For The Love Of Port

Here's a decant-time TN to whet your appetite:

1977 Porto Rocha Colheita

The 8th bottle is a 1975 Porto Rocha Colheita, so the lineup is now set. I have the placemats printed and the table ready to go! I'm headed down to decant the 1985 Graham now, and will post a decant-time TN of that in just a bit.

For tonight's gonna be a good good night! Woo hoo.

Oh my, the 1985 Graham is superb. I was a little worried about the bottle and had a backup ready just in case, but the slightly pushed cork and signs of past seepage don't seem to have harmed it one bit. It's possible that the stains came from some other bottle because so far this one tastes perfect.

I hope there's still some left by the time you guys all get here!

I've got my bottles in a B.A.D.

Glasses ready - check

Notebook - check

Spit buckets - check


Am I forgetting anything?

Sounds like you have everything to me. I have the table set, spit cups and bottled water at the ready, and my Ports decanted. I'm about to go try my hand at making Gougeres, and if the first batch works I'll make a second and that'll do it for snacks.

I still need to run over to QFC to get a baguette in case anyone wants a palate cleanser, but other than that I'm ready to go!

I am bringing my shortbread cookies as promised--maple pecan, to be precise. I'm bringing them in individual bags in case anyone would rather eat them later.

Does anyone think Roy might be excited about this tasting?

Sounds great, folks. Drink one (or 10) for me.

I'm in no condition to be doing anything other than sleeping right now, but we had a great time!

Thanks to Dom for inspiring our get-together, and to everyone else for coming and making the evening a great success.

WOTN was a close call between the 1970 Taylor and the 1975 Kopke Colheita. The Taylor won 4-3 with the remaining vote going to the 1977 Porto Rocha Colheita. The 1985 Graham got a lot of 2nd and 3rd place votes, but in my current state I wasn't able to process anything other than 1st place.

Melanie's cookies rock!

So it's just after midnight for you guys and I'm sitting down to enjoy a big mug of tea and marmalade on toast. How're things going?

Glenn: Thank you for the compliment, and thanks for hosting. BTW, I would have voted for the 75 Colheita if I had been present at time of voting. I had a great time and enjoyed the company as well as the Ports.

Here's the final lineup with my ratings. (*) indicate the number of votes for WOTN. I'll post TNs and link them here once I have some time.

1970 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port - 96 points (****)
1980 Graham Vintage Port - 92 points
1985 Graham Vintage Port - 95 points

1975 Kopke Colheita - 95 points (***)
1977 Rocha Colheita - 97 points (*)

1994 Quinta do Infantado LBV - 88 points
1996 Quinta do Crasto LBV - 92 points
1991 Quinta do Panascal Vintage Port - 90 points

Several of the Ports moved significantly for me over the course of the night, the most notable being the '70 Taylor. That was the first Port we tasted, and at the time I gave it a quick 92 with a note to re-check over the course of the evening. That 92 is crossed out, as are the 93 and 95 that followed it, leaving only the 96 at the end of the night. It just kept getting better.

The Graham '80 started at 90 for me, briefly climbed as high as 93, but I finally settled on 92. I was wrestling with its tannins and heat as well as a slight bite in the late palate and early finish, and when that never really integrated I dropped it back to 92. I think it will probably get better with more time - it was the darkest Port of the evening, besting even the '91 Panascal.

Moving in the opposite direction, the '94 Infantado started out strong for me at 92 but seemed to me to become disjointed as the evening progressed. It also seemed like a very different style to me - much dryer than I'm used to, with much brighter fruits that I would expect in a 16-year old LBV. But rather than mellowing with air time, those bright fruits seemed to loose their fruitiness and age backwards toward under-ripe. (I started to say green, but that has an entirely different connotation.) I left it at 88 by the end of the night mostly because I think I just didn't really understand it and so was afraid that rating it lower would be unfair. It's tough to rate a Port that isn't at all your style.

Dom wins quote of the night with this one, refering to the 1975 Kopke Colheita: "It's like pecan pie on steroids." And you know what? He was right.

A few pictures:


Lisa, Vic, Kris, Melanie, John, Glenn, Roy, Dom, Markus


Lisa, Vic, Melanie, John


Roy, Dom, Markus, Kris


back row: '94 Infantado LBV, '96 Crasto LBV, '91 Panascal VP
middle row: '75 Kopke Colheita, '77 Rocha Colheita
front row: '70 Taylor, '80 Graham, '85 Graham


my first attempt with an Ah-So seems to have worked just fine!

Thanks Glenn for a wonderful night and a ton of fun. Thanks to those that traveled from the UK, (Dom & John) it was a pleasure to meet you guys and to Markus who drove down from Canada. Lots of enjoyable Ports. Also a quick shout to Melanie for the amazing Shortbread cookies! What a fun time!!!

Links to my tasting notes:

1994 Quinta do Infantado LBV
1996 Quinta do Crasto LBV
1994 Quinta do Panascal Vintage Port
1975 Kopke Colheita
1977 Porto Rocha Colheita
1970 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port
1980 Graham Vintage Port
1985 Graham Vintage Port

Glenn,

Great tasting notes. Thanks again for hosting - it was lots of fun and definitely worth the trip!

I took the Seattle folks suggestion and checked out Pike Place Market the next day and loved it. I stopped by the shop Melanie was talking about (The Spanish Table) and found quite a decent selection of port. I picked up a bottle of Quinta do Noval's 2003 VP ($60) and Kopke's 1998 Colheita ($35). I haven't seen the Kopke in BC, but the Quinta do Noval starts at around $110, so a great deal (especially with our dollars being at par!). I did get a lecture from the customs agent on the way back but ultimately got the bottles back no problem.

Thanks again Glenn and to everyone else for bringing the great ports (and cookies!).

[Edit: The only Kopke colheita I've seen in BC is the 1997 half-bottle and it starts at $30, so again, great deal!]

hi,

Sorry for not replying sooner, Busy traveling around British Columbia and Alberta and now the jet-lag and all that goes with changing multiple time zones!!

Thanks for hosting an excellent evening Glenn in your fine home - please send my regards to your family including the doggies who made the evening most entertaining. I truly enjoyed myself with the fine port and great company - and not to mention Melanie's most excellent cookies!(i believe they maybe illegal in many States - as they will lead to stealing and petty larceny to feed the addiction!)

The range of Ports made room for good discussion and my occasional outburst about "drug-addled dessert products"

The Taylor's 70 was the best port i think I've drunk and definitely improved over the evening, given that it had a good starting point - i ended up giving it 97 points.

Thanks again

Dom

That bottle of Taylor was definitely worthy of 97 points!

Glenn E. wrote:Links to my tasting notes:

1994 Quinta do Infantado LBV
1996 Quinta do Crasto LBV
1994 Quinta do Panascal Vintage Port
1975 Kopke Colheita
1977 Porto Rocha Colheita
1970 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port
1980 Graham Vintage Port
1985 Graham Vintage Port

Excellent linkage