ThePortForum.com

Tentative attendees (flash, PhilW, AHB, CMAG): please advise your current likelihood of attending. I would rather not have B&F do extra work if we end up being only six or less. I'm a very weak tentative at the moment...I will need to use this weekend to build up a good case for having two even...

Please try really hard not to be Julian. Do you remember the garden? You were rewarded for that effort. Be nice, and don't scare them away from astronomy. Easy peasy lemon squeasy. Tell children that their school has got something utterly wrong, and they love it. [tears] "Mummy, the teacher br...

A neat statistic...

No; a 10YO was not 'put in cask' 10 years ago. Some of it was put in cask 15 or 20 years ago, some of it only 7 years ago. Thank you. I wasn't quite sure of the age spread around 10 years, so I dodged it by saying "about"! The stocks were not owned by GC and this was not a GC wine in anyt...

Does the discontinuation only apply to VP or to anything GC makes? They make (or made) a good 10 Year Tawny as well. If I remember correctly, the last GC 10 Year Tawny I saw in a local shop was bottled in 2014. So this might be a clue that they still make wines at the lower end of the scale. So thi...

I am betting that we will not see another GC. Does anyone disagree? I suspect you may be right. You might be right, or you might be wrong. I can't remember when GC was purchased or by which of the large shippers but when it was it would have come with substantial stocks of Port in a cellar in Gaia,...

Hi Magnus, I fear that I will struggle to make this as well as the event on the Thursday before...I will try my best though to make it! If we don't get to catch up, all the best with your travels and moves.

djewesbury wrote:I'll send you a couple of articles about this Mike.

Yes please!

djewesbury wrote:I am betting that we will not see another GC. Does anyone disagree?

I suspect you may be right.

Julian - please feel free to make amendments to the top post. Indeed feel free to do this any time on the threads where I have started them!

I think it is probably true to say that, if it was wine and not grapes they were buying, then pre-SFE GC never vinified; that simply wasn't their industry. As one of the old companies that predated vertical integration they had a very clear idea of where their part of the process began and ended; t...

Derek, there is no longer any such thing as a shipper, as distinct from a producer. It's not the 1960s any more. It isn't that I don't understand the distinction, it's more that it's irrelevant. You are wrong and it is relevant. The distinction between a shipper and a producer is - wait for it - st...

Top post updated again with the latest recruits.

Does anyone know of any trade guests that might be inclined to join us and could be invited?

It's all just a big PR campaign.

I think all of this tells us something about the shifts in concentration of producers. It is not obvious to me where the equilibrium will settle. My thinking is as follows. It seems like QH, GC, Mz have been brands which source their grapes from independent growers in the Douro, rather than having a...

B&F green room secured. Top post updated, together with attendee updates.

Yes I am leaning towards the B&F. Woolgate could be used next time we have a tasting with the full complement of 14 attending, as their large room can adequately cope.

Edit: will call tomorrow.

Where does England cricket go now? Such a fundamental lack of leadership in all areas - players, team, coaching. Seems to be a very poor culture in the dressing room.

This post to hold arrangements as and when agreed. When: Tuesday 5 May 2015, 6.30pm Theme: The Best of the Fonseca Bicentennial Tastings. In other words a Fonseca vertical: ’48, ’55, ’60, ’63, ’66, ’70, ’75, ’77, ’83, ’85, ’92, ’94, Bicentenary Crusted, and Waterloo. Where: • The Red Room, The Boot...

jdaw1 wrote:

flash_uk wrote:How about "bring a blind bottle" as a theme?

How about a theme of “Bring an optically-impaired bottle”? So bring a bottle, but wrapped — or a variant thereof — that leaves a slightly visible clue.

Theme updated.

A separate thread has been created for the March 26 tasting.

I will now also set up a thread for the pre BFT evening. Sounds like Fonseca would be a good theme!

PhilW wrote:Rating: Excellent+/Excellent++

PhilW wrote:Just. Perfect. Port. Love it.
(Mike, you also have one from this batch)

Woo hoo

Seems to be the night for Warre, as Phil opened a '60 . Pop and pour. 70% opacity, dark red with bricking at the rim. Complex nose, dates, cherries, tobacco. In the mouth, big and powerful, fruit coming through, heat builds at the finish along with the tannins. I wouldn't describe this port as livel...

Steward's enquiry complete. Revised "What is it?" scoring as below. I gave no points to guesses for JWEW's bottle, as nobody got year or shipper, and guessing the style is hardly worthy of an award! Congratulations to Jon for an unheard of 5 points! http://www.planetmeehan.com/dlfiles/1503...

jdaw1 does it regularly, but I cannot figure out they secret access needed to send a PM to a group. (Specifically, in this case, New York Tasters.) I also no longer have access to reply all to a PM. What special magic is needed to gain access to both of these features? Reply all is available, it is...

idj123 wrote:Bring a blinded bottle sounds good to me-I'm in.

First post updated.