GREAT LIST - but oh those prices

[Roy Hersh]

This is the time for bringing out those special bottles of port to warm up for the winter season. Most of the port on our list is from one of the country's leading port specialists, so please do take advantage of this offer!

Michael Broadbent sums up his history of port by saying of North American drinkers, "There it is not associated with fuddy duddies and ancient traditions but is regarded more as a dessert wine. I asked my son, whose import company specialises in port, why so much young vintage port was now being consumed in the States? It goes well with chocolate puddings was the answer. Despite vicissitudes, it is still a wonderful drink."

Well, whether this wonderful drink is consumed as a dessert wine to go with chocolate puddings, or with Stilton cheese and to toast the reigning monarch, it is considered a special drink for any occassion.

In addition to many of these wines being rare, they are also birthday or anniversary year wines. What a one-of-a-kind gift they would make!

Please don't hesitate to contact us at 707-781-0619 or orders@aabalat.com to place your order or click on the links below to order online. Hours of operation 8:30am- 5pm Pacific Time.

Sincerely,
Aabalat Fine & Rare Wines

PS - For even more great deals, have a look at the AABALAT SALE PAGE.

Limited to stock on-hand. Quantity and price subject to confirmation. Orders will be processed in the order received and paid.


Graham Vintage Port 1942


Graham Vintage Port 1942 bottled in Victory Year 1945

65th Birthday or Anniversary Year!


Our Price: $1229.99

Call or Email to Order!

Niepoort Vintage Port 1982


Niepoort Vintage Port 1982
25th Birthday or Anniversary Year!


Our Price: $129.00

Call or Email to Order!


Niepoort Colheita 1937


Niepoort Colheita 1937


70th Birthday or Anniversary Year!

Our Price: $850.00

Call or Email to Order!



Port and Other Fortified


1908 Ferreira Vintage Port 750 ml
1 available at $650.00

80th Birthday or Anniversary Year!
1927 Cockburn 750ml WS91 MB**** (Call or Email to Order!)
This is the same lot as drunk by Michael Broadbent on his 80th birthday earlier this year!
4 available at $1074.99 per bottle
This wine has a legendary reputation as one of the greatest vintage Ports ever produced. It is clearly outstanding, although I am not sure it is Cockburn's greatest. It is a sexy, elegant wine and drinking extremely well now. Medium garnet with a red center, very aromatic plum nose, medium-bodied, with delicious plum flavors and an elegant balance of silky tannins. -JS

1931 Rebello Valente Vintage Port 750 ml MB****
1 available at $899.00
Robertson's vintage marque: rich, high-toned, refined (1971), next rich, spirity. 1978. MB

70th Birthday or Anniversary Year!
1937 Massandra Ukraine Tavrida Black Muscat 750ml (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $530.00

70th Birthday or Anniversary Year!
1937 Niepoort Colheita 750ml (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $850.00

1945 Massandra Ukraine South Coast Port 750 ml
1 available at $450.00 per bottle

1952 Niepoort Colheita 750ml (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $550.00


1955 Taylor 750ml MB***** (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $699.99

50th Birthday or Anniversary Year!
1957 Niepoort Colheita 750ml (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $695.00

1958 Averys Vintage Port 750 ml
1 available at $188.00

45th Birthday or Anniversary Year!
1962 Niepoort Colheita 750ml (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $295.00

1963 Feuerheerd Vintage Port 750ml (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $119.00

1963 Fonseca 750ml WS98 WA96 MB**** (Call or Email to Order!)
11 available at $499.99 pet bottle
A grand slam. Deep ruby with a slightly red edge, intense black cherry and raspberry nose, full-bodied, with masses of fruit, full tannins and an extremely long finish. This can age indefinitely. -JS

1963 Graham 750ml WS97 WA96 MB****(*) (Call or Email to Order!)
24 available at $399.99 pet bottle
This is a monumental wine with a great balance of fruit and tannin. Medium ruby with a garnet edge, enticing nose of bitter chocolate and plums, full-bodied, with chocolate and raspberry flavors, medium tannins and a very long finish. -JS

1963 Martinez Vintage Port 750ml (Call or Email to Order!)
2 available at $135.00

1963 Niepoort Port Colheita 750 ml WS91 (Call or Email to Order!)
4 available at $250.00 per bottle
Thick, rich, complex flavors of honey, molasses and citrus. Full in body, very sweet, long, crisp finish. Extremely well balanced. -JS WS

1963 Taylor 750ml WS97 WA95 MB**** (Call or Email to Order!)
36 available at $399.99 per bottle
A big wine with superb balance, a shining example of this exuberantly fruity vintage. Deep ruby, with violets and coffee on the nose, full-bodied, with dried cherry flavors and plenty of tannin, balanced and long on the finish. -JS

