For The Love Of Port

A friend sent me an email today and mentioned that until now, he had not owned any magnums of Port wine. I got to wondering if people thought that Port in magnums was just a waste, given many prefer 375s over 750s (not 'ers but in general, many non-fortified wine people like half bottles :wall: ).

So, let's explore this a bit more ...

Do you own Magnums of Port?

Approx. how many do you own?

What are the oldest ones and what are the youngest mags of Port in your collection?

If you think it is lunacy to have Port in magnums, don't be afraid to speak up ... we'll be gentle. :joker:

I do love magnums. If it is only to see them in my hands once a year, I'd buy some :) the look is just great and always feels better when its bigger, in your hearth of course.

I don't own much, because of the cost and the opportunity to open them. I have Vesuvio and Graham's 2000, Gould Campbell 77 and maybe Taylor's 2007 soon. I would have bought some 97 if I had the money in the days, but now after 7 years upside on the shelves, I don't trust too much. 2003 was not offered in magnums in Quebec.

Today I whish I had some 70 in Magnums, we never have enough of one bottle when we open them. These are really the moments you find Port is great. One bottle of young VP is often too much, but one bottle of old and fantastic VP is never enough.

I have a few magnums, but not many. Right now I have:

2 x 1994 Taylor Fladgate
1 x 1995 Quinta do Crasto
5 x 2003 Graham

For all three Ports (five separate purchases), they were purchased because they were actually cheaper than buying a pair of 750s. Which is pretty unusual for magnums of Port.

I've only opened one magnum - another '95 Crasto - and finishing it took a while. A magnum is a lot of Port if you don't have a fair number of friends who will help you drink it! (Or maybe I'm just a lightweight. )

In the past couple of years I've gone from zero mag's to 18. The oldest ones are from 1977 and the youngest are from 2003. Mainly I bought them because I got a really good price so it was worth it...like the 2003 Dow's that were $70 per magnum Yes I got a case (6) of those at that silly of a price.

They do have their place for large gatherings, and there is a "coolness" factor to them. I'm not a fan of any larger format except on occasional double mag. The only issue with the double mags and larger sizes is there tends to be more issues with the cork not sealing right, as the bottles are typically "one offs" and not mass produced. So there can be imperfections and neck sizing issues that normally aren't there with 750 bottles. Same goes for the corks. So I have no desire to have say a 10 litre bottle of anything. Now it would be cool to have an empty one for display purposes though.

I own one which I purchased recently. A Kopke Quinta sao Luiz 2006 VP.
I think magnums are cool to serve for guests, and I'd like to get more, but they are rare here, and often very pricy.

-Lars

I don't own that many magnum's, maybe 10-12? I have 1970 Crofts, 1970 Sandemans, and one or two others that are escaping me. We drank a 1977 Warre last weekend, and often have 1980 Taylor in magnum. Have had 85 Graham in Magnum (one of the best showings of '85 Graham I have had).

I'll buy them when they are very close to bottle pricing as they are worth it! Never had a crappy magnum or port. Still waiting to crack a 1977 Taylor Double Magnum