ThePortForum.com

Ahhh Christ! Am I going to have to trudge up to Camden now to pick off that last bottle? What a nuisance! Can't they just keep all their ports in the City?

Agree with everybody on the key points: 1.) Many thanks to Derek, Alex and Julian for organizing such a wonderful event 2.) Thanks to Johnny Syms for his time, insight and passion 3.) Quality of the ports has been improving significantly over time (both in absolute potential of the wine, as well as ...

Ahhh -- thanks for clarifying.

Yes...'closed' events are I guess a bit trickier, and I guess are better organized through email, phone calls, carrier pigeons, and smoke signals.

How would we organise an "offline"? Would we only open up the event to familiar faces? Would we decline requests from members of the trade or newbies? That seems wrong to me. I think perhaps you misunderstand my view. I think everything STARTS as an offline -- you guys say 'hey, wanna mee...

Chris, does that mean that the two events you have attended in recent weeks: one where you were a an unfamiliar face and the other where we had someone from the trade and some other unfamiliar faces would both by Tastings rather than Off-lines? I think the two events I attended actually make my poi...

Understood -- I am just happily surprised that at least someone has had a good experience with this effort -- and that my bottle may be enjoyable after all ::fingers crossed::

I dunno --- very much still a newbie, but to me, the difference is less the number of bottles, and more to do with the number of unfamiliar/guest/'celebrity' faces. If it is still a family affair, it could be 50 bottles and still feel like an offline. If you invite all sorts of people in the trade t...

Wow! I've had horrible luck with 80s Taylor (though it is generally better than the 83 and 85 efforts). One bottle left though, and suddenly I'm feeling optimistic again.

That is incredibly gracious of you. I have added a post to the OL thread, and will be sure to get in touch whenever I decide to travel to Oman (it is actually about #9 on my list of places to see next, so I'd say it is at least 50/50 I get to it this year). Again, thank you very much for your hospit...

If there is any space, I would love to attend. I can't say I have much of a preference regarding theme -- I'm quite confident it will be very much worthwhile regardless.

Regards
chiris

Sounds like a grand time. Please count me in. I believe I have a bottle of 1960 Croft running around here somewhere.

Thanks guys for the responses. As for the offline in Holland this summer, I did indeed see the thread, and have been quite interested in attending, but I feel a bit awkward inviting myself, as I know neither of the hosts, nor most of the other participants. I have tremendous respect for Niepoort, an...

Am I crazy -- or is it generally much harder to find vintage Niepoort in the US and UK than almost any other large and well known house?

The 1985s, the 1994s, 77s, 70s, 66, etc. etc.

What's the deal?

There was a cute blond girl from New Zealand present, and while I knew it might cause me some level of embarrassment, I simply had to share that my TN for this particular wine was 'something you would imagine being given to a Dwarf from Lord of the Rings as a form of anesthetic.' Strong medicinal me...

This was only my second bottle of 77 Dow (the last one I had in NYC about a year ago). Sadly, the results were nearly identical. There is something flawed (thoug maybe not strictly TCA) going on with this bottle. Very difficult to get any enjoyment of the juice. Like trying to look at a painting thr...

Sadly, I can't remember what became of my notes on this wine. I remember thinking that it was quite good for the price it was offered at. A pretty complete, entry level port, that needed significantly more time in the cellar. Full bodied and rich, suggesting either the 2000 or 2003 vintage (Oscar ab...

This was not good. An obvious detergent component on the nose kinda killed it for me from the get-go. Astringent throughout (an no, not in the 'good' way), with alcohol and harsh tannins ripping up the mid palate. Finish is actually decent, but you're so worn out by then you hardly notice. I don't t...

I'm not sure I can remember ever having had molasses, but I really feel this is the word needed to describe this wine. Dark brown color (weird). Pretty rich in the mouth, again with this caramelized walnut component that seems to be a bit of a running theme amongst the colheita crew. Pretty chewy ta...

My POTN. Caramelized orange and pink fruits on the nose. Very good weight/presence on the palate, with walnuts and caramel for days. Great structure, and a lip smackingly good finish. While there is an obvious, though not obtrusive alcohol component throughout, the wine is just too damn tasty to car...

#3 on the night for me. Niepoorts had shown well tonight, and despite a clear alcoholic component on both the 94 and the 68, the mid-palates of each are so seductive that it makes it fairly easy to overlook modest shortcomings elsewhere in the wines. This almost had a mulled wine component to me, wi...

Difficult for me to judge, given its youth -- but this is a feisty little bugger. Rich, thick, presence in the glass -- dark, dark fruit, giving way to an almost bacon fat component more reminiscent of CndP. MASSIVE structure throughout reminds one that this is a bottle that will benefit from 10++ y...

Bright red color (even in bad light) -- this was the easiest of the ten or so colheitas to drink, as the alcohol was fully integrated, and the texture of the wine was rather smooth, with balanced transitions from attack to finish. Sweet red fruits, almost candied, with just a bit of butterscotch on ...

"Chicken Livers and Roast Duck followed by Cheese for me please... "

the same -- please

Another fun and educational evening, and a real treat to meet Oscar. As for the wines, I share Derek's feelings -- no rush to buy/taste any more, especially considering how close in price many of them are to quality bottles of VP. But, like they say, you never know until you try (unless of course yo...

Spoken like a true commando.

Was a start time ever specified? 6:30pmish?