Does anyone know where Alex's off button is?

[LGTrotter]

It is interesting how there are subtle variations in how for example Glenn and Alex use the 100 point system. I do not think this undermines the system or their individual scores. I notice that they both do not take into account the one factor that has more influence on my scores than any other; that is how much I have drunk and whether the effect of that alcohol has been to make me morose or deliriously happy. This may sound flippant but being a bit (or rather more) intoxicated does drive my scores upward. Particularly if it is a good wine.

I used to be violently opposed to numerical values on wine, time has softened this and I now read them like headlines.

[Glenn E.]

I used to be violently opposed to numerical values on wine, time has softened this and I now read them like headlines.

S. Leonardo 30-yr old Tawny Port! 95 points! TN at 11:00.

[LGTrotter]

Thank you Glenn for making me laugh. I assume these are Glenn-Parker points rather than Alex-Parker points, or even Robert Parker points.

Musta loved it.

[LGTrotter]

He's at it again.

[Glenn E.]

*click*

*click click*

Hmm... Button doesn't seem to be working...

[jdaw1]

He's at it again.

Hurray. He write excellent notes and shares them: thank you Alex.

[Alex Bridgeman]

He's at it again.

I did post a health warning in advance, and at least they are for a proper man's drink and not some low-alcohol petrol-based alternative.

[djewesbury]

some low-alcohol petrol-based alternative.

It's an isotonic sports drink. You can drink 80 bottles before lunch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LGTrotter]

The last time I set off on this thread there was a lovely chat about points.

I wonder if there is a collective wisdom/division about how many ports it is possible to drink and maintain objectivity? I realise I am about to tread old ground (yawn, again) or preaching heresy but I do distrust this idea of ports in huge line ups being treated like show ponies. A bottle of port is made for quiet contemplation, with or without the company of other people and should stand alone. I like to give a bottle of wine which has waited several, sometimes many decades, the courtesy of a thorough thinking about over the course of an evening without distraction.

[DRT]

The last time I set off on this thread there was a lovely chat about points.

I wonder if there is a collective wisdom/division about how many ports it is possible to drink and maintain objectivity? I realise I am about to tread old ground (yawn, again) or preaching heresy but I do distrust this idea of ports in huge line ups being treated like show ponies. A bottle of port is made for quiet contemplation, with or without the company of other people and should stand alone. I like to give a bottle of wine which has waited several, sometimes many decades, the courtesy of a thorough thinking about over the course of an evening without distraction.

I do not disagree, but I see no future in single-bottle fourteen-man Port tastings. Needs must.

[djewesbury]

The last time I set off on this thread there was a lovely chat about points.

I wonder if there is a collective wisdom/division about how many ports it is possible to drink and maintain objectivity? I realise I am about to tread old ground (yawn, again) or preaching heresy but I do distrust this idea of ports in huge line ups being treated like show ponies. A bottle of port is made for quiet contemplation, with or without the company of other people and should stand alone. I like to give a bottle of wine which has waited several, sometimes many decades, the courtesy of a thorough thinking about over the course of an evening without distraction.

I do not disagree, but I see no future in single-bottle fourteen-man Port tastings. Needs must.

Fourteen middle-aged men all locked in silent contemplation for half an hour over one glass (each) of terribly valuable nectar.
Someone ventures to break the silence:
"I say… Walnuts!"
And the atmosphere is ruined, the stillness shattered, all anyone can think of now is walnuts, and the figs of a moment ago are vanished.
"We agreed that this tastes of walnuts. Meeting was adjourned."
Is this the future? I vote no. (I know we haven't had a poll yet, but if we do, which actually I don't think we should, I would vote no.)

[LGTrotter]

I do not disagree, but I see no future in single-bottle fourteen-man Port tastings. Needs must.

Darn. I never thought of that. You and your pragmatism. I'll bury this conversation in the garden, with the others.

[jdaw1]

I see no future in single-bottle fourteen-man Port tastings.

Tom owns two ‘bottles’ for which that might work just fine.

[Glenn E.]

I wonder if there is a collective wisdom/division about how many ports it is possible to drink and maintain objectivity? I realise I am about to tread old ground (yawn, again) or preaching heresy but I do distrust this idea of ports in huge line ups being treated like show ponies. A bottle of port is made for quiet contemplation, with or without the company of other people and should stand alone. I like to give a bottle of wine which has waited several, sometimes many decades, the courtesy of a thorough thinking about over the course of an evening without distraction.

Thus my distinction between a tasting and a drinking. The primary purpose of both is to enjoy Port with friends. But beyond that...

The object of a tasting is to try several, or many, different Ports, record your observations in tasting notes for posterity. The size of a tasting is limited by the number of reasonable tasting samples that can be obtained from a single bottle. If using standard 750ml bottles, that number is (at least in my opinion) no more than 16. A 1.5 oz serving isn't much, but it is sufficient to form an impression and write a tasting note. (750 ml = 25.4 oz, or 16 x 1.5 oz servings with 1.4 oz in reserve for ullage, etc.)

The object of a drinking is to thoroughly enjoy a small number of Ports, or one Port. Tasting notes are a secondary concern to conversation and good food. The size of a drinking is limited only by the quantity of Port on hand; since it is a drinking and not a tasting, it matters less that everyone get a taste from every bottle opened. However, a drinking is typically smaller than a tasting, though sometimes more Port is consumed.