Hello from the great white north .... need some advice

[urotsukidoji]

Hello, although I have been a fan of port for years, my experience has sadly been limited to the cheep stuff. You know, the usual selection of current LBVs, Rubys, and the occasional 10 yr old Tawny. (feel free to shed tears for my sad state)
Anyway, I want to get my feet wet with some vintage bottles. I don't mind spending a bit of $, but being green at this, I don't want to drop $ on something and then be disappointed. So, what bottles would you recommend for a newbie? Being in Ontario Canada, I'm pretty much limited to what's offered by the LCBO (http://www.lcbo.com/) - they do carry quite a few Vintage bottles ranging from about $30 (Sandman '00) - $836.00 (Taylor Fladgate '63) So, I'm kind of at their mercy, unless someone knows a good supplier that will ship to Ontario. I look forward to your thoughts, and thank you in advance.

[g-man]

Greetings,

A few of my friends up in canada often complain about the port available, and it's one of those things that just requires luck, patience and some holiday sales.

Checking the vintages site occasionally, i see they carry a

DOW'S COLHEITA TAWNY PORT 1986
Portugal | Silva & Cosens Ltd.,
VINTAGES 572776 | 750 mL | $ 48.00

Which is not bad and an interesting product, but it's not exactly VP.

155. DOW'S VINTAGE PORT 1991
Portugal | W & J Graham & Co.,
VINTAGES 337378 | 750 mL | $ 65.00

would make an excellent pick up.

I do recall people saying that some of the 85 ports that show up occasionally at SAQs or through the LCBO as being fairly priced.

Good luck, happy hunting, and welcome to the boards.

[KillerB]

Welcome urotsukidoji and all your little anime friends.

I know nothing about buying Port in Canada, but I know a man who does. I've paged bman, hopefully he will pop by soon,

Cheers,

Alex

[bman]

My goodness, isn't the internet a wonderful thing. Not only do I get to re-connect with my old pal KillerB, but I get to be helpful to a fellow long-suffering Ontario wine drinker. Oh, wait a minute, forgot that 'long-suffering" is no more needed in front of "Ontario wine drinker" than "three" is required before "triplets"! Not to get off on a rant, of course.....

As for ports, all the 91s are reasonable good deals, by which I mean you won't get gouged with those as much as with anything older (sorry, ranting again....) I especially like the 91 Croft which is about $81 I think, ditto the 91 Vargellas and 91 Graham, each of which is very different from the other, if you want to try a variety of port styles. And all of these can be tasted now, though I generally prefer my ports much older.

Sadly, older vintages available here are scarce, and much more over-priced, and not as good. If you find any 83s for under $110 it will probably be the Gould Campbell or Smith Woodhouse, either of those would do, even the Quarles Harris in a pinch.

urotsukidoji: just noticed you show a picture of Carman's - 30 years ago I lived in the round building at the other end of Alexander Street - but sadly, only ate at Carman's once (it was a bit out of my price range....) We still stay occassionally at the Courtyard across the street.

And when you win the lottery, and buy a 70 or 77 Graham or Taylor, don't forget who gave you this sage advice - I'm only 5 hours away from Toronto!

So Alex, what's new? Looks like I'll be moving to Guatemala next summer - any board members there?

[urotsukidoji]

bman (and all) thanks for the info.

Carmans - my fav restaurant of all time. eaten there 40 - 60 times over the last 20 years. Sadly, this 50-year old Toronto land-mark just closed for good. It will be sadly missed. The avatar image here is my little cyber-homage.

[KillerB]

Hello Bob,

Thanks for replying to your compatriot. A few things are new but they're not for publishing on the net. Will send you a PM and explain the warping of reality that has occurred since I last saw you,

Cheers,

Alex