1966 Gould Campbell Vintage Port 750 ml MB****
1 available at $159.99
Surprisingly deep, virtually opaque in the early 1980's, well-knit, plump and peppery. By 1990 medium, mature; very scented, slightly citrus-tinged bouquet; very sweet, rich, lovely texture. Three notes at comparative tastings in 1993, still impressively powerful yet elegant and lovely. Last tasted Aug 1993. Now-2020. MB

1970 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 750ml (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $159.00

1970 Taylor 750ml WS98-JS WA96 MB**(***) (Call or Email to Order!)
49 available at $249.99 per bottle
This house must certainly be the Latour of Portugal. Their ports are remarkably backward yet still impressive when young. Of all the vintage ports, those of Taylor need the longest time to mature and even when fully mature seem to have an inner strength and firmness that keep them going for decades. Their tawnys are also among the very best, though somewhat expensive. The 1970 fabulous, a broodingly dense-colored, backward port that has all the signs of future greatness, provided one is willing to cellar it until the early 1990s. RP

35th Birthday or Anniversary Year!
1972 Offley Boa Vista Vintage Port 750ml (Call or Email to Order!)
2 available at $94.00

1975 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port Nacional 750 ml MB***
1 available at $299.99
Fairly deep and rich color, nose and flavour. Strange sweet fig-like nose; powerful, concentrated, tannic, unready in the mid-to late 1980s. At nearly 20 years of age, fully mature orange amber; distinctive, harmonious bouquet; very sweet, rather bland though with a hot finish. Similar notes most recently....March 2000.... Drink now. MB

30th Birthday or Anniversary Year!
1977 Sandeman Vintage Port 750ml WS85 (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $89.00
Extremely well balanced and supple for a '77. Medium ruby, with clean berry aromas, full-bodied yet supple, very well balanced, with a long finish. -JS

1979 Niepoort Colheita 750ml (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $125.00

1980 Quarles Harris Vintage Port 750 ml MB***
1 available at $60.00
Another well-crafted, firm wine. Medium ruby-red, with focused aromas of violets and perfume, medium-bodied, medium tannins and racy, lean fruit flavors. -JS WS

25th Birthday or Anniversary Year!

1982 Hardys South Australia 750 ml
3 available at $25.00 per bottle

25th Birthday or Anniversary Year!
1982 Niepoort Vintage Port 750ml WS90 (Call or Email to Order!)
4 available at $129.00
One of the best '82s produced. Very deep ruby with an inky center, extremely ripe berry and grape aromas, full-bodied, with focused, ripe raspberry flavors, full tannins and a long, long finish. Not too sweet. -JS

25th Birthday or Anniversary Year!
1982 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 750ml (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $49.00

25th Birthday or Anniversary Year!
1982 Real Vinicola Vintage Port 750ml (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $25.00

1983 Gould Campbell Vintage Port 750ml WS90 (Call or Email to Order!)
2 available at $59.00
This is right up with the major-league '83s. It is extremely full and concentrated, with a massive fruit structure. Inky color, very concentrated black currant nose, full-bodied, with tons of tannin, velvety fruit flavors and a closed finish. Truly excellent. -JS

1983 Warre Vintage Port 750ml WA90 (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $79.00
This house makes rather restrained yet rich, flavorful vintage port and a very good tawny called Nimrod. Their vintage ports seem slow to develop, and while they never quite have the voluptuous richness of a Dow, Graham, or Fonseca, they have a unique mineral-scented character that gives them their own complexity and style. The 1983 is richly perfumed and fragrant, which is so typical of the ports from this vintage, and is seemingly more forward than normal. -RP

1985 Graham Vintage Port 375ml WA96 (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $58.00
Graham is another great port house, producing one of the deepest-colored and sweetest styles of vintage port. Along with Taylor and Fonseca, Graham has probably been the most consistent producer of great port in the post- World War II era. Their tawnys are quite good rather than exceptional, but their vintage ports are truly sublime and sumptuous. Graham is the undisputed star and kingpin of the 1985 vintage ports. Yes, it is made in a sweeter style than the other ports, but it is a fabulous wine because of a dazzling level of black-cherry fruit, an enormous structure, and staggering depth, dimension, and length. It is forward, as are all 1985s, and I would speculate that this port will be approaching maturity by 1992-93 and will keep 15-20 years thereafter. -RP

1985 Napa Valley Port Cellars Vintage Port 750 ml
2 available at $38.00 per bottle

1985 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 750ml (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $69.00

1985 Royal Oporto Vintage Port 750ml (Call or Email to Order!)
5 available at $32.00 per bottle

20th Birthday or Anniversary Year!
1987 Churchhill's Agua Alta Vintage Port 375ml (Call or Email to Order!)
2 available at $36.00 per bottle

