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Thanks all, I will indeed select option #3 - decant it myself in the morning and back into the rinsed out bottle. I'll report back how it it all pans out.

Cheers!

A question for the Port Forum Brain's Trust if I may: We have a small family dinner planned for my brother's 60th at Hawksmoor in Borough Market next month. I have several bottles of Croft 1963. I was thinking of taking one along and asking them to serve it, which they will do for £25 corkage. I wil...

Haha, the photo was taken once I remembered - we were well over half way through by then. The fill levels are all above the bottom of the neck apart from bottle no. 2, which is a bout 5 mm below. (It is quite a big decanter though, 1.5 litre, I believe)

It tasted... Absolutely out of this world!! I am not very good at describing wine flavours but I will have a go: The scent was heavenly: mature Christmas puddings, dried fruits, toasted nuts. In the mouth there was such intense flavour... a lot of caramel, toasted hazelnut, raisins, prunes maybe, sl...

So... I decanted it through an unbleached coffee filter about an hour before serving. When I initially tried a thimbleful at decanting (well the last few drips from the filter) it tasted interesting but very slightly harsh. But definitely not corked, which was the first plus. When decanted, it defin...

Hi all, after numerous covid-related delays we finally got round to sampling the first of a case of 1963 Croft I bought at auction. In summary: Wow!!!! I opened bottle number 1 from this mugshot gallery: Port bottles.jpeg This is the one with the completely dropped cork under the plastic capsule (se...

Hi all, I am not sure if this will be of any interest to true aficionados but, as a newbie, I have signed up for this at £50 for six 50ml tasters (which my better half and I will probably share to get the most from the event). https://www.thewinesociety.com/product/online----an-evening-with-symingto...

Thanks both! I'll decant close to the drinking time as recommended. I will check the tasting notes. Also, I like the suggestion of cured meats as an accompaniment. Much appreciated.

We're likely to arrange this for early December, so I'll report back after the event.

Hi All, Ok so I am going to try one on my newly acquired bottles of 1963 Croft - probably the one with the dropped cork (see http://www.theportforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=14191). I have never have never tried such an old port before. What should I expect? How different from, say, a recent vintage or a...

Ok, I've got to ask, if you don't mind me asking: What's the machine below the cupboard that looks like a lathe without a bed? It's a 1930's Colchester lathe, slightly stripped down, but I still have all the bits - the bed is still there but is now the base of my work bench. Very nice. I have a 195...

uncle tom wrote: ↑09:15 Mon 27 Sep 2021

Might we have a photograph of your pine cupboard, please?

If I can remember how..

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=65 ... 5591415821

Ok, I've got to ask, if you don't mind me asking: What's the machine below the cupboard that looks like a lathe without a bed?

JacobH wrote: ↑17:36 Sun 31 Oct 2021

jdaw1 wrote: ↑11:23 Sun 31 Oct 2021Great photo work.

Absolutely. I wonder how a case of 12 bottles of 1963 VP would compare without the cork issue? I bet there would still be a lot of bottle variation.

Yes that would be interesting. If I had another case, I'd take the photos!

Thanks once again for your input Phil. By your assessment that will make the good half a dozen or so bottles rather expensive but hey, it's a learning experience. And if the others are drinkable there is still the interest of drinking something that's nearly 60 years old. So I shall enjoy and share ...

As suggested by PhilW I tried shining a torch through the bottles which was instructive but hard to photo. So I took a photo with the afternoon sun coming through the bottle (each bottle was only in the sun for a few seconds). The composite photo of all 12 bottles is here: Port bottles med.jpeg Bott...

Thank you all so much for your comments and advice! Much appreciated. I have gingerly laid the dropped cork bottles on their side to check that they are not seeping at all and will check them every day for a few days but so far they seem not to be weeping at all. I have a feeling this could be the s...

And here's the fully dropped cork bottle:

Still struggling to post photos - probably redundant anyway since I guess you all know what a dropped cork looks like. But here's one of the two partially dropped cork bottles:

Great, thanks Andy!

Here are the 12 bottles of Croft 63: bAMnwhYYQPahhvx22PFW3w.jpeg I'm still very keen to get suggestions on these four questions (tbf I have had some suggestions for 1. - thanks!) 1. What to do with the dropped cork? Leave it? Open the bottle and drink now? (would prefer not as waiting for suitable f...

Hopefully here's some links to a few pictures:

The 12 bottles https://imgur.com/Ly3YQyU

The bottled with the dropped cork https://imgur.com/JJO4wIN

One of the two partially dropped corks (not very clear from photo, sorry) https://imgur.com/oWZPuxp

Thanks!

Hi All, I am an enthusiastic but not desperately knowledgeable port-lover, seeking a bit of guidance, if I may. I have just bought a case of Croft 1963 at a country auction (from a deceased estate). I may have made an expensive mistake but that's how we learn isn't it? There wasn't much evidence of ...