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Q97c, bottled in 2023 in 10cl for the 2023 advent calendar. Dark bronzed red with a wide rim. A little bottle stink on the nose, generous râncio and slowly emerging dates and molasses. A wonderful presence on the palate, big and bold, full of citrus flavours with generous acidity and sprinkled with ...

The current offer by the glass at the Oxford & Cambridge Club, offered @ £15 for a 100ml pour. Decanted in the morning. A startling crimson colour, opaque with a narrow rim. Fresh crushed berries on the nose, a fruits of the forest blend. The fruit on the palate is still young and fresh with a l...

Bottled in 2023 in 10cl format for the 2023 advent calendar. White peach and light syrup on the nose, sweet and fruity. Sweet on the palate with generous peach and lychee fruit, the fruit being quite delicious. The palate is nicely balanced, fresh yet sweet with just the right amount of acidity to k...

NV Quevedo White 50 Year Old, bottled in 2023 in 10cl format for the 2023 advent calendar. Obviously bottled unfiltered, I have never seen so much sediment in a White Port! Deep brown in colour, mahogany brown with an olive green rim; 80% opaque. Full of beeswax and râncio on the nose, lifted and ex...

NV Quevedo White 30 Year Old, bottled in 2023 in 10cl format for the 2023 advent calendar. Deep orange in colour, the colour of a whisky flavoured marmalade. Glorious on the nose - sweet, honeyed and floral. Rich and poised on the palate with a great depth of flavour; powerful dried orange fruit and...

NV Quevedo White 10 Year Old, bottled in 2023 in 10cl format for the 2023 advent calendar. Very similar in colour to the Lágrima, a golden orange around 20% opaque. Closed on the nose but very different on the palate with a lovely buttery orange zest and apple. A little sweetened citrus bitterness o...

Quevedo NV Lágrima, bottled in 2023 in 10cl format for the 2023 advent calendar. A rich golden colour, 20% opaque. A little dried mango on the nose. Sweet on the palate, generous amounts of canned mango and lychee in light syrup - rather pleasant, despite the sweetness. A little minerality giving a ...

Bottled in 2023 in 10cl format for the 2023 advent calendar. A lovely mahogany-red colour, 90% opaque. A wonderful nose, full of lavender polish, cedar wood and rancio; really expressive! Intensely flavoured, big on the palate but well balanced with the concentrated acidity. Sweet dates and dried fi...

Bottled in 2022 in 9cl for the advent calendar. Aged in tonel. A delicious nose which blends sweet dates and strawberry jam. A lovely palate, full of fruit - sweet with great acidity - and a sprinkling of tannins. Warm on the aftertaste, glowing aniseed and date finish. This is delicious! 93/100. Op...

Q94c, bottled in 2023 in 10cl format for the 2023 advent calendar. Deep ox-blood red, 90% opaque. Remarkably closed on the nose, perhaps a little date and blood orange. A little thickened on the palate, powerful acidity riding over a toffee and molasses core. The acidity resolves to a glorious orang...

Q92c, bottled in 2023 in 10cl format for the 2023 advent calendar. Pop and pour. A light and bright red colour, 60% opaque. Dried red fruit on the nose blended with dried flowers. Lovely dried red fruit on the palate, maple syrup background with a languid acidity that keeps the wine beautifully fres...

Q76c, bottled in 2023 in 10cl format for the 2023 advent calendar. Pop and pour. A wonderful russet colour, much lighter than the 1992 tasted alongside at about 40% opaque. A delightful nose of lavender, beeswax, black tea and golden syrup. Elegant on the palate, full of flavour - of golden syrup an...

Quinta do Noval 2009 Colheita, bottled in 75cl in 2022. Positively delicious, delicate clover honey on the nose, rich and fruity but perfectly balanced on the palate with long lingering honey on the aftertaste and finish. Very, very drinkable. 92/100. Opened 03-Jan-24. Pop 'n' pour.

Martinez 2000 Vintage Port, decanted 1 day. When first opened the wine had a little bottle stink and was full of harsh and bitter fruit; the wine completely out of balance. The wine improved with a couple of hours but was significantly better the following day, when this tasting note was written. Da...

What would you get if you made an alcoholic drink from black cherries and liquorice root? Answer: Fonseca 1985! I've jumped on the band-wagon. Everyone has been opening one of these recently. This is a big wine, dark red, full of fruit. The tannins are nicely resolved and the combination of differen...

There's a Paxton & Whitfield own label Vintage Port from 1994, which was sourced from Quinta & Vineyard Bottlers Lda. I have no idea what the blend in the bottle is, whether put together specifically for Paxton & Whitfield or perhaps a standard blend such as Skeffington. Davy's also have...

Some pointless tasting statistics from my 2023 notes. In 2023 I tasted (or drank) from 615 different containers of Port or pretend-Port. Some containers were small (5cl) and some were larger — the largest this year was a 600cl imperial of Taylor 1977 drunk at dinner at the Tower of London in June. M...

I'm interested in attending, but obviously subject to being around on the chosen date.

I think I'm number 13 on the list...

I'd like please:
- no starter
- steak, mushroom and claret pie with green beans and a side of skinny fries
- bramdean pudding, if available

Tom, thank you for the prompt, your post reminded me that I haven't posted my pointless statistics for 2023 yet! For ease, I've kept the comparison of the end 2023 statistics against 2012's numbers. On 31 December 2023, my cellar comprised of the following (with 2012 figures in brackets) Port 86% (9...

I confirm.

Novotel is good and mid-market. Alternatives are the Shard (expensive) or the Travelodge London Central Southwark (cheap but comfortable). There’s also the Ibis next to the Novotel, but I’ve not stayed there.

I'm going to be in Lisbon later this year. If anyone has any restaurant recommendations for anything other than Pasteis de Belém (which is at the top of the list) then please be encouraged to put them in a reply.

There's a couple of ideas I'd like to suggest.

14 is a good number of bottles for a night with 14 people tasting. The obvious would be alternate years 1989/90-2019.

A second option might be to taste 14 of the "mature" vintages (ie. 21 or older): 1989-2004

Apologies, but I am not going to be able to make dinner on the 11th. I have been booked elsewhere by SWMBO.