The Port of Belfast, Tuesday 25th June, 6pm, The Galley Café

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djewesbury
Graham’s 1970
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The Port of Belfast, Tuesday 25th June, 6pm, The Galley Café

Post by djewesbury »

Images of the preparation and the tasting itself are available here and here. You will find exciting action shots like this:

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Mouthwatering product like this:

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And heartlifting scenery like this:

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Decanting of those that required it was at midnight on Tuesday / Wednesday. Decanted were:
  • 2004 Croft LBV
  • 2004 Graham's Crusted
  • 2000 Fonseca
  • 1990 Graham's Malvedos Centenary
Corks on the Malvedos and the Fonseca were both bulging, and inspection showed them to have 'mushroomed'; there was seepage from the Malvedos cork. Both came from James Nicholson of Crossgar.

We had a full complement of 14 guests, and began pouring at 5pm. Only one bottle, the Graham's Crusted, poured short: there must have been less than 70cl in this bottle.

Guests were greeted with a white port and tonic (Cockburn, which seems designed to be watered down; it fulfilled only one of Ernest's 'duties').

djewesbury gave a short account of the making of port as he toured through the styles on the table, including a brief description of his conversion and the spiritual counsel received at :tpf:. The talk touched on the need to serve port in proper glasses (licensed establishments in Belfast generally using daft little thimbles), the problems of availability and storage, and his desire to initiate the Belfast Port Revival. We worked through a description of the ports in the tasting fairly quickly, so that people could spend time lingering on their favourites with the buffet that The Galley had provided.

The menu:
  • Dried apricots and other dried fruits with nuts, as guests arrived;
  • Rare roast fillet of beef, served cold, sliced thinly, with pickled apple matchsticks;
  • Coarse crab and almond pâté on soda bread crisps;
  • A cheese board - Cashel Blue, Ballybrie, Ossau Iraty, served with damson chutney, honey, walnuts, gherkins, and
  • a fruit bowl of grapes, pears, strawberries and apricots.
We had decided to keep the food informal and not to make definite pairings; rather, we wanted our guests to see for themselves that a variety of flavours can go extremely well with the huge variety of ports available.

As we poured the final glass, a chilled Marks & Spencer 20Y Tawny, we were joined by Deirdre McCanny of CoCouture, one of Ireland's leading chocolatiers and, fortuitously, a near neighbour of The Galley. Deirdre introduced a full tasting, taking us through various Valrhona couvertures, as well as the produce of the Grenada Chocolate Company. We were told how to release the aroma of chocolate, how to test its snap, and, at last, how to eat it. (The last was quite easy, but Deirdre was very generous and there was some excellent chocolate left over at the end of the night, which might end up here.)

djewesbury having spoken for quite a while, made no tasting notes of his own, but did register in passing that:
  • Two people did not like the Crusted at all, despite this being a tasty, sophisticated wine;
  • The Croft felt rough and chunky alongside the more subtle flavours of some of the other ports;
  • Neither of the vintages had much in the way of strong tannins, the Fonseca being quite dumb still, and the Malvedos, only about 50% opaque, very soft and subtle;
  • The 20Y Tawny was the clear winner as the crowd's WOTN.
Our final treat was a cask sample of the 2009 Vesuvio, brought by Alastair Bell of the NI Wine & Spirits Institute. This had been given to the institute on a previous occasion by Tim Stanley-Clarke. It was dark, dark purple, had apparently been very sludgy when decanted, and reminded me a little of the GST - silky, smooth, fruity, big at the front without an obvious tannic bite.

The crowd were sippers, and there was a lot left. We did our duty.

The Wine & Spirits Institute might be interested in co-hosting a tasting later this year / early next year. We are also going to pursue some ideas already hatched: an invitation to Sogevinus to put together a tasting of Kopke colheitas, currently unavailable anywhere in Ireland; a Sandeman tasting, perhaps; as well as confirming the details for Nick Delaforce's visit later this year.

Belfast is back on the purple map!
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
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g-man
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Re: The Port of Belfast, Tuesday 25th June, 6pm, The Galley

Post by g-man »

mmmmmmmmmmmm valrhona chocolate,
now there is a chocolate maker whose wide range of products I thoroughly enjoy.
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DRT
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Re: The Port of Belfast, Tuesday 25th June, 6pm, The Galley

Post by DRT »

Well done, Danny Bhoy.

That looks like a very intimate table with not much room for a 28kg Chateaubriand! How on earth do you plan to feed Julian and I when we tip up for the Belfast Autumn Tasting?
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
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Re: The Port of Belfast, Tuesday 25th June, 6pm, The Galley

Post by g-man »

DRT wrote:Well done, Danny Bhoy.

That looks like a very intimate table with not much room for a 28kg Chateaubriand! How on earth do you plan to feed Julian and I when we tip up for the Belfast Autumn Tasting?
The bridge across teh river looks empty and looks to be able to accommodate a proper port brigade!
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djewesbury
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The Port of Belfast, Tuesday 25th June, 6pm, The Galley Café

Post by djewesbury »

g-man wrote:
DRT wrote:Well done, Danny Bhoy.

That looks like a very intimate table with not much room for a 28kg Chateaubriand! How on earth do you plan to feed Julian and I when we tip up for the Belfast Autumn Tasting?
The bridge across teh river looks empty and looks to be able to accommodate a proper port brigade!
Calves are being fatted.
Tables are being carved.
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
Justin K
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Re: The Port of Belfast, Tuesday 25th June, 6pm, The Galley

Post by Justin K »

Daniel,

Alex told me about your "gathering" would love to have made it to the third island of Ireland tasting. Well done and I am looking forward to your next one. PM me on your theme and even if I can't make it I will courier you up something.

Justin
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jdaw1
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Re: The Port of Belfast, Tuesday 25th June, 6pm, The Galley

Post by jdaw1 »

Welcome back, infrequent poster. Our representative in Belfast needs some support please do join him.

When I was in NY, a few port people there played a good ‘game’. On opening something, a sample bottle of it, or two (each 6cl) would be filled, and posted to somebody (or two somebodies). Who would come home from work the next day to find, say, a sample of G70 or RP85 with which to start the evening.

Maybe those in the island of Ireland could play a similar game?
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djewesbury
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Re: The Port of Belfast, Tuesday 25th June, 6pm, The Galley

Post by djewesbury »

Justin K wrote:Alex told me about your "gathering" would love to have made it to the third island of Ireland tasting. Well done and I am looking forward to your next one. PM me on your theme and even if I can't make it I will courier you up something.
I'll certainly keep you posted Justin - we're working on possible Kopke / Cálem and Niepoort events, and hooking up with the NI Wine & Spirits institute too, with a view to organising a joint tasting soon.
jdaw1 wrote:When I was in NY, a few port people there played a good ‘game’. On opening something, a sample bottle of it, or two (each 6cl) would be filled, and posted to somebody (or two somebodies). Who would come home from work the next day to find, say, a sample of G70 or RP85 with which to start the evening.

Maybe those in the island of Ireland could play a similar game?
A very good idea. Indeed. I presume one can get 6 cl bottles easily in a chemist's..?
Daniel J.
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jdaw1
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Re: The Port of Belfast, Tuesday 25th June, 6pm, The Galley

Post by jdaw1 »

The previous posts have been moved by jdaw1 to new topic, Samples bottles, round two.
Justin K
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Re: The Port of Belfast, Tuesday 25th June, 6pm, The Galley

Post by Justin K »

Daniel,

I've checked my records and I have a Calem 1960 that I bought years ago. I would love an excuse to open it! Two posts in the one year, I'm losing the run of m'self.
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