advice please

[craig-001]

i want to start a port cellar and need some advice on young ports to lay down to age i have sorted out a cupboard in the house its not on an external wall there are no heating pipes running through it or under it so it should be the coolest/most constent temp room i have at my disposal, will Fonseca Unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage 2003 @ £11.99 be any good to kick start my collection and how long should it be down for 10 years ? ps the space will hold 100 or so bottles so if i buy an average or 10 bottles per year i will need to start enjoying some in 10-12 years!

[DRT]

Craig,

The Fonseca LBV would certainly make a good addition to your new cellar. It is also worth keeping an eye on what people are recommending on this site as we often uncover some real bargains.

If you are looking at buying 10-12 "keepers" per year can you let us know roughly what budget you are looking at so that we can give advice on some specific wines to look out for.

Derek

[craig-001]

budget up to £20 ish maybe 1 or 2 £30 ish per year

[DRT]

OK, here are some easily available options:

Taylor Quinta de Vargellas 1996 or 1998 - currently available in Tesco for around £18 (£5 discount)
Warre's Bottle Matured LBV 1995 or 1999 - available in Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury for around £16
Dow's Quinta do Bomfim 1996 - available in Tesco for around £21
Noval LBV - any vintage - available in Tesco, Waitrose and Threshers for around £11-12

There are many other options available if you want to buy from wine merchants or at auction but this only really makes sense if you are buying 6 or more bottles as there will normally be a delivery charge of around £15-20. I'm guessing that your intention is to pick up a small number of bottles at a time? If so, hopefully the one's listed above will get you started. If you are buying from supermarkets try to avoid filtered LBVs and Reserve ports as these will not improve (much) in your cellar. The four listed above could be drunk now but will certainly benefit from a further 5 to 10 years in the bottle.

Of course, this time next year you will have caught the bug and be telling us you NEED to buy around 100 bottles in 2010 just to avoid drinking your cellar dry

Derek

[DRT]

I just remembered another one...

Graham's Malvedos 1996 - available in Sainsbury for around £22

Derek

[craig-001]

Of course, this time next year you will have caught the bug and be telling us you NEED to buy around 100 bottles in 2010 just to avoid drinking your cellar dry

Derek[/quote]

no no no the cellar is for keepers so i will have a good supply in 10 years i will still buy stuff to drink now

[DRT]

Of course, this time next year you will have caught the bug and be telling us you NEED to buy around 100 bottles in 2010 just to avoid drinking your cellar dry

Derek

no no no the cellar is for keepers so i will have a good supply in 10 years i will still buy stuff to drink now

We all said a similar thing at some time in the past. Welcome to the slippery slope

[craig-001]

Of course, this time next year you will have caught the bug and be telling us you NEED to buy around 100 bottles in 2010 just to avoid drinking your cellar dry

Derek

no no no the cellar is for keepers so i will have a good supply in 10 years i will still buy stuff to drink now

We all said a similar thing at some time in the past. Welcome to the slippery slope

ok

[DRT]

Just to demonstrate what you are getting into: 5 years ago I was the proud owner of 12 bottles of port. Then I met some of the people on port-related internet forums, many of whom are members here, and I am now the proud owner of around 500 bottles and open around 100 per year

The slope is very steep and very, very slippery

[Glenn E.]

Hi. My name is Glenn, and I'm a Port-o-holic.

My first bottle was given to me on my 40th birthday. For the next 18 months or so I really only purchased bottles to drink because I didn't have a suitable storage location for long-term keepers. Then right around my 42nd birthday I purchased a small wine fridge so that my wife and I could store a few bottles of nicer wines and Ports.

Any time one of my friends now tells me that he's thinking about buying a small wine fridge, I immediately warn him that they're a waste of money. My little fridge filled up so fast that within a few months I was already shopping for a bigger fridge. At first I was just going to buy a bigger one to replace the small one (and give the small one to a friend), but then I had my epiphany and decided to keep the small one too.

It's a good thing I did! We currently have the small fridge filled with some nicer red wines and dessert wines, and the full-size fridge is now almost full of Port. I have about 150 bottles of Port, probably 50-ish bottles of red wine, and 10-15 bottles of dessert wine.

4 years ago I didn't have any of this.

A slippery slope indeed.

[DRT]

I have about 150 bottles of Port, probably 50-ish bottles of red wine, and 10-15 bottles of dessert wine.

Oops! I forgot to own up to my 100+ bottles of dry red in my earlier post

[craig-001]

oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,

[jdaw1]

I plead the fifth.

[DRT]

I plead the fifth.

You can only do so until you leave the Land of the Free

[uncle tom]

As everyone knows, I am a shining example when it comes to keeping everything in moderation..



Tom

[Glenn E.]

As everyone knows, I am a shining example when it comes to keeping everything in moderation...

Yes, Mr. "I could drink a 50-yr old bottle of Port every week for 50 years and not deplete my cellar."