1988 Quinta California Port Reserve 500 ml
22 available at $38.00 per bottle

1990 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port 750 ml MB***
1 available at $60.00
Tough and forward, with lively berry, black cherry and spice aromas and flavors, a bitter chocolate edge and a wallop of alcohol on the finish; needs until 1998 to show harmony. -JS WS

1991 Taylor Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port 750ml WA95 (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $129
Taylor Fladgate's 1991 Quinta de Vargellas is the finest Vargellas I have tasted. The opaque purple color is followed by aromatics that are more closed than most 1991s. In the mouth, it is a wine of extraordinary richness and brilliantly delineated components. This exceptionally rich, backward port possesses layer upon layer of fruit, a thick, chewy, unctuous texture, firm structure and tannin, and a finish that lasts for more than a minute. It is an exquisite port that will age for 25-30 years.-RP

15th Anniversary Year
1992 Taylor Vintage Port WA100 (Call or Email to Order!)
1 available at $275
Taylor's 1992 Vintage Port is unquestionably the greatest young port I have ever tasted. It represents the essence of what vintage port can achieve. The color is an opaque black/purple, and the nose offers up fabulously intense aromas of minerals, cassis, blackberries, licorice, and spices, as well as extraordinary purity and penetration. Yet this is still an unformed and infantile wine. If Chateau Latour made a late-harvest Cabernet Sauvignon, I suspect it might smell like this. In the mouth, the wine is out of this world, displaying layer upon layer of concentrated black fruits backed by well-integrated tannin and structure. This is a massive, magnificently rich, full-bodied port that will be far more flattering in its youth than were such Taylors as the 1983, 1977, or 1970. It possesses awesome fruit, marvelous intensity, and lavish opulence, all brilliantly well-delineated by the wine's formidable structure. This monumental 30-50 year port is a must purchase for port aficionados.! Also noteworthy is the fact that the 1992 Taylor commemorates the 300th anniversary of this firm, as evidenced by the special bottle Taylor used for this port. -RP

1994 Fonseca 750ml WS100 WA97 MB*(*****) (Call or Email to Order!)
12 available at $269.99 per bottle
Hold on to your hat. This is the best Fonseca since 1977, and it's probably even better than that classic vintage--more like the breathtaking 1948. Mind-blowing, with masses of color, aroma and fruit flavor. Smells like fermenting berries, boasting loads of crushed grape, violet and berry character. Big, full-bodied and very sweet, with tons of tannins and a sweet finish. Tannic and huge, it's a long-term, great Port. Best after 2012. 8,000 cases made. -JS

1994 Quinta do Passadouro Vintage Port 1.5 L WS88
3 available at $59.99 per bottle
Sleek and impressively fruity, with silky tannins and a fresh finish. Medium- to full-bodied, with moderate sweetness and substantial grip on the finish. Best after 2004. -JS WS

1994 Taylor 750ml WS100 WA97 (*****)MB (Call or Email to Order!)
6 available at $259.99 per bottle
In a word, superb. It's full-bodied, moderately sweet and incredibly tannic, but there's amazing finesse and refinement to the texture, not to mention fabulous, concentrated aromas of raspberries, violets and other flowers. Perhaps the greatest Taylor ever, it's better than either the '92 or the '70, though it's very like the '70 in structure. Best after 2010. 10,000 cases made. -JS

1994 Warre Vintage Port 750 ml MB*****
8 available at $81.00 per bottle
Said to have a 'typical cistus nose' i.e. resinous. Anyway, the most intensely dark of all the Symington's 94s. Very sweet, lovely flavour, perfect balance, good length. Noted April 1996. Great future. 2006-2026. -MB
A great surprise for the vintage. Displays fabulous concentration and complex character with it's layers of very sweet fruit, chocolate and cherry aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins. Long finish with plenty of grip. Beautiful wine. Best after 2008. 13,000 cases made. -JS WS

1995 Smith-Woodhouse Vintage Port Madalena 750 ml WS92
4 available at $35.00 per bottle
A serious blackstrap of a wine, and better than the '94. Wild aromas of ripe berries, spices and cedar introduce a full-bodied, medium sweet, very concentrated young Port. It has plenty of tannin, but the fruit is dominating now. Wait and see its true glory, after 2008. 1,700 cases made. -JS WS

Please call 707-781-0619 or respond to this email to order

[simon Lisle]

These are silly prices.

[Roy Hersh]

Ah, but what a pretty list, eh?

[Al B.]

They might be silly prices, but they have actually sold quite a lot - so perhaps we are just unrealistic in our (retail) pricing expectations!