John Owlett wrote:Thank you again.
Actually, thank you. It's been quiet on the forum recently so thank you for giving us an enquiry we can get stuck into and use as an excuse to gently ridicule each other.
John Owlett wrote:Will it be ready to drink at age 21?
A good and relevant question. The first vintage of VVV was 1995, so now at the age when you would considering giving it to a grandchild. Sadly, I have yet to taste it and so can't comment on whether it will be "ready". My expectation is that it would be perfectly drinkable (the 2000 was very enjoyable when I last tasted it 5 years ago) but would have everything it needed to continue to improve for another 30 years. I don't think it will "need" more cellar time but I do think it would benefit from it.
John Owlett wrote:Given that QVVV comes in three-bottle cases, I had wondered whether to "offer" to keep some of the cases in Grandad's cellar, disgorging them at age 24, 27 and 30.
An interesting idea. My grandparents were the people who got me hooked on vintage port. On my 21st birthday they produced a bottle of Taylor 1963 (my birth year) which was opened, decanted and served at the end of the meal. When I expressed appreciation of the bottle and how much I had enjoyed it, the news was broken to me that they had actually bought a case of Taylor 1963 to give to me as a 21st birthday present - but only if I had enjoyed the bottle. If I had been indifferent or disliked it, I am told that the case would have stayed in their cellar and the angels would have taken their share over the next few years until it had all "evaporated". Since I had enjoyed it and been interested in the story behind it, I was given the unopened case a few weeks later - my grandparents having had the foresight to have kept 13 bottles for my 21st birthday.
I do like the idea of late release port, but there is something about the romance of owning a case of port from your birth year and having the responsibility of choosing when to open each precious bottle and who will appreciate it enough to be there to share each one. On the whole, if I was the recipient I would prefer to receive all 12 even though I might then ask granddad to store 9 of them for me for a few years.
Perhaps it might be worth investing in an extra bottle of the selected port. A Baker's Dozen allows you to do what my grandparents did for me all those years ago.
John Owlett wrote:...should I buy a second case of faster maturing port for age 21 and keep the vin de garde for age 25? And, if so, which would be the best choice? Particularly for the vintage 2004 grandson?
An alternative and perhaps better idea - what could be a better idea than more port? I often buy some Skeffington port to use as a cellar defender, this tends to be the fun blend produced by TFP from lotes not used in the main Fonseca, Taylor and Croft blends. It's not made every vintage but if 2015 is the quality that is rumoured then I would expect to see some. It is often used as the own label blend by some wine merchants (Davy's, Tanners) and is very approachable when young.
What would I suggest from 2004 as a cellar defender? Noval and Vesuvio are too serious a wine to suggest; Bomfim has disappointed me too often; Carvalhas is good but impossible to find. On the whole, I'd suggest the Malvedos 2004. This is the latest vintage to be released and has 10 years of cellar age in Vila Nova de Gaia. The last few times I've tried it (the most recent being last month) I was very impressed. It can be drunk with pleasure right now, but will happily last another 9-14 years.
John Owlett wrote:Owen's post comprised two paragraphs: one contained serious comments about some types of wine; the other, written in Meerkat English, seemed more light-hearted. Certainly, the sort of Dom Perignon -- the P3 -- that is sold as suitable for drinking 30 years after the vintage
Owen's suggestions are good ones - just don't tell him I said so in case he gets big-headed. Good claret from your birth year is a pleasure; good vintage Champagne will last you for many years, putting on weight and getting plumper as time goes by.
LGTrotter wrote:And I forgot to say congratulations.
So did I! Congratulations on becoming a grandfather again.
LGTrotter wrote:Champagne on the other hand... I would just buy magnums of the regular brew...
Good point, it's quicker to fill the bath when you use magnums rather than having to fiddle around with bottles. Wholly unsuited to drinking though unless you are sharing.
LGTrotter wrote:And if we were to look at the Champagne vintages which were drinking well now then the 95 and 96 seem to be still going strong at 21.
1996 is drinking fairly well at the moment and is the current Dom vintage at our house on the rare occasion we open a bottle and I hear good things about the 2004 vintage of Dom. However, when I look at my tasting notes I seem to prefer the fresher flavours of Champagne from the vintages of 2002-2005. For me and my taste, I think Champagne hits its peak at around 11-16.
LGTrotter wrote:And Chateau Palmer will be just getting into its stride at 21. Ask Alex, he only drinks claret from the eighties or earlier.
Not strictly true. When friends are kind enough to offer to open bottles from the nineties or noughties I am polite enough to accept with good grace - I hope with grace good enough that they would never know how wrong it was to open such treasures before they reach the age of 25. I have even drunk Palmer from the 2008 vintage would you believe! But give me a choice and I'll open my eighties claret in preference to my nineties. I have no seventies stock left and I'm drinking and replacing eighties stock rather than seventies.
LGTrotter wrote:But then the number of 21 year olds who appreciate old claret are very few.
So true. Even my 22 year old daughter is only now starting to appreciate red wine and I haven't yet dared to try her on a decent bottle of mature claret. We are approaching that time though - and she firmly believes that she will drink and appreciate red wine before she does port. But she is keen to make sure that I don't sell the port collection just yet, just in case she does discover a taste for the sweet nectar...