ThePortForum.com

Mike J. W.

winesecretary wrote: ↑21:14 Sun 23 Nov 2025 I regret that I will be in the countryside, eliminating crusty jugglers.

Well at least that's for the greater good.

Mike J. W.

If it's a zombie invasion, shouldn't this be held at the Winchester?

Mike J. W.

2 x 1968 Andresen Colheita (bottled 2018)
1 x 1974 Barros Colheita (bottled 2024)
1 x 20 year old Quinta da Pacheca Tawny
1 x 20 year old Burmester Tawny

Mike J. W.

The 1995 Tasting was a surprisingly strong lineup. To my taste, there wasn't a bad bottle in the bunch. My scoring was very tightly bunched which is somewhat unusual. The Madalena to me was good, but had a slightly dirty quality to it; but I think it could have been the glass that it was served in a...

Mike J. W.

That looks like a fun and amazing line up of Ports. I keep on asking myself why I haven't moved to the UK yet.

Mike J. W.

BigLove (John M.) is hosting a 1995 Tasting this coming Saturday in New Jersey and the Vesuvio is one of the ten bottles that we'll be tasting. I'm looking forward to seeing how this and the other bottles perform.

Mike J. W.

I have a soft spot for mature claret and still have a few bottles left from the 1980s. They rarely get opened these days, but the children are home for dinner so it’s justified to open a nice bottle. Did I mention that neither of them drink red wine? They prefer 20YO tawny… That Chateau Talbot is i...

Mike J. W.

2 x 1968 Andresen Colheita (bottled 2018)
1 x 1985 Dalva Colheita (bottled 2023)

Mike J. W.

winesecretary wrote: ↑22:21 Thu 23 Oct 2025 A bottle of any good port and a good recording of the St Matthew Passion is an admirable pairing, not least because, presuming you to be drinking solo, they last about the same amount of time.

Googled how long St. Matthew's Passion is...5 minutes and 23 seconds. Hmmm.

Mike J. W.

1 x 1983 Gould Campbell VP
2 x 1994 Quinta do Noval LBV's.

Mike J. W.

Maybe some background info for the 1970 Avery Port from the company: I have only found the "possible" blends for the 60, 63 and 66 I can almost say they are correct but every so often there is a note saying - also added... - there are some hints at the 70 but not a "full" recipe...

Mike J. W.

Thanks Phil and Alex. I'm hoping they are a rewaxing. I'll know when I crack a bottle open in the next year or two.

Mike J. W.

These are the 3 different types of capsules, but the labels are all BB&R. The black wax capsules look professionally done. And the other black wax capsules (4 including the one in the pic) are identical to the one in the pic. Fill levels are either base neck or top shoulder. All bottles are gree...

Mike J. W.

@ PhilW. Just a minute ago, I came across a 4th BB&R 1966 Fonseca. This one has the dark green capsule with the BBR / arms on the top. The labels are identical across all 4 bottles (although I know they could easily be faked.).

Mike J. W.

Thanks Phil, I appreciate your input. I'll be tied up the next few days, but I'll try and post pics on Sunday when I have a spare minute. And I came across a 3rd 1966 BB&R bottled Fonseca that also has the black wax capsule. I'm not inclined to crack any of them open now to see if they're lesser...

Mike J. W.

I'm in the process of entering all of my Port (& Wine) into a spreadsheet that I created to track it. I am inputting a few bottles of 1966 Fonseca that were bottled by BB&R (or so the label claims). The first bottle I entered has a red metal cap (mostly worn off) but it doesn't have the BB&a...

Mike J. W.

I'm in. Thanks.

Mike J. W.

Tonight (this afternoon for me) was fun and I always learn a lot. There's always more than a few laughs as well. Thanks Neil for organizing it and Phil for setting up the Zoom call. I hope we do more of these in the future.

Mike J. W.

nac wrote: ↑17:18 Thu 25 Sep 2025 Suspect similar. Unlikely to be on much before 8.

I can't sign in nor do I suspect anyone else can since Neil is not on. Should I check back at 7:30 your time?

Mike J. W.

I was trying to find out who the Producer was for a 1977 Dolamore Crusted, but the listing on the first post says "Supplier Unknown". I did notice that missing from that listing is the 1988 Churchill Crusted. I have two of those in my cellar.

Mike J. W.

*samples can only be delivered to UK addresses* I haz a sad. :cry: I could probably even make a Zoom call on Nov 26 at 7:00 pm GMT. I'd have my usual mid-day conflicts, but those tend to work out okay when we do Port Forum Virtual Tastings. You might not be able to get samples sent to you, but you ...

Mike J. W.

Really nice write-up and amazing pics. It sounds like a day well worth it.

Mike J. W.

*samples can only be delivered to UK addresses* I haz a sad. :cry: I could probably even make a Zoom call on Nov 26 at 7:00 pm GMT. I'd have my usual mid-day conflicts, but those tend to work out okay when we do Port Forum Virtual Tastings. You might not be able to get samples sent to you, but you ...

Mike J. W.

I've updated the first posat with the bottles and also the scores ...... That looks like a really fun lineup, Martin. I know it was a blind tasting, but did anyone figure out during the course of the tasting that they were drinking primarily older LBV's? As an aside, I see that the Pocas LBV did ve...

Mike J. W.

Is this still a go for next Thursday (Sep. 25)? If so, what time will it be?

Mike J. W.

I've updated the first posat with the bottles and also the scores ...... That looks like a really fun lineup, Martin. I know it was a blind tasting, but did anyone figure out during the course of the tasting that they were drinking primarily older LBV's? As an aside, I see that the Pocas LBV did ve...

Mike J. W.

Thanks Alex.

Mike J. W.

Would anyone happen to know who the Producer is for BB&R's 1977 Vintage Port bottling? Thanks in advance.

