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2x Krohn Colheita '76
1x Grahams '70
1x Fonseca '70
2x Grahams '77
6x Qunita do Vesuvio '94

Stop me, I need help.

richmills wrote:2x Krohn Colheita '76
1x Grahams '70
1x Fonseca '70
2x Grahams '77
6x Qunita do Vesuvio '94

Stop me, I need help.

Looks like you're doing fine to me - A very nice selection.

PhilW wrote:

richmills wrote:2x Krohn Colheita '76
1x Grahams '70
1x Fonseca '70
2x Grahams '77
6x Qunita do Vesuvio '94

Stop me, I need help.

Looks like you're doing fine to me - A very nice selection.

Quite right Phil. I think it should be compulsory to buy a dozen in January to restock after the cellar predations of Christmas.

Here are my latest and only buys so far (being new to the port community):

2x Graham 1970,
1x Taylor flatmate 1985 (I am born in 85),
3x Fonseca 2011,
5x Dows 2011.

And some tawny Andresen 10yrs white port and Ramos Pinto 20yrs to drink meanwhile!

mapmap wrote:Here are my latest and only buys so far (being new to the port community):

2x Graham 1970,
1x Taylor flatmate 1985 (I am born in 85),
3x Fonseca 2011,
5x Dows 2011.

And some tawny Andresen 10yrs white port and Ramos Pinto 20yrs to drink meanwhile!

An excellent selection. 1985 is a good year to be born in for port, Taylor is lovely, Graham is better (my opinion) the Fonseca is stunning (everybody's opinion) and there are very good wines from Warre and Dow. You have a long wait ahead of you for the 2011s though.

And I bought a case of Gould Campbell 97. Just because it was a bargain.

I read the same about 85! Slowly but surely I'll try to buy more, starting off with some of your suggestions when ill be able to find any!! About the 2011, I have no problem waiting! I plan on opening a 2011 every 10 to 20 years and leave one or two bottles for my kids someday!

Half a dozen 1983 Wine Society Exhibition port. I have next to no 83s and they are £44/bottle all in on the January clearance list. This seems more achievable than some of the more fanciful notions I have been having of late.

LGTrotter wrote:Half a dozen 1983 Wine Society Exhibition port. I have next to no 83s and they are £44/bottle all in on the January clearance list. This seems more achievable than some of the more fanciful notions I have been having of late.

If I recall correctly, this is Warre 1983. Warre 1983 was shown at the BBR Port Walk and showed very nicely, marginally overshadowed by the 1985. I'd be a buyer at £44 per bottle - that's very nice port.

LGTrotter wrote:Half a dozen 1983 Wine Society Exhibition port. I have next to no 83s and they are £44/bottle all in on the January clearance list. This seems more achievable than some of the more fanciful notions I have been having of late.

Thanks for the heads up, I've bought 6. I've been buying 85s and 80s rather than 83s and I keep wondering if it is a mistake to have so few of the 83s. Will they come good over the next decade or so, and could I be missing out on some great wines?

DaveRL wrote:

LGTrotter wrote:Half a dozen 1983 Wine Society Exhibition port. I have next to no 83s and they are £44/bottle all in on the January clearance list. This seems more achievable than some of the more fanciful notions I have been having of late.

Thanks for the heads up, I've bought 6. I've been buying 85s and 80s rather than 83s and I keep wondering if it is a mistake to have so few of the 83s. Will they come good over the next decade or so, and could I be missing out on some great wines?

Symington '83s are good. TFP '83s have me less convinced.

We will have hours of endless fun over the next 30 years debating which of the Graham '83 or the '85 is the better wine. Hopefully the Major's Matrix '80s tasting will illustrate these are very different wines but both very good.

And when building up your port stocks from the '80s, don't overlook '82 (Noval is very pleasant), '86 (Vargellas, Terra Feita, Malvedos) or '87 (Vargellas, Malvedos, Cavadinha, Noval, Martinez). All should have a place in a balanced '80s portfolio since this is the decade that is very likely to form the heart of the next 30-40 years of drinking for the majority of people on the Forum. The '60s and '70s are rapidly escalating in price but there are still plenty of '80s around.

DaveRL wrote:Thanks for the heads up, I've bought 6. I've been buying 85s and 80s rather than 83s and I keep wondering if it is a mistake to have so few of the 83s. Will they come good over the next decade or so, and could I be missing out on some great wines?

No problem. I hope they turn out OK, a lot of reviews have been quite scathing. But Alex liked them so I thought it worth a punt. I never much cared for the 83, rather, dry inexpressive wines. I think it likely they might wake up in the future though. I wonder about Alex's recommendations of the 82. I drank gallons of the Croft and Martinez 82 about 10 years ago and they were terrific. I thought they seemed unlikely to do much in the future so I have none left. I should have saved a few to check.

I think the 60s have all but escaped me. Ah well. Perhaps I can still obtain a bottle or two of 66. I think some 70s are reasonably obtainable (I bought some Sandeman recently and will try one soon when settled). They do seem to be going up in price. I've some T83 and not been so impressed. I will get some Symington 83s if price right and assuming I get enough of the usual suspects from 85 - I'll need some variety. Thanks for the tips on 82, 86 and 87. I've kept my eyes open for 87s but so far not seen anything that screamed buy me. I had better look harder.

