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From my empirical evidence of tasting the Dow's in the new packaging, yes, they changed the blends. They've improved the quality of it. That’s interesting. Looking at my notes, I don’t think I’ve tried any Dow aged tawny. How to they compare with Graham? I notice that the marketing talks about bein...

Hi Ryan,

Welcome to ! I’m really looking forward to this book. What sort of Ports are you into?

Best wishes,

Jacob

Dow’s 40 is available in the UK. I hadn't realised this since the Dow website only goes up to the 30 year old. One wine merchant which sells it says that it was relaunched in 2019 having not been made for a few years. The bottles for all their aged tawnies have a new design so I wonder it they twea...

I’ve tried the Valriz 40-year-old in Porto and seen the Royal Oporto and Quinta de Santa Eufêmia ones for sale too. There’s probably a Casa de Santa Eufêmia one, too. A quick look at Garrafeira Nacional turns up some that I have never come across like Amável Costa, Quinta da Vacaria, Cálem, and Quin...

Considering that: a) the availability of restaurants etc. for large gatherings remains a little uncertain; b) some of the recent :tpf: tastings have become fully reserved within minutes of someone suggesting them; and c) the informal virtual meetings have been great fun, would anyone be interested i...

I appreciate this makes little sense for someone who is quite happy to drink quite a lot of Port, but I actually like most of my alcoholic drinks to be fairly light. I get a little frustrated that there aren’t more bitters (as opposed to best bitters) and milds about in the <4% range!

No: I only bought one as I couldn’t carry any more! I’m sure you are right that it can age a bit and improve. By the alcohol being aggressive, I didn’t mean so much that it was too spirity (which can be a problem with some beers) but that its strength made it feel like a bit of a slog to get through...

I saw a 2019 Siren Maiden yesterday which I am trying tonight. I'm rather in two minds about it. I really can see the attraction but I think it is just a bit too much for my taste. The nose is lovely: freshly baked caramel biscuits. In the mouth, it's got a thick mouthfeel with incredible sweetness ...

I’m afraid something has come up and I may not be able to join you tonight. I hope that doesn’t cause any inconvenience, especially since I think the plan is just for an informal session. If it does, I apologise.

The Dow range is rather odd in its lack of premium products. For example, Graham now has all of those “Single Harvest” colheitas, including some “lodge only” special editions; the “Ne Oublie” ultra-old tawny; and the Stone Terraces VP. There are also some premium everyday Ports like the № 5 White an...

The reports of 2020 seemed very variable. I think some extremely good wines were made, although I am not sure if in enough quantity to result in a general declaration. Especially in light of the number of general declarations in recent years. I am sure we will get a few very good vintage ports and p...

I can’t believe it’s that time of the year already.

Interesting that they’ve gone for another full declaration of all their houses. That makes it four-out-of-five for Cálem doesn’t it? 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

Barrel aging seems to be a bit of a dark art, the Americans have been at it longer so they've got more experience but brewers like Cloudwater and Siren in the UK are now catching up. A lot depends on the barrel (is it fresh from the previous producer or have you used it a couple of times already) a...

I presume it doesn’t actually spend that long in the barrel, so wouldn’t get as much chance to pick up the flavours as, say, a Port-barrel-aged whiskey would? I’m a big fan of dark beers but am a bit disillusioned with the way that brewers, both on the craft and real sides of the market, have been g...

I thought this was quite intriguing and although crowd-funding isn’t the sort of thing I usually go in for, I’ve “pledged” for a copy. I’d quite like, this year, to broaden my knowledge of Portuguese wines outside the Douro and this seems like a good way in.

A progress report is most definitely required! The problem I find with beer is that if it is not in a bottle or a pub I just get bored too quickly to drink enough of it to avoid having throw out a lot of it. I often think I would like a go at some home brewing but then think I’ll never get through a...

Ah. That’s what I’ve tried (albeit made with the Six Grapes and CSR). As you say, it’s excellent. The shops are also rather nice if you are in Porto and fancy a coffee with a piece of chocolate. I thought the Royal Warrant on the box was for the chocolates rather than the Port! This could have been ...

That’s a good selection! I’m very envious! Interesting that the Symington’s are doing another chocolate range. I’ve had the chocolate truffle bars made by Chocolataria Equado with either Graham’s Six Grapes or Cockburn Special Reserve (both of which are excellent) but the Royal Warrant on the box su...

This is now available online (also in Portuguese) for those of us who don’t feel like we spend enough time staring at screens...

Thanks very much to Tom- a huge improvement in appearance!

Two dozen of these miniature bottles + some spares seems to me to less than a glass of liquid from the original bottles. I hope they had a good party with the leftovers once the filling process was complete! (PS. Can you imagine them doing this today: they’ve had to make a miniature T-Cork, a miniat...

The dolls’ house is absolutely spectacular. They tried to reproduce all sorts of things from the period so there are barrels of Scotch, books in the library which were written by famous authors, genuine works of art etc. etc. Well worth looking at if you have a chance!

Sorry: I missed your post. Thanks very much. I’d be amazed if phpBB doesn’t start baking this in to their standard release in the near future since people are taking so many more digital photos than in the past so there is no rush to preempt them.

This is a great idea. Thank you for sorting it out. I think I have already persuaded a few friends to buy a pack.

At some stage someone should twist Oscar’s arm to do another round of blend-your-own Vintage Port!

I saw that Vintage Wine and Port is selling a 1929 Vintage French Brandy from Short’s. A nice touch on the label is that they describe themselves as “Wine Merchants since the Reign of King George the First”!