Mike J. W.

Alex Bridgeman wrote: ↑10:47 Wed 10 Sep 2025 I've just noticed that this was the post that was given system number p=100000

That's very cool, Alex! Did the forum send you your congratulatory bottle of 1931 Noval? Or was it lost in the mail?

Mike J. W.

The suggestions you've received are very good, but I would highly recommend Pocas. They have great Colheitas and TWAIOA. They also brought out a 1994 LBV which was simply excellent.

Edit: I see Alex already recommended Pocas, so I second that motion.

Mike J. W.

@ Mike J.W. - that’s a preposterously good price! Thanks George. I was very lucky. One person had placed a bid a few weeks back and it held until I bid on the afternoon of the last day. I expected the original bidder or someone else to outbid me, but no one else bothered to bid, which shocked me. I...

Mike J. W.

3 x 2011 Niepoort Bioma Vinha Velha won at auction for $45 each. One to Big Love (John M.).

Mike J. W.

Serious line up. They're all into port? Moses, none of them are serious Port drinkers or collectors; however they really enjoy what I bring every year. They're also getting very good Ports, so that probably augments their enjoyment. I may have to slip an LBV tasting in one night to see what they th...

Mike J. W.

Glenn E. wrote: ↑17:54 Tue 26 Aug 2025
Mike J. W. wrote: ↑17:25 Tue 26 Aug 2025 Next year of course is 2026, so at least one night will be a tasting of 1966 VP's.
[checks calendar]

I'm available that weekend!

Lol. I'll let you know when it is.

Mike J. W.

Serious line up. They're all into port? Moses, none of them are serious Port drinkers or collectors; however they really enjoy what I bring every year. They're also getting very good Ports, so that probably augments their enjoyment. I may have to slip an LBV tasting in one night to see what they th...

Mike J. W.

It was a great time, Harry. As far as decanting, I double decanted the two 1985's at 10:00 AM and kept the cork out so they could slow ox the rest of the day until we started drinking them around 8:30 PM. The 1955 Cockburn was decanted into a decanter I brought along 2 1/2 hours before we had it. Th...

Mike J. W.

My annual get together down at the beach with my college buddies was this past weekend. As usual, I brought the Port and we had tastings on Friday and Saturday night. The first night were all white Ports and they went over better than I expected. The only time most of them have Port is when we get t...

Mike J. W.

Justin, The Dow 1974 is highly likely to be a Colheita, not an LBV. The Symington's liked to call their Colheitas, Reserve or Grande Reserve back then. I have a similar Warre's Reserve from 1976 (and it is quite tasty). They were bottling LBV's in the early 60's and were calling it an LBV, so I'm pr...

Mike J. W.

Trish and I are heading to Utrecht for a few nights later this month. Are there any good Port retailers? Also have you any recomendations for restaurants/bars and things to visit/see? Hi Justin, I snooped around online a little (I Googled "liquor stores in Utrecht"). I didn't look at ever...

Mike J. W.

Was this bottle a later cellar release? I didn't think bar codes were in wide use around 1977. Apols Mike - I completely missed your question. I picked the bottle up from Seckfords in the UK, so not sure of original provenance. In the interim, Alex and Phil have added some colour! No worries Mike. ...

Mike J. W.

You can never have too much of the Fonseca '66. The '63 is nice as well, but the '66 is much better in my opinion. I would choose the Graham's '66 over the '70, but both years are nice. Definitely the Taylor '70 as you have listed (lots of it, but not more than the Fonseca '66). The Dow '70 is very ...

Mike J. W.

Rich, thanks for organising last night's catch up. It was nice to see everyone even if the bottle we randomly chose for Tom to open blew everyone else's choices away. I hope the Achilles heals soon. That just might be the perfect pun even though you were still wishing him a rapid recovery. Tom's ra...

Mike J. W.

$80 for a 1963 is not very flattering. No it's not. I think this wine is appraised quite good and the bottles are in great condition. I believe 250 EUR sound more like the right direction for a bottle of 60+ years of age. Hopefully they can be bought and enjoyed by the right buyer. :shock: I'm not ...

Mike J. W.

@ rich_n - after that tasting, I recall I did buy half a case of GC… for about £36 a bottle I think. I'm after the same. I think I might be able to get hold of the Smith-Woodhouse (which according to the notes I was pretty positive about) at ~£33 a bottle delivered, so I will likely pull the trigge...

Mike J. W.

Thanks George. If I saw that kind of pricing in the U.S. for 1970 and 1977 Port, I'd own a hell of a lot more bottles from those years, especially the 1970 Vintage.

Mike J. W.

Like 99% of the 1970s, it’s very good, moreover it can be picked up at the cheaper end of the scale perhaps £40-£50 a bottle and that’s principally the reason I have so many bottles of it – it’s sometimes too much of a bargain to pass on! That's a ridiculously great price (under $70US) for a 1970 P...

Mike J. W.

idj123 wrote: ↑08:02 Sat 26 Jul 2025 All of those Ports that I have a ready inventory of, I have over 30 bottles of the following:

Cr70
D70
G77
SW77
T85
D94
W94
V97

That's a really nice selection, Ian. I've tried all of them (and they're all good) except for the Croft 1970. How is it?

Mike J. W.

yes please, depending on date, i'm sure that i will have something that fits the final line up. the other way to do this is, people send the host their top 3 wines from the 90's and then host advise what you bring from that list. we could do this blind then? That's a good idea Harry. And maybe save...

Mike J. W.

I just opened up a '95 Vesuvio as it was "next up" and it is very nice. It might be better than the '97 version.

Mike J. W.

The 1995 Smith Woodhouse Madalena is nice as is the 1994 Ferreira. 1992 Fonseca?

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