For The Love Of Port

My excuse is that lately I've just been glugging our house VP ('95 Roriz). I didn't want to bore anyone with repeat notes, but I will say that after drinking a case or so over the past few years I haven't had any off bottles. Consistently jammy with ripe tannins. Not profound but very very pleasant....

Ted, I was stingy with my rating of just 90 points. If I hadn't been bothered by thoughts of my mortality I would have been more objective. It kind of bugged me that I was 47 and not 27. Does that ever happen to you? Anyway, my wife is smarter than me and it was 94 for her, so hey - 92 or 93 sounds ...

Tom, If your cellar is almost where you want it then added insulation may be all you need. I'd try that first and see how things stand. This would probably be fine if your yearly cellar high is <69° F. Like Roy suggested, I've read a lot of good things about Gold's book. The chilled radiator will pr...

Bjorn,
Nice notes. I like the S-W LBV's too, although I don't think I've had the '95. BTW - if you ever see a '95 S-W Madelina, buy it - it's a very good SQVP.

BC

One of the things I like best about the internet & sites such as FTLOP is that it makes the world a bit friendlier and little smaller. The trips to the Duaro and Maderia which Roy and Mario put together contribute in so many ways to increasing goodwill among people of many nations. Although this...

I would say that in the US most VP is bought by a relatively small number of passionate port drinkers & most of 'em won't hesitate to knock 'em down early. I plead guilty myself. There are many reasons for this which I won't go into but in general we're an impulsive, impatient, thrill seeking lo...

Dow's makes a nice basic ruby. For $10 or $12 it's a nice easy but very good ruby. It's not as fruity as Six Grapes which I never cared for. A traditional LBV would probably be a good experience for you and it would cost only about $25. Look for Warre, Niepoort, Noval, and Smith Woodhouse, in no par...

Opened 1-24-08. Color of cranberry juice w/ very slight fading on the rim. Not much bottle sediment. After 6 hour decant this port was pretty disjointed with a mildly unpleasant spirity streak distracting from the red fruit driven palate. After a day, and continuing through the second day, the wine ...

This bodes well for Roriz. They've been making excellent porto and table wine for a while now and Cristiano is one of the most experienced and talented winemakers in Douro. I'm excited. Tom - So far Roriz has been able continue to produce their VP with seemingly no drop in quality while they produce...

Roy, I may have been a little stingy with the score. But, I honestly think I don't have the tasting aptitude to do justice to more nuanced ports, or table wine for that matter. I can describe it if the nuance makes it to my flavor receptors, but I must have a taste bud deficiency. This port frustrat...

Joao, Thank you for sharing this with us. I've read a lot about Quinta de Roriz & I really like the traditional way they make their VP's, as well as it's exuberant nature. It's not for everyone, but it's a fine wine. Roriz has certainly had their struggles over their long history. Since the earl...

I had been looking for a birth year wine for myself a while ago. '61 is a Bordeaux year but I saw some good notes on the Krohn colheitas so I bought two '61's. This week was my 47th birthday and I figured one prime number deserved another so I opened the first Krohn & took out the Reidel Porto g...

For me:
Roriz (found a great deal so it's our current house VP)
S-W
Dow's
Warre's

Bill

I've tried coffee filters (white & unbleached) and to me it takes something away flavor wise. I wouldn't say it ruins the port, but it damages the flavor profile a bit. The last 4 or 5 years I've been firmly anchored at the other extreme. I'm careful to maintain a constant flow into the decanter...

I don't see many Sandeman VP's. I've only had the '85 (a few bottles) but it was pretty good. Not profound, but no flaws. Probably an 88 pt. wine.

BC

I'm going with a bottle of Bollinger and I was thinking of mating it with a total fruitbomb port: probably a '95 Roriz (since I have so many & I know my wife likes it) or a '94 Warre's which transfixed me the only other time I had it.

BC

I'll take a stab at it. I would think that there probably is a secondary port grape / wine market that the producers can access to top off everthing from basic ruby thru LBV and tawny's. I'm guessing that this secondary market can't be used for their SQVP or VP, but all other ports probably use the ...

I haven't come across the Javali or Crasto LBV in my little part of the planet.
They must be unfiltered if you have them up there w/ Neipoort?

BC

Bob, We're in the thumb of Michigan but I have to buy VP when I pass through one of the cities. VP just doesn't sell well here except for the exceptional declarations. The '92 Warre's and Dow's stayed on the retailer wine shelves forever - you may be getting some of the stock that never made it out ...

Tie for 1st: Niepoort & Noval - they both approach SQVP quality
3rd: S-W (not far behind).

Warre's is right there w/ S-W but I like S-W a bit more (personal preference to the beefier style of S-W.

BC