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Glenn E.

You opened Vesuvio 6-pack footlockers for the first time?

Glenn E.

For a wine-focused party tonight, a magnum of 1977 Smith Woodhouse VP. This is a fairly large party - usually 40-50 people through the night - but most of them are wine drinkers. A few of us bring Port, and we're slowly converting the others. I've brought magnums of 1977 Gould Campbell the last few ...

Glenn E.

^^ I think there are 50 white and 65 red varieties, with 64 of those reds being allowed in Port (sorry Pinot Noir, you're only good enough for Douro DOC sparkling wine). Ah yes. 115 total grapes. The Douro DOC-only grapes are 1 red and 4 white. So... 65 red, of which 64 are allowed in Port. 50 whit...

Glenn E.

Notice that some varieties are allowed in Douro DOC but not in Port. Excellent point. A quick scan says that there are 5 allowed for Douro DOC but not allowed for Port, leaving 110 official Port grape varieties. Also, assuming my poor eyesight didn't blip incorrectly, I just counted 50 Branco grape...

Glenn E.

This begs another question. Many of the older Ports used "field blends". From what I've read, sometimes they didn't know what some of the grapes might be. I believe there's still some field blends still being produced today on a more limited basis. Has the IVDP identified all of the grape...

Glenn E.

Great question; one for the producers perhaps; though their websites, and other suppliers, have a wonderful array of different answers... Taylor's website: "around thirty grape varieties can be used to make Port" Sandeman's website: "There are over one hundred grape varieties authori...

Glenn E.

I don't know whether or not this is 100% accurate, but it has served for me in the past. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Port_wine_grapes Does anyone have, or can point me to, a list of the permitted varieties of grapes which can be used in Port production? I’m sure one must exist on the IVDP ...

Glenn E.

I am very fond of a chart where the x axis is labelled “Drinks/Week”, but does not specify how many magnums decanters are deemed to equal one drink. It took a while to find it in the paper. A drink is 5 fl oz. Of wine (12% abv). I approximated a bottle of port to be 10 drinks. I was also amused by ...

Glenn E.

Cross posting 3 recent buys: 4 x 1875 D'Oliveiras Malvasia Madeira 6 x 1995 Vesuvio (library release) 3 x 2003 Graham (library release) 3 x Graham's Six Grapes Vila Velha Special Edition 1 x 1958 Graham's Malvedos 1 x 1964 Graham's Malvedos 1 x 1965 Graham's Malvedos 1 x 1968 Graham's Malvedos 6 x 1...

Glenn E.

This is my first post in this forum. I was reading this thread as I will be getting a Coravin 6 system in the idea of finally enjoying some vintage ports that I have been keeping for some 20 years in a cellar. The last posts in this thread goes back a few years so before sticking a needle in these ...

Glenn E.

As I have often said (paraphrasing) when accused of score creep, why would I want to drink Cruz '89? I know that Ports that I would score in the 80s exist, but I choose not to drink them. I'm not a professional critic, so I have no reason to drink anything that doesn't have the potential to rate in ...

Glenn E.

A very nice article, congrats!

I love the not-so-subtle dig that Simon made about those