My friend Peter Reutter from Germany (www.madeirawineguide.com) sent me samples of four Madeiras which coincided with my return from vacation.  Great timing as it gave me something enjoyable to drink while working on the newsletter and adding these tasting notes too.

Peter is a doctor and was able to put these samples into medical test tubes and send them overseas for me to try.  It was a great idea and very much appreciated as I had not had 3 of the 4 before and love trying new, old Vintage Madeiras.  I also opened a bottle of 1999 Ferreira Vintage Port this week and enjoyed it over several evenings of writing.  Really enjoyable, especially once it hit the 2nd day and had time to open up.  It is a delicious but still very young VP. 

The July newsletter is about 85% finished and we'll have it to you on time by Tuesday, if not before.  One thing that is being released along with the newsletter is PORTfolio.  It is finally being birthed after 9 months of production between FTLOP and our Canadian partner, GWS in Montreal.  I want to keep this nice and short and for those that are regulars on the FORUM, you are already well aware of what PORTfolio is all about.  For those that are not, it will be fully explained in this month's newsletter (July) and it will be available to all, on our homepage. 

One more piece of news:  If you are a subscriber of the FTLOP newsletter, make sure to read it all the way to the end as you'll find the "best ever" A Question for the Port Trade, and I am excited to get this into your hands.  If you are not a subscriber ... why?  There are about 500 pages a year with 500-600 tasting notes included in each year's FTLOPs.  No pressure though ... 90% of the website can still be enjoyed without a subscription.  Cheers!