For The Love Of Port

Upon arriving at the wine shop where I work a few days ago, I found a generous pour of this VP awaiting me. A sales rep had brought a bottle in earlier that day for my friend who owns the shop to sample, and as he knows that I'm a port fanatic, he made sure to save me a glass - thanks Nick! I'm not ...

Having sipped a glass at about 2hrs and 16hrs and finding the port quite tight, I took these notes after roughly 24hrs decant time and found my impressions to be consistent after finishing the bottle on day 3. The color is a dark, eggplant skin color with a bright purple rim. The nose is fairly expr...

I haven't had the range of experience that a lot of folks here have, but I've had a bunch of more recent Taylor's. To date I've sampled the 75, 77, 80, 85, 94, and 97 vintages. All of them were good ports, but the 77, 94, and 97 were great. The 94 was the hardest to asess because I drank it rather y...

Interesting points about the snifters Roy. I hadn't heard about the alcohol-accentuating quality before. I can't say that the ports I've been drinking out of the snifter have come off as any more alcoholic on the nose than ports I've enjoyed from a typical port glass, but then again, I can't say tha...

3 people downing 5 bottles...

Nice to see that I have some kindred spirits out there!

Hope to meet you guys at one of these offlines some time and combine forces.

What's the sweet end of Madiera? Is that Malmsey? I'd want to find something on that end of the spectrum for me to participate. :D I'd agree with Glenn. I've had a dry Madeira or two and found them interesting, but I'm very partial to the sweeter styles. What can you expect from a Port nut? :roll:

I've owned Riedel Vinum port glasses a couple of times but didn't have much luck with them. Every one of them ended up cracking, and it didn't seem to take much to do it. I always washed them by hand and tried to be gentle with them, but a couple of them cracked right in my hands. I once cracked a f...

This was bottled in 2006. The color is a dark, purplish burgundy at the core with a bright raspberry-red rim. About two hours after decanting the nose was quite primary - grape jelly and blackberry - but when the second glass was poured after about 8 hours of decanting, it took on a lovely perfumed ...

I'd second the madeira idea also. I have very little experience with them and it's been a long time since I've had one.

Roy, Thanks very much for the invite. I’m honored. I had completely forgotten to check back on this thread last week, but alas, I was out of town from Thursday through Sunday and would not have been able to attend regardless – I’m really sorry I missed it. I happen to live in Park Slope as well, so ...

Smith-Woodhouse LBV 1995 My first note was written on the first night with about 3 hours of decanting: Very dark burgundy color with a bright red rim. The nose shows black cherry, black currants, and flower petals. The fruit is dark and sweet up front with a tarry aspect and then transitions to bla...

I had the 85 many years ago, one of the first ports I tasted actually, and so have only a vague memory of it. I had the 70 last year and the 91 very recently. The 70 was fully mature and quite elegant - very enjoyable. The 91 I was very unimpressed with, so I guess with my very limited experience it...

Wow, this is like the supervillian of ports! :joker:

I would venture to guess that port has similar antioxidant properties to red wine, though I've never actually looked into it. And though I'm sure it would probably be scary to see the actual calorie count, I enjoy port so much that I think the benefits to the soul must far outweigh any negative heal...

Roy, I don’t think I would say that this was my least favorite of the 10 year tawnies that I’ve tasted, but I would put it solidly in the lower end of the spectrum. Certainly nothing exceptional, but I didn’t find anything distasteful about it either – just an easily enjoyable sipper – perhaps I was...

I would love to participate in a vertical, as I have yet to have had the opportunity. The only thing I have on hand is the Corte from 1995. I'd be happy to contribute that or search out something else if need be. I'm in Brooklyn, so NYC or Boston would be easy for me. Cheers.

I had this once a few years ago, also because I found it selling for under $20. Unfortunately, I felt it lived up to the price. I didn't write any notes on it at the time, but just remember my overall impression of a pretty light bodied and not very balanced port that I didn't enjoy very much. If so...

I did end up purchasing the Graham's 75 as I was anticipating. Though it was an enjoyable port, I found it to be a step down from the Taylor's 75 that I sipped on my birthday last year. Decent stuff though. My notes are in the TN section.

Orangey-amber color with a nose of dried apricots, nuts, and nutmeg. Initially fairly sweet on the palate, but balanced. The flavors are similar to those on the nose along with some woody spices emerging in the middle and continuing through the finish that echoes with persistant notes of apricot. A ...

So on the advice of some folks here on the forum, I decided to order a bottle of Graham's 75 for my girlfriend's birthday (we were both born in 75). I ordered this bottle from a company in California, the first time I've ever ordered port over the internet, and crossed my fingers. I should note that...