For The Love Of Port

On Saturday, after a fine afternoon of top notch red Burgs, the night ended with 3 Ports and a pair of Madeiras. The 15 participants were from a wine savvy tasting group including several of their wives in Atlanta. I knew not a sole and had been driven there by a complete stranger. They were so warm and welcoming, that by the end of the night, I felt like I had known them for years. Wine and food geeks have an interesting common bond.

The pair that may interest some of you were:

1907 D'Oliveiras Malvasia ... not my favorite 1907 by any stretch (why is this not considered one of the great Madeira vintages like 1863 for the various grapes?) but a very solid Madeira nonetheless. Then a new one on me, 1963 Cossart Gordon Bual. If I ever tried this before, shame on me, but I can understand not remembering it. Good but there are just too many others out there to enjoy more than this. Sorry to sound negative, but it doesn't even come close to the 1968 that we all tout. However, I was given a perfect Romeo & Julietta on their sun-drenched porch (Id have to wait 5 more months for one like this in Sammamish!) and all of a sudden, both Madeiras tasted better. I can never once remember saying that about any Port.

Was that a Churchill size? One of my very favorites!

No, this seemed a bit smaller from memory. My brother shared one of the Churchill size ones with me once to prove they were as good as anything I had ever had before. He was correct, although the ones that Alex R. gets are sure as heck, every bit as great.