What have you opened this week?

[John M.]

Had a few friends over, we opened:

2011 Grahams LBV. Showed quite well, Opened 2 hours prior (filtered). A fruit bomb with a dry slightly hot finish. Good one for casual drinking. Scores in low 90s.

1995 Smith Woodhouse Madelena. Cherry, plum and chocolate with a nice extended finish. Awesome. 93 was the typical score, I called it 94. Has some further aging potential. Decanted 2 hours prior.

1979 Barros Colheita (Bottled 2008): Pop and pour. Looked yellowish in the glass, appeared oxidized yet the taste was fine. By the next day the Port hard darkened considerably. Well structured. 92 Points (and I had half a bottle left that I've been drinking all weekend)

[Gerwin de Graaf]

1997 Niepoort, over the weekend (stil have about 2 glasses in the decanter for tonight ). Quite young still but very nice (got better on day 2 and 3). And as this particular Niepoort vintage seems to struggle with (cork)issues, I feel lucky that my bottle was in excellent condition without any faults

[Tom Archer]

1997 Niepoort, over the weekend (stil have about 2 glasses in the decanter for tonight ). Quite young still but very nice (got better on day 2 and 3). And as this particular Niepoort vintage seems to struggle with (cork)issues, I feel lucky that my bottle was in excellent condition without any faults

The primary problem with the '97 Niepoort appears to have been in the wine rather the cork. A slow secondary malign fermentation kicked off after the wine had been bottled, causing many of them to seep slightly. Upon opening, they did not drink well.

This secondary fermentation seems to have ended a few years back, and the ones I have no longer exhibit seepage (although originally believing it to be cork failure issue, I re-corked many of mine)

Yours is not the only report of someone finding a good bottle that I've heard, and the Ni97 is not the only wine to suffer this problem. My suspicion is that the problem bug was not in body of the wine in the feed tank, else all bottles would be affected, but probably an airborne spore that found it's way into empty bottles waiting to be filled. Infected corks are another possibility.

I am intrigued as to the evolution of the product of this bug, and the possibility, albeit small, that these bottles might come right over time.

If you still have the capsule from that bottle, could you examine it closely to see if there are any dried residues to indicate past seepage?

[Mike J. W.]

1994 Quinta do Vesuvio. Decanted 7 hours. Days one and two very smooth and full of fruit with a beautiful nose. Day three it's a little hotter and rougher. Let's see what happens on day four.

[John M.]

1994 Quinta do Vesuvio. Decanted 7 hours. Days one and two very smooth and full of fruit with a beautiful nose. Day three it's a little hotter and rougher. Let's see what happens on day four.

I love this Port---a rock star!

[Moses Botbol]

1994 Quinta do Vesuvio. Decanted 7 hours. Days one and two very smooth and full of fruit with a beautiful nose. Day three it's a little hotter and rougher. Let's see what happens on day four.

I love this Port---a rock star!

Some year I will break down and open one... Foot lockers look too cool to actually drink a bottle...

[Eric Menchen]

1994 Quinta do Vesuvio. Decanted 7 hours. Days one and two very smooth and full of fruit with a beautiful nose. Day three it's a little hotter and rougher. Let's see what happens on day four.

What is this day four of which you speak?

[Tom Archer]

Foot lockers look too cool to actually drink a bottle...

Think of them as kindling..

[Mike J. W.]

1994 Quinta do Vesuvio. Decanted 7 hours. Days one and two very smooth and full of fruit with a beautiful nose. Day three it's a little hotter and rougher. Let's see what happens on day four.

What is this day four of which you speak?

It never lasts that long for you, huh?

[Andy Velebil]

2001 Taylor's Quinta de Vargellas VP. Will get a TN up soon.

[Moses Botbol]

Foot lockers look too cool to actually drink a bottle...

Think of them as kindling..

I already have OWC's in the yard with pepper plants...

[Gary Richardson]

Poças 30 Year Tawny. Very light tawny color and more citrussy than other 30 years I have had before. One I had not tried before.

[Tom Archer]

Croft '60

Dark, rich and slightly tannic still. Hard to credit, but this might still have a little more to offer with further time. Best after 24hrs decant time.

A really enjoyable bottle. Score 8-8

[Al B.]

Over the course of an indulgent week with friends I opened Noval 1947, Gould Campbell 1963, Grahams 1966, Niepoort VV, Sandeman 1955, Delaforce 1963, Malvedos 1968, Dow 1945, Warre 1966, Cockburn 1912 and Cockburn 1924 - the last two as part of a Cockburn vertical 1977-1908 (in magnum!)

[Bert VD]

Over the course of an indulgent week with friends I opened Noval 1947, Gould Campbell 1963, Grahams 1966, Niepoort VV, Sandeman 1955, Delaforce 1963, Malvedos 1968, Dow 1945, Warre 1966, Cockburn 1912 and Cockburn 1924 - the last two as part of a Cockburn vertical 1977-1908 (in magnum!)

that is a very impressive list

[Scheiny S]

Quevedo 2011 LBV, 375ml.
I have half a dozen of these and have given myself permission to drink them rather than horde them. Today ended up being the Friday of a six day work week which included an eleven hour day, and I stayed late today to train a new hire. The whole month will go like this if not longer stretches as I moonlight at a Halloween store. My feet hurt and I decided to treat myself to the nicest Port I have.

[John M.]

At long last some NJ Port lovers are gathering for a small Grahams vertical on Saturday....77, 80, 83 & 85...and maybe a 95 Malvedos. Quite excited about it.

[Andy Velebil]

At long last some NJ Port lovers are gathering for a small Grahams vertical on Saturday....77, 80, 83 & 85...and maybe a 95 Malvedos. Quite excited about it.

That’s a good line up!


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[Tom Archer]

Warre 63

Second of a pair of bottles. The first had seemed tired and a bit lacklustre when opened a couple of years ago, so this one got fast-tracked as a 'drink up' candidate.

Yet this bottle proved superbly elegant and robust - at its peak and really enjoyable - 9-8

[Moses Botbol]

1970 Offley Boa Vista VP. The last few times I had this it showed more of a tawny style to it. This bottle was more a "tired ruby" to it. Very smooth with sweet watermelon & spearmint flavors. Some heat on the nose, but really smooth with elegance. Not getting any better.