DaveRL wrote: ↑21:54 Sat 14 Jan 2017 I think the 60s have all but escaped me. Ah well. Perhaps I can still obtain a bottle or two of 66. I think some 70s are reasonably obtainable (I bought some Sandeman recently and will try one soon when settled). They do seem to be going up in price. I've some T83 and not been so impressed. I will get some Symington 83s if price right and assuming I get enough of the usual suspects from 85 - I'll need some variety. Thanks for the tips on 82, 86 and 87. I've kept my eyes open for 87s but so far not seen anything that screamed buy me. I had better look harder.

When I was in Laithwates before Christmas they had Mz87 in stock for £37.50. I thought that was a fair price and got a couple since I drank my last one some years ago.

LGTrotter wrote: ↑21:43 Sat 14 Jan 2017

DaveRL wrote:Thanks for the heads up, I've bought 6. I've been buying 85s and 80s rather than 83s and I keep wondering if it is a mistake to have so few of the 83s. Will they come good over the next decade or so, and could I be missing out on some great wines?

No problem. I hope they turn out OK, a lot of reviews have been quite scathing. But Alex liked them so I thought it worth a punt. I never much cared for the 83, rather, dry inexpressive wines. I think it likely they might wake up in the future though. I wonder about Alex's recommendations of the 82. I drank gallons of the Croft and Martinez 82 about 10 years ago and they were terrific. I thought they seemed unlikely to do much in the future so I have none left. I should have saved a few to check.

I have had the WS83 before. I reviewed one and was a bit unsure, but the second bottle was better after settling down for a month or so. I've passed on a couple of reasonably well priced 83s in the past because of the reputation, but am beginning to think I should buy at least a few to stash away if at the right price. I've not ben impressed with T83 or F83 but D83 and G83 are growing on me.

Winesearcher shows a few 82s and 87s but very limited availability and often a little pricey. Considering AHB's suggestion of Mz87. Probably is worth a punt.

One further thought on the Wine Society 83s; they have been recorked. I will probably leave mine a year or two as I think this can take a while to settle down.

First I bought some bottles of Niepoort Bioma Vintage 2009 for grandchild to get in 2030 (21st). Then the opportunity came to buy Taylor's Vintage Port 2009, so I bought the same amount of that.
Now I am wondering which batch will be the better in 20 to 40 years time? They both seem to get good reviews. Anybody with thoughts on this?

And who will get the better bottles?

Granddaughter def.

I shall be too old (or having stopped smoking a pipe) to enjoy either.
ps Does that make a difference?

Old Bridge wrote: ↑21:20 Sat 28 Jan 2017Does that make a difference?

Yes. Why not give her both?

Because there are 4 more!
(grandchildren, that is. So far...)

I broke my duck on the 2011 vintage. Half a case of 2011 Quinta da Senhora do Convento at £24/bottle retail. I hope Alex is right about this wine, all I have to do now is live long enough to drink it.

Very well done. Seems a very good price. I've kept half an eye out for this after AHB's review but haven't seen it anywhere.

LGTrotter wrote: ↑17:46 Thu 02 Feb 2017 I broke my duck on the 2011 vintage. Half a case of 2011 Quinta da Senhora do Convento at £24/bottle retail. I hope Alex is right about this wine, all I have to do now is live long enough to drink it.

Can't argue with that price.

I know what you mean though, I have a small amount of Grahams and Fonseca, but I'm going to have make it to 80 not out to have a chance of enjoying them in my preferred drinking window. Looking back on my youthful indiscretions and being honest with myself I have to remain doubtful about that

Cheers, Rich.

richmills wrote: ↑12:22 Fri 03 Feb 2017

LGTrotter wrote: ↑17:46 Thu 02 Feb 2017 I broke my duck on the 2011 vintage. Half a case of 2011 Quinta da Senhora do Convento at £24/bottle retail. I hope Alex is right about this wine, all I have to do now is live long enough to drink it.

Can't argue with that price.

I know what you mean though, I have a small amount of Grahams and Fonseca, but I'm going to have make it to 80 not out to have a chance of enjoying them in my preferred drinking window. Looking back on my youthful indiscretions and being honest with myself I have to remain doubtful about that

Cheers, Rich.

I have a few cases of 2011s. Can't really see me drinking many, but I like the idea of leaving them to my children, assuming they like VP. Currently they are not so sure - younger son only likes NZ pinot, older son likes quite a few different wines but isn't so sure about VP, not that we let them have more than a sip or two.

I'm 31, with no children yet, and I already planned on leaving a few VP bottles for my future kids as well! As much as I like your tradition in England to buy a VP and give it to your kids when they reach 21 or any important life event such as weddings and graduations. Strangely, this is something I never heard before reading on VP, here in Canada...

As for my newest purchases, I bought 4 bottles of Dows, 1x 94 and 3x 2003. I wish I could have gotten a few more of 94, but this was the last bottle for sale... Cheers!