For The Love Of Port

Andy Velebil wrote:

Moses Botbol wrote:1957 Fonseca - Vale de Mendiz
1904 Cockburn

Fonseca was really sweet and on the simple side but quite enjoyable. Touch of fruit still showing.

Cockburn was delicate, dry with great color and nice balance. Was re-corked about 30 years ago.

Was the recork by Whitham's??

Don't know. We tonged the bottle and it was an unbranded cork and we approximated the age to around 30 years ago. Pretty sure it had Cockburn embossed in wax.

Ah ok. Thanks

1994 Ramos Pinto VP

This is the 3rd bottle that I am opening. It was cheap at $35. Still, the only thing it evokes in my mind is Sandeman Founders Reserve, that you can get for $20...

The notes on the database are fairly positive. Wonder if my batch was poorly stored somewhere along the way.

Either way, am keeping my last bottle to open during 2014 in celebration of its 20th anniversary. That an another seven 1994s. Sadly not the cream of the crop (steeply downhill after Graham, Vesúvio and Dow), but should still make for a fun time!

If the FTLOP 1994 tasting happens on the East coast I'll gladly volunteer them all :)

Steve Pollack wrote:Miguel, I will be back in Boston in February, and am hoping for an encore. I would be happy to disclose the restaurant after that visit!

And Steve nicely did.

I got to try the 1941 Noval Colheita for myself not once, but twice, over the weekend of Jun 8th when in Boston.

It was a memorable experience. The wine was truly fabulous. The depth of flavors and finish i experienced was nothing short of extraordinary.

It was more acidic than i typically expect a port to be, in a way tasting v madeira like. Oh so wonderful. It took me about an hour to sip through that one glass in the picture...

It was by far the most expensive i have tasted, at $65/glass (plus tax+tip). However, would venture to say that, at that price, it was still great QPR. In other words, I would give up a bottle and a half of Ferreira 20 yr Duque de Bragança for a glass of this.

In the way of comparison i had a Ramos Pinto 30 yr Tawny alongside it. Although the RP didnt measure up to the Noval, I thoroughly enjoyed it. At aprox $90/bottle on wine-searcher it seems like v decent value.

Mooo Restaurant is where i had them. The bartender says they go over a bottle of 1941 Noval Colheita each month. Wonder how many they have left in stock...

If you're in Boston, be sure to drop by and let them know that carrying top port is good for business.

Miguel Simoes wrote:

Steve Pollack wrote:Miguel, I will be back in Boston in February, and am hoping for an encore. I would be happy to disclose the restaurant after that visit!

And Steve nicely did.

I got to try the 1941 Noval Colheita for myself not once, but twice, over the weekend of Jun 8th when in Boston.

It was a memorable experience. The wine was truly fabulous. The depth of flavors and finish i experienced was nothing short of extraordinary.

It was more acidic than i typically expect a port to be, in a way tasting v madeira like. Oh so wonderful. It took me about an hour to sip through that one glass in the picture...

It was by far the most expensive i have tasted, at $65/glass (plus tax+tip). However, would venture to say that, at that price, it was still great QPR. In other words, I would give up a bottle and a half of Ferreira 20 yr Duque de Bragança for a glass of this.

In the way of comparison i had a Ramos Pinto 30 yr Tawny alongside it. Although the RP didnt measure up to the Noval, I thoroughly enjoyed it. At aprox $90/bottle on wine-searcher it seems like v decent value.

Mooo Restaurant is where i had them. The bartender says they go over a bottle of 1941 Noval Colheita each month. Wonder how many they have left in stock...

If you're in Boston, be sure to drop by and let them know that carrying top port is good for business.

Miguel, I'm glad that you enjoyed the 1941 Noval. I don't have vast experience with Colheitas, but it is probably the best one that I've tried, in part due to the high acidity and similarity to vintage Madeira. Hoping sales slow over the summer, and there is more left when I return to Boston in the fall.

2005 Quinta do Crasto LBV

2011 Quevedo VP (TN posted)

Ferreira 20 yr Duque de Bragança (what a finish!)
2007 Fonseca LBV (oh so delicious, slightly chilled. My favorite affordable drinking port. Could def drink a bottle of this a night)

1980 Gould Campbell VP, 375ml.

Rocha Three Centuries

1985 Ramos Pinto VP. Had a friend come in from out of town for the 4th whose last name is Pinto...so a fitting match. Glad his last name is not Petrus or Nacional!

Whiskers Blake Tawny, Australia. Solid stuff.

Moses Botbol wrote:1985 Ramos Pinto VP. Had a friend come in from out of town for the 4th whose last name is Pinto...so a fitting match. Glad his last name is not Petrus or Nacional!

and presumably not on his 31st birthday

Spent the past four days visiting a very old friend and his girlfriend up in Napa. Had an amazing time and we made some winery visits, including some once in a lifetime experiences. I brought a handful of Ports and Douro wines as my friend wanted to explore them a bit more. As he was more interesting in learning about more traditionally made Douro wines I settled on Niepoort Douro's (2004 Redoma, 2010 Redoma Reserva Branco, 2010 Coche).

My last day there we decided to skip a large gathering with other winemakers and people he knew in the industry, as we had done each of the previous nights. We had a wonderful meal of 35 day aged bone-in ribeye's, and veggies from his garden freshly grilled. Along with an old Cali Cab I double blind served him and his girlfriend a 1934 Niepoort Colheita (B. 1978). It showed great and they loved it from the first sip and they were very surprised it was so old as it still showed so fresh and complex. Of course I knew what this Port was capable of and I was very happy they got to experience it.

2007 Fonseca LBV. Opened earlier this week and cooked with it (gasp!). Now I am enjoying the remainder. : )

John F. Newman wrote:2007 Fonseca LBV. Opened earlier this week and cooked with it (gasp!). Now I am enjoying the remainder. : )

I cook with LBV too. I tend to the camp of don't cook with anything you wouldn't drink. And of course it serves as an excuse to open a bottle

2003 Martinez LBV

1987 Warre Colheita

1987 Kopke Colheita (bottled 2002) 375ml to celebrate our Anniversary.

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Niepoort 10 year tawny.

-- Gary