New Member in Need of Help

[Nge101]

Hello All,

I have really joined this forum in order to get help of a particular matter.

I have always enjoyed port but have never particularly paid much attention to where or when it is from. I would be confident in picking a good wine but my knowledge of port is severley lacking.

This Christmas I will be spending the holidays with the new girlfriends parents. Her father, so I am told, I a huge fan of vintage port.

I have had a chat with the dealer who supplies my wine, and he has recommended a few bottles. I was hoping to run them past some of you experts and hopefully get your opinion on them and whether they are going to right impression at the dinner table!

1) Fonseca 1985
2) Fonseca 1977
3) Warre's 1980
4) Dowe 1963
5) Fonseca 1963

They are all comfortably within my price range but im very aware that it is not necessarily a case of older /more expensive the better. Can people suggest guide prices for these ports, im also aware that he will probably try to rip me off!!

Many thanks
Ed

[benread]

Welcome! You are in the right place for advice and information, although I am probably not the best person. I am sure others will be lurking and respond in the fullness of time. In the meantime, may I suggest you take a look here. I am sure you will find some good views. Those I know to be particularly knowledgable and regular posters of tasting notes are UncleTom, AHB, JDAW1 and DRT.

[Glenn E.]

Your dealer gave you a good list! All of the Ports you listed are classics and you will not go wrong with any of them.

One word of caution: choose the 1985 Fonseca only with careful consideration. It is a beast of a Port but still very young. If that is the type of wine that your Father-in-law likes, then by all means take one with you. But if you're looking for a mature Port, this isn't it. It needs at least another 10 years, and quite possibly 20.

I have heard many good things about the 1963 Fonseca and even have one of my own that I plan to open during the holidays this year, but I can't offer first-hand experience with it.

For price checks, I use http://www.wine-searcher.com. The free version will give you plenty of comparison prices to use.

[DRT]

Hi Ed,

Welcome to

All of the ports in your list should impress but to varying degrees.

The Warre 1980 will not provide a wow-factor. Fonseca 1985 is a fabulous wine but Glenn's advice is sound - it is too young and will benefit from another 20+ years in bottle. The other three are all in the wow-factor bracket. In terms of retail price (off the top of my head) you would be looking at £30 for the W80, £50 for the F85, £80 for the F77, £80-£100 for the D63 and £150-£200 for the F63.

What you have to ask yourself is "is she a keeper?" - if not, the Warre 1980 will be fine

Have fun.

Derek

[jdaw1]

Most likely to impress a proto-father-in-law? Fonseca 1963, followed by the Fonseca 1977. Both fantastic wines. You should be laying down the Fonseca 1985 (I know, I am) for later drinking. But if the recession is hurting, Dow 1963 and Warre 1980 would still be more than acceptable.

(I was mean: my then proto-mother-in-law got a mere Noval 1960, which isn’t a patch on the two old Fonsecas.)

Good luck.

[RonnieRoots]

Hi Ed, and welcome.

To be safe: take the Fonseca 1963. If the evening turns out to be a disaster, at least you'll have a classic port!

And if you're interested in drinking some more port from time to time, take a look at the offlines section. Tastings are frequently organised in London, and they are very much fun to attend.

[jdaw1]

You also asked for prices: do check wine-searcher.com, which is excellent at that sort of thing. (And, for a regular drinker of others wines, well worth the small cost of upgrading to wine-searcher professional.)

[Alex Bridgeman]

Ed,

Welcome to the forum. Hopefully your participation will stretch to more than your opening question. You say that you enjoy drinking port so I hope you will be able to join us for one of our friendly and very informal gatherings in London where we meet up to have an excuse to open a bottle or two!

My answer to your question is similar to others. If the Fonseca 1963 is in your price range (£150-200, as Derek suggests), then this would probably be the best port from the list you have suggested. It's a robust wine, so try and decant it at least 6 hours before you are going to start drinking it. My preference, in order, from the rest of the list would be Dow '63, Fonseca '77, Warre '80. I wouldn't open a Fonseca '85 for another 5-10 years, but if you do then consider decanting it 24 hours before drinking.

Let us know what you choose - you've got us all interested now!

Alex

[SushiNorth]

I'm going to suggest NOT going for the Fonseca63 -- if it works out, you'll want something else to impress him with down the line and that's about the best you'll find.

[g-man]

I'm going to suggest NOT going for the Fonseca63 -- if it works out, you'll want something else to impress him with down the line and that's about the best you'll find.

are you looking to seal the deal, or just beat around the bush??