

Derek T. wrote:

Morten O wrote: I have almost a full bottle left to figure out how it actually smells and tastes.

I can tell you when you are standing in a whole bottle of it in an airport duty free shop it smells of toffee

I'm glad that you're able to tell me that as I've never had a glass of port before that is so short on smell and taste. There's a bit of toffee and alcohol on the nose and it tastes of toffee as well -- remotely. But I love toffee smell and taste in general, so it's pleasing although very mild. It's almost impossible to tell yet again what it smells and tastes like after having drinner, a beer and a glass of Barao de Vilar's mediocre 1997 Colheita. I better find myself a fruit bomb in the stash to make up for this. Cheers.

Morten,
Don't forget to post a TN in the TN Section. thanks

What I recall from Osborne, is that back in 2000 it was one of the nicest places to visit in Gaia of the 6 or so I visited on that run. Very well kept, excellent tour guide, plenty of histort of Port not just Obsorne marketing...etc... But not much of VP quality... I seem to recall some decent white and basic tawny.... I think at the time the best bottle for sale was a 10 year old tawny.

They have been acquired since but I forget by which group.

They do not seem to export much to Canada.

cheers
Paul

I have never seen Osbourne Port in Canada.

I may have seen a bottle of something that MAY have been Osbourne in California when I was there last year (IIRC it would have been in K&L Wines - Jay, maybe you can confirm if you saw it there too?) - there were a few older Ports that I did not recognize the name of. As I was looking for something pretty specific I would have glazed right over the bottle, if indeed it was an Osbourne, which now that I examine my ever-abused memory, seems less likely.

Todd

I did have a bottle of Osborn 10 yr old tawny. It was o.k., sweet and easy to drink, without pretensions. It's o.k. to have one to drink a glass ones in a while. Is one of the cheapest 10 yr ports around here (Spain).

Carlos,

Good timing on bringing up this older thread. I was doing some cellar management recently and I discovered I had a 1997 Osborne LBV I'll have to try and remember to open this sometime in the near future to see how it is.

And I just bought a 1994 Osborne VP... just for fun! The price was certainly right.
-Dave-

I recall reading somewhere that Duff Gordon is the second label port of Osborne. Does anybody know anything about this?

Cheers......Mahmoud.

I don't have to time look it up right now, but IIRC...Osbourne bought Duff Gordon many many years ago and it is a second label for them. But Osbourne was actually originally a company from Spain and only came to Portugal sometime in the latter half of the 20th century.