ThePortForum.com

I did not decant this quite cleanly. It has only been open for about 2 hours so I am a bit premature in drinking it but I am not too fussy about this. The nose is a bit odd; cherries and menthol in the background. It also has a slightly raw, muddled scent to it of young port. A bit better on the palate a good dense feel up front, a little empty on the finish but this is a slight issue. Got that nice mouthwatering thing going on, acidity and tannin I suppose. Really sweet. There is a bit of brown to the meniscus but the centre looks fine. Whenever I drink this port I wonder whether I am being disrespectful, that it might turn into something rather good and I come to regret my cavalier attitude to it. I also like that it has a bit of a story to it; is it Quarles Harris? Who knows.

I'll give it a 88, or a 5-6 in Tom's parlance.

I think the Quarles conundrum was addressed elsewhere. It was, once, but that was years ago and it had a different label, so who knows indeed.

I happened to be passing my local Tesco on Saturday and popped in to see if I could grab some of these but they were out of stock. I hope it was a temporary replenishment issue at my store and not the end of Te94.

Tesco Wine by the Case website was out of Te94 but I see some for sale again (£20). I opened, coincidentally, a bottle of this last night, from the most recent batch bought at the beginning of November. A slightly different back label design, the same words but reworked layout, and a different plastic seal. Didn't take a note, but it was mintier than I remembered. Not as good as I remembered. I wondered if it was different. I probably have been spoilt by the fine selection at the Port Walk and it is all in my head. I have some left, I will take more note tonight.

DaveRL wrote:Tesco Wine by the Case website was out of Te94 but I see some for sale again (£20). I opened, coincidentally, a bottle of this last night, from the most recent batch bought at the beginning of November. A slightly different back label design, the same words but reworked layout, and a different plastic seal. Didn't take a note, but it was mintier than I remembered. Not as good as I remembered. I wondered if it was different. I probably have been spoilt by the fine selection at the Port Walk and it is all in my head. I have some left, I will take more note tonight.

I thought the mintiness was odd too. I am convinced that this port just needs a good rest, say ten years to come together. Port often wanders in its middle years, but I doubt much of this one will be kept that long.

I'm laying down 1311 bottles now.

On the second night it is very similar to the first but without quite so much of a raw edge. Still a bit of mint which is distracting but not unpleasant. The front of the palate has receded and it has rounded and softened a little. I fear yesterday's score may have been a tad optimistic.

djewesbury wrote:I'm laying down 1311 bottles now.

Of 1994 Tesco? That seems rather a lot, even at 25% off when you buy 6.

I thought Alex would approve.

Less minty. Better but not great. Good for what it is, but won't mourn the change to a new Tesco cellar defender when the time comes.

A pallet of port is I suppose roughly the same size as a pipe, but sounds significantly less sophisticated. Two pallets of Te94. Sysyphean.

I was merely being facetious. That's my role here. The 1311 was taken from the mother-in-law sale on FTLOP, that being the exact quantity being sold there.
I have a confession to make. I've never really got this stuff. I mean, I've bought it several times but it's always a disappointment. Hot or disjointed or just very quick to fade.. I can drink much better reserve ports - Passadouro unfiltered reserve for instance, which is excellent - or LBVs, and they typically cost a lot less. This is overpriced and it isn't great drinking.

There. I've said it now. Who wants my 1311 bottles?

There is nothing I can dispute with Daniel's synopsis and conclusions, except his point about price. I have always marvelled that a 94 could be bought for £12 to £15. This may have coloured my judgement about the qualities of the port, but it is not over priced.

You cite the discount price. Isn't it sold for more like £20 ordinarily? Cough cough wheeze.

djewesbury wrote:I was merely being facetious. That's my role here. The 1311 was taken from the mother-in-law sale on FTLOP, that being the exact quantity being sold there.

Yes, but the very thought of that much Te94 was scary, and couldn't pass without comment.

djewesbury wrote:I have a confession to make. I've never really got this stuff. I mean, I've bought it several times but it's always a disappointment. Hot or disjointed or just very quick to fade.. I can drink much better reserve ports - Passadouro unfiltered reserve for instance, which is excellent - or LBVs, and they typically cost a lot less. This is overpriced and it isn't great drinking.

There. I've said it now. Who wants my 1311 bottles?

Ah, you had to go and say that, didn't you. Just couldn't resist, I suppose.

I think it reasonable value on offer, given the convenience. I haven't had a poor bottle, but certainly not had any astounding ones either. £20 is extortionate, £12.50 is reasonable. Unfiltered LBV are too young but yes better. Filtered LBV cheaper, but better? Perhaps, I'll open some side by side to compare. Passadouro Reserve I don't know.

Now, if you'd said Crusted I'd have had to merely agree, and where would the fun be in that?

I should have said bottle-aged unfiltered LBV, say a nice 1984 Warre, or an old Niepoort.

Yes, very good, but aged LBVs are at another price point?

I have some unfiltered Noval LBV sitting in the dark, and one day ...

This came into Jewesbury Towers at an extremely agreeable price!

I have had a rethink. Not about the port just about Daniel's intervention.

Ignore his taradiddle.

LBV port in most of it's guises is a lesser beast than the Tesco 94. Simply because he got in on the ground floor of a good price for the 84 Warre does not mean that the average punter is likely to find it. It is not listed on wine searcher. So you could buy some unfiltered LBV for about the same price as the 94 on offer and wait for most of twenty years to find out if it is going to make the grade. Which very few LBVs do. And the Warre LBV is around £23 in Waitrose and ten years younger!

Good day to you sir!

Please add taradiddle to the appropriate thread.

LGTrotter wrote:LBV port in most of it's guises is a lesser beast than the Tesco 94.

hmmm....not the bottles of Tesco 1994 I've drunk over the last couple of years.

RAYC wrote:

LGTrotter wrote:LBV port in most of it's guises is a lesser beast than the Tesco 94.

hmmm....not the bottles of Tesco 1994 I've drunk over the last couple of years.

+1. For the Te94 I've had, I'd have preferred W2001lbv from Waitrose for the same price. That said, I believe it was mostly, if not all, the QH94.

We seem to have a fair contingent building in the "meh" camp.

AHB wrote:Deep red, young with a dark rim and and an opaque centre. Sweet and fruity nose, very attractive but just a hint of remaining stink. Sweet and fruity on entry, rich and flavoursome. Very impressive and with tannins still quite firm. Rich finish with a touch of heat but very much a port that is drinking today but is also promising for the future. Served blind this was guessed to be Graham 2000. 90/100. Drunk 29-Jul-14. Decanted 21 hours.

Just sayin...

But no, you enjoy your LBV, the Graham LBV is on offer at Waitrose, ten pounds a bottle and could easily be mistaken for the 2000 VP.

And the Warre is not cheaper, it's dearer. And while the 2001 may appeal to aficionados who like port that a mouse can trot across some prefer to drive on, rather than drink their blacktop. The Warre may make a good drink but not yet.

Apologies to Alex for involuntarily yanking him into this discussion.

I have no responsibility for Alex's tastebuds. Nor do I have any guarantee that he is not as open to suggestion as the rest of us when tasting blind (by the surrounding ports, what he's already thinking of, what he's just tasted, whether he's in a good mood or all the rest of it). All I'm saying is, I haven't drunk what he describes.

If you think Tesco 94 is Graham 00, Owen, fill your boots. Or at least your cupboard.