For The Love Of Port

Martinez 1997 to share at a varied wine dinner. A bit closed. If you have any, I’d leave them 2-3 years before seeing how they are. I had one of these 2 years ago and I scored it at 88 points. Here's what my notes said Very dark but also extremely cloudy. Decanted about 8 hours. It's a simple Port,...

Heh, when I went looking for a declaration today, I found this on the Fladgate Partnership website: Over time, The Fladgate Partnership has brought together four of the main Port houses. Taylor’s, founded in 1692, was joined by Fonseca and Croft. Math is hard. As Homer Simpson would say..."Doh...

1 x 1984 Fonseca LBV
1 x 1985 Fonseca VP (snagged it for $55 at auction)
1 x Ferreira Duque de Braganca 20 y.o. Tawny

How was it? I really like their Colheitas. Really good. I opened this to go with dessert at the end of an Easter dinner, and didn't take notes. Roughly I'd say it wasn't as good as S.Leonardo 40 (just had one of those, which of course costs more too), but lived up to my expectations. 94 points? It'...

Moses Botbol wrote: ↑Mon Apr 08, 2024 10:22 am 30 is the new 20 when it comes to minimum opening years for modern top tier VP's.

This really does seem to be the case.

Eric Menchen wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 9:46 am 1991 Andresen Colheita

How was it? I really like their Colheitas.

1987 Offley Barao de Forester Colheita (bottled 2001)
1995 Churchill Quinta Da Agua Alta SQVP

1985 Warre's VP. I noticed last night that it had a slight leak, so I made it next up. Decanted this morning. The cork was fully soaked through and it came out in 2 pieces. Hardly any sediment at all, but it was the palest of pale ruby color. It smelled mostly of brandy with a faint mustiness in the...

I stumbled upon a 1924 Graham at auction and was able to secure it. It wasn't cheap, but it also wasn't expensive for a 100-year old bottle of Port! Of course this now means that I need a 1935 and a 1927 to fill in the gap in my vertical. :lol: I saw that Graham's and was debating on whether to bid...

2004 Dow Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira. It's a little bit of a fruit bomb and it's still 5 to 7 years away from being fully integrated, but it's a nice Port. It's also sweeter than a Dow VP.

2003 Quinta de Roriz. It's delicious.

A small lot won at Acker's weekly auction this past weekend: 1983 Dow VP 1987 Ferreira VP 1991 Dow LBV I was primarily after the Ferreira, but the others are nice cellar defenders. All in was $100 and since they're about a half hour from where I live now in PA (they're in Delaware), I can pick up an...

1997 Quinta Do Infantado VP last week. 1994 Ferreira VP yesterday.

One of the best VPs from the vintage! Dow and Warres are excellent too. A vintage where the second tier (or third ...) names outshine the usual first. I haven't tried the Warre's '80 yet, but I've had the Dow '80. In my opinion, the Dow is the top '80 with the GC not too far behind. The Graham's is...

Decanted 9 1/2 hours. The cork came out in two pieces as it was fully 3/4 saturated. In the glass it was a dark reddish-purple with about 80% opacity. It's amazing how dark a 44 year-old Vintage Port can be. There's a spirity smell on the nose, but a sip shows it to be fully mature and integrated. A...

Al B. wrote: ↑Sun Feb 11, 2024 4:52 pm I’ve opened a Noval 2097 Colheita to enjoy over the next day or two (or few).

You time traveler you.

1980 Gould Campbell. Very nice...finally. The GC 1980 and 1977 bottles can be hit or miss as far as bad corks. This one although not perfect was pretty good.

2 x 1967 Butler, Nephew & Co. VP

I don't think anything from '85 even comes close. Grahams, Ferreira, Gould Campbell, and Ramos Pinto are pretty consistent and top notch. Niepoort is great when it's a good bottle. All good, but I still believe the '85 Fonseca is markedly better than all of those. Next best would be Graham's but it...

Ramos Pinto Bom Retiro 20 y.o. Tawny (bottled 2021). Very smooth.