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Alex Bridgeman wrote: ↑23:56 Fri 31 May 2024

Glenn E. wrote: ↑18:52 Fri 31 May 2024 …but there's just too much going on around the end of July for me to take another week-long vacation to London.

Even if I offer to bring the Port for our lunch again?

You torture me!

So far I have only received a single PM containing a list of available Ports for this tasting. Please do send me your list, even if it is only a single bottle, so that I can hopefully create something interesting.

Regretfully, I must back out of this tasting. Martin reserved me a spot after we talked during the Graham vertical so that I could have an opportunity to check availability, but there's just too much going on around the end of July for me to take another week-long vacation to London. It looks like a...

Another excellent evening! Thank you for organizing, Neil, and for coordinating the tasting the same week as the Taylor vertical so that I could attend 2 tastings during the same week in London. I had heard that the Platinum Jubilee and Coronation Ports were very different, and that turned out to be...

1927 Graham Vintage Port. Served to me blind by Alex Bridgeman at 67 Pall Mall. Very blind. Bottle kept carefully concealed, decanted in a different room, and not returned to the table until the guessing was over. Fairly dark and youthful looking in the glass, not opaque, but with a color tone that ...

1982 GSHT (b. 2018 from 4.5l). A glass to drink while Alex showed me around the Oxford & Cambridge Club. Drier than I prefer from a Tawny Port, and distinctly not what I expect from a Graham. That said, still quite pleasant with different orange notes and plenty of acidity. 92 points.

Gordon's "Old Wood" Tawny Port. Too dark to get a color note. Nose is pleasant and seems about like a 10 year old, or possibly older if stylistically Portuguese rather than English. Rich palate, but a bit flabby. Plenty of fruit but with a layer of extra wood notes probably derived from th...

Taylor VVO Tawny Port Coronation Edition. Med dark tawny, some mahogany. Light vinagrinho, tangerine, and light caramel on the nose. Big and powerful wine, but also creamier than the PJE. If I had to guess, also both more sugar and more acidity. A stunning Tawny Port. 96 points. Tied for 2nd on the ...

Taylor VVO Tawny Port Platinum Jubilee Edition. Med dark tawny/brown. Light vinagrinho, sweet lime, and sweet apricot on the nose. A big, powerful wine with significant torrefacted notes. Possibly also some orange bitters? Several loved this; I merely enjoyed it a lot. 94 points.

Taylor 50 Year Old Tawny Port "Golden Age". Med dark tawny with a greening rim. Butterscotch, caramel, dried apricot, and light brown sugar are the primary notes on the nose. Rich and smooth palate - not as bold as expected. Very nice and easy to drink, but lacks depth and power for a 50. ...

1971 TSHT. Med dark tawny, some brown. Nose has a bready/yeasty note and is slightly sour. Easy on the palate but seems pretty thin. 92 points.

1970 TSHT. Med dark tawny, mahogany, some brown. Nose is primarily dried citrus fruits and vinagrinho. Round and mouth-filling, with a somewhat dry finish. Intense due to the simultaneous high levels of sugar and acidity. Superb overall, with a persistent, long finish. 96 points. (Tied for 2nd on th...

1969 TSHT. Med brown, some tawny notes. But mostly brown. A nice nose of dried fruits with some vinagrinho. Powerful palate with a slight hardness to it that earlier Ports have not had. 94 points.

1968 TSHT. Medium tawny, some browning, and a yellowing rim. Vinagrinho, caramel, and some faint vanilla on the nose. Very nice, round and flavorful. There's a faint torrefacted note that carries through into the finish. 94 points.

1967 TSHT. Browning tawny color with a yellowing rim. A bit dusty and torrefacted. Some vinagrinho of the candied lemon variety. An excellent Port - big and full both texturally and flavorfully. (I wrote that down, therefore it must be a word.) Slight edge to the finish that is a little bit distract...

1966 TSHT. Med tawny with some slight browning. Nose is slightly dusty with some sweet citrus and faint vanilla. Pleasant enough, but kind of plain. 91 points.

1965 TSHT. Med tawny with a yellowing rim. Faintly metallic nose, but with some light caramel and ripe apricot. Nice flavor, but has a slight sharpness to it, or and "edge" if you prefer. Some sweet apricot and maybe some vanilla. 93 points.

1964 TSHT. Med light tawny (the lightest of the tasting), some yellow. Lemony vinagrinho and caramel on the nose. Light in the mouth, almost ethereal. Excellent balance. Seems to have been hurt by following the 1961. Improved later in the evening, but never reached the level that I remember in fresh...

1961 TSHT. Med dark tawny color, hints of rare wood, and a greening rim. High toned vinagrinho, caramel, and brown sugar on the nose. Rich and powerful palate that immediately reminds of the 1961 Krohn (which this is, though a later bottling). Very intense. A gorgeous wine - buy buy buy! 97 points.

G42. Light strawberry with some fine sediment in the glass. Nose is slightly sour but otherwise smells like an old Port. The palate is soft, smooth, and very pleasant, but initially has a faint metallic note. That metallic note disappeared over time - it might have just needed some air. Still some s...

G45. Light strawberry with some red tones. Very clean/clear in the glass. Nose of faint Christmas spices, and... well, "old Port." Beautiful mouthfeel, smooth and almost creamy with a subtle richness to the fully mature red fruits. Only eclipsed by the 1948. 96 points.

G48. Light strawberry color, but looks a bit thin. There's a slight caramel note on the nose - possibly a sign of some very faint oxidation? - along with layers of soft, dried red fruits. Those fruits are also found on the palate along with some faint vanilla and some citrus. There are undertones of...

G55. Light red and ruby. Faint stinkiness on the nose with layers of dried red fruits. It still has some faint tannins to round out a pleasant palate that shows baked pie - apple and blackberry together? 93 points.

G60. Light garnet. There's a darkness to the color tone, but it is still light. Perhaps thin is a better word? It smells like a nice old Port, but without any real identifying characteristics. Some faint fruit on the palate, but mostly just pleasantly sweet and nice to drink. There might be a few ba...

G63. Light strawberry color with some caramel tones. Looks a bit off. Some fruit on the nose and decent "body", but hints of that caramel color lie in the background if you look for them. It's probably slightly oxidized, but it doesn't really stand out as flawed. Even without the slight hi...