For The Love Of Port

This should be fun ... have at it.

10 to 14 days

This applies to both tawnys and VP. The "Gang of Port" tends to open, drink a glass, recork, wait 3-4 days, drink, recork, repeat until it's gone. It usually takes either 10/11 or 14 days. (We are at the restaurant on Wednesdays and Sundays, which is what sets the 3-4 day intervals.)

In both cases (but less so with the tawnys) the wine tends to get softer as the days progress. Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes it just means the aspect I like fades away. I can't recall a port ever getting to taste bad, just ... less. A few times, it seemed to improve over a few days and then fade.

This is the downside of my inability to make coherent tasting notes: I can't (at this point) say which ports behaved which way.

About 5 weeks... by accident. I opened a bottle of 1970 Royal Oporto before I went on vacation and didn't quite manage to finish it. I was gone for 2 weeks and forgot about the bottle until I saw it sitting there a week or so after we returned.

The RO70 is a pretty over-the-hill Port anyway, so it had faded into obscurity by the time I tried that last glass. It was drinkable, but just barely. Very bland.

Glenn E. wrote:About 5 weeks... by accident. I opened a bottle of 1970 Royal Oporto before I went on vacation and didn't quite manage to finish it. I was gone for 2 weeks and forgot about the bottle until I saw it sitting there a week or so after we returned.

The RO70 is a pretty over-the-hill Port anyway, so it had faded into obscurity by the time I tried that last glass. It was drinkable, but just barely. Very bland.

Glenn
I had a bottle of this earlier this year and I would not say it was over the hill. I don't think it will get any better, but I didn't see any signs of this being on the down hill slide. It is a softer more elegant VP that I likened to a combination of 1977 Warres and 1966 Graham's, but with a shorter finish.

Andy Velebil wrote:I had a bottle of this earlier this year and I would not say it was over the hill. I don't think it will get any better, but I didn't see any signs of this being on the down hill slide. It is a softer more elegant VP that I likened to a combination of 1977 Warres and 1966 Graham's, but with a shorter finish.

Sounds like yours might have been in better shape than mine. I agree that it is softer and more elegant to start with, but my bottles have almost no tannins left and the remaining fruit feels weak. I've had a 1960 Ferreira that I would call soft and elegant... but the RO70 that I opened is just starting to feel tired to me.

Comparing our TNs... you rated it 91 while I rated it 82. Yours sounds like it had significantly more color left as well as some nice spice and fruit, whereas mine was mostly just sweet with just a few faint traces of its former fruit, tannins, and acidity remaining.

As I mentioned in my TN, I liked it and would rather have it than a Ruby Reserve. But my bottle felt like it's on its way down the far side of the hill. Luckily I have 4 more stashed away, so hopefully one of them will be more like your bottle!

And speaking of those two TNs... I'll send you an email.

Months. Many months for VP and probably a year for one tawny. They were all still good!
In fact I just finished a 1966 Grahams that had been opened for 6 weeks (stored in the refrigerator). Superb.
I recall a Ferreira Duque de Braganca that was open for a year on the counter. Still very very good.
-Dave-

I would go even longer David. My father has always 3 or 4 decanters with Port open for several months and in same cases easily over one year. And when we go back to that bottles, and we don't really remember what is inside, we have a lot of fun and enjoyment because many times the Ports are great. Lovely!

When I was a student, I was able to control myself and my liver was a junior... so I think 3-4 weeks of slow sipping on a bottle was the longest I've kept on open.

I have a bottle of 1935 Sandeman that I opened in 2007 which still has 2 ounces in it. Does that count?

Roy Hersh wrote:I have a bottle of 1935 Sandeman that I opened in 2007 which still has 2 ounces in it. Does that count?

If it does, then I have a 1963 Noval Nacional that still has about 1 ounce in the bottom from 2006.

3 days That's it. Open Port doesn't last long in my household.

Scott,

Correct answer!

Scott Anaya wrote:3 days That's it. Open Port doesn't last long in my household.

Scott,
Thats about my limit too. 3-4 days max. There may have been an odd bottle or two that lasted longer, but heck if I can remember

12 hours, 37 minutes, 27 seconds.

Moses Botbol wrote:12 hours, 37 minutes, 27 seconds.

What slowed you down on that day?

If you're talking vintage port I can count on two fingers the number of times it wasn't finished the same evening. You guys (and gals) must be drinking alone.

Cheers..........Mahmoud

Mahmoud Ali wrote:You guys (and gals) must be drinking alone.

Yup, that's normally the case for me. I'll have 0-2 glasses each night once a bottle is opened, so it usually takes me a little over a week to finish one. That's a contributing factor to why I drink more tawnies than rubies - they handle being open a week+ better.

I believe that I've had a VP open for 3 weeks and if my memory serves me, a month is the longest I've had a tawny open. Those timeframes are ancient history, nowadays a couple of days is about as long any Port survives around my household!

Marc

Marc J. wrote:I believe that I've had a VP open for 3 weeks and if my memory serves me, a month is the longest I've had a tawny open. Those timeframes are ancient history, nowadays a couple of days is about as long any Port survives around my household!

Marc

marc,
You scared me in that first part, then I was relieved when I read the last. All that is paying off LOL.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:If you're talking vintage port I can count on two fingers the number of times it wasn't finished the same evening. You guys (and gals) must be drinking alone.

Cheers..........Mahmoud

If I can only get the local Port gang to come over more often