London stop over

[gardenhose]

Hi Guys,

I will be in London for a few days, and I was wondering if there are any good places to buy port that wouldn't be too far out of the way. Specifically, I am looking for a 1955 Vintage, as that is my dad's birth year and it is his 60th next year. Would there be any fine wine shops that might have a selection of older ports? Obviously, I would take the utmost care in transporting the bottle back to Canada.

I will be staying near Hyde Park if anyone knows where that is. I am not familiar with London at all.

[jdaw1]

You should visit Berry Brothers & Rudd, who might have a ’55 for sale. Not cheap, but definitely worth visiting.

[LGTrotter]

I think you may end up paying a bit over the odds in buying from a London shop. Having said that the usual suspects ie Justerini's, Corney and Barrow etc would be worth a look. I have heard that Hedonism wines have everything at a price. It would be worth having a look at the websites and giving them a phone before you come to London as you can never be quite sure what will be physically available in the shop. Others here know London much better than me and may be able to come up with more sensible suggestions.

[flash_uk]

The retailers are more than aware that 1955 bottles will be in demand for 60th presents in 2015 and are thus pricing accordingly. The Vintage Wine and Port site can give you some idea...single bottles of vintage port available from around £180 to £600 depending on shipper.

a brief look at Fine and Rare, BBR, Corkr sites suggests they don't have much/any to offer. As Owen says, whatever you want can be found at a price, albeit at a price!

[gardenhose]

Thank you all for the suggestions. Having checked out each resource it doesn't seem like any of them are carryin anything from the 1955 vintage. With the exception of the vintage wine and port site, but I don't think they have a physical store. I'll still head to a couple of those places and see if they have anything that I can work with.

Cheers!

[PhilW]

Thank you all for the suggestions. Having checked out each resource it doesn't seem like any of them are carryin anything from the 1955 vintage.

It would probably be worth giving BBR a call; they sometimes have some older bottles which are not listed on their website. Roberson wine (store in Kensington) looks to have a Taylor '55 in stock, if that helps.

[RAYC]

Fortnum and Mason have a very nice wine section that you can sometimes find old and unusual bottles in.

Hedonism Wines is supposed to be a fantastic place to visit, and not all of their prices are crazy.

But for '55s far and away your best is ordering online from someone like Peter Wylie, Richard Kihl, Christopher Keiller, Wilkinsons, Four Walls etc. for delivery to your hotel. All should be happy to send you photos / condition reports.

[gardenhose]

Thanks again guys! My wife and I had a great time in London. Phil, we went out and grabbed that bottle. Thanks for finding that for us.

[PhilW]

Thanks again guys! My wife and I had a great time in London. Phil, we went out and grabbed that bottle. Thanks for finding that for us.

No problem; hope you have a safe trip back with it, and that your dad enjoys it.

[mattmoy_2000]

A trip to St. James is always recommended for the oenophile (and for the cigar afficionado). I doubt that anywhere would have a stock of '55s, but BBR, Justerini and Fortnum's are all worth visiting for the experience alone. A great way to spend an afternoon is with a bottle of wine from Berry's at JJFox's (indoor!) cigar smoking lounge having a drink and a smoke with the interesting characters that inhabit it.