Do you prefer to buy your white and/or red Douro wines by the bottle, pair, three, four, six ... a case? I was talking to a friend last night over a bottle of 1920s Port and we were discussing how many bottles we normally purchase of a specific lot of young or old Port.
He mentioned he typically buys 7 bottles, so he can drink one immediately after the purchased Port gets past its "bottle shock" and then he stashes the other half case in the cellar.
It made me consider my own stragegy for purchasing Douro wines and I wondered if others had their own madness to their methods.
When purchasing Douro wines, do you ... ?
Moderators: Glenn E., Roy Hersh, Andy Velebil
When purchasing Douro wines, do you ... ?
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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Andy Velebil
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Generally, depending on what Douro wine it is, I buy in 7's also. That allows me to open one young and stash the others away while they mature.
That does vary of course, as for the top notch wines I buy as much as my budget will allow, up to 12 bottles. But 7 seems to be a good number for the bulk of my dry wines.
That does vary of course, as for the top notch wines I buy as much as my budget will allow, up to 12 bottles. But 7 seems to be a good number for the bulk of my dry wines.
Andy Velebil Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used. William Shakespeare http://www.fortheloveofport.com
Andy,
A solid strategy. I wish I owned a lot more than I do. Two to three years ago, I was sitting on about 4-5 mixed cases of the stuff going back to 1996s, but have consumed most of that already. I plan to make this an ever larger part of my portfolio.
A solid strategy. I wish I owned a lot more than I do. Two to three years ago, I was sitting on about 4-5 mixed cases of the stuff going back to 1996s, but have consumed most of that already. I plan to make this an ever larger part of my portfolio.
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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Andy Velebil
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Well, I just checked and my over all Portuguese percent of my cellar is now about 70%. This is down a bit from previous years due to my making the decision this year to buy more regluar dry wines from Cali, Germany, and a few QPR French wines.
But as for Douro Reds, I've now got 99 bottles! Most of the that is Niepoort and Crasto, followed by Vale d. Maria.
But as for Douro Reds, I've now got 99 bottles! Most of the that is Niepoort and Crasto, followed by Vale d. Maria.
Andy Velebil Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used. William Shakespeare http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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Frederick Blais
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The most I've bought of a single Douro wine was 11 of the 2001 Redoma. That was an error, I should have bought 24 :)
When I've never heard of a producer/wine I normally buy only 1 to try it.
When its a regular wine that I can get all year long I normally buy 1 and drink it the same week
When I know the reputation of the wine is good but I have never tasted it, I normally buy 3 to try it and have a couple left in case I like it.
When I know the wine and I like it a lot, I try to buy at least 6.
Last week I was able to get 4 Batuta 2003 \o/. I wanted more but the manager of the stored was probably paid by a local restaurant who managed to get 20+ bottles out of 38 available in Montreal.
Right now I'm buying mainly Douro, Bordeaux and Burgundy. The older Douro red I have are mainly Ferreirinha Barca Velha and Reserva.
When I've never heard of a producer/wine I normally buy only 1 to try it.
When its a regular wine that I can get all year long I normally buy 1 and drink it the same week
When I know the reputation of the wine is good but I have never tasted it, I normally buy 3 to try it and have a couple left in case I like it.
When I know the wine and I like it a lot, I try to buy at least 6.
Last week I was able to get 4 Batuta 2003 \o/. I wanted more but the manager of the stored was probably paid by a local restaurant who managed to get 20+ bottles out of 38 available in Montreal.
Right now I'm buying mainly Douro, Bordeaux and Burgundy. The older Douro red I have are mainly Ferreirinha Barca Velha and Reserva.
Living the dream and now working for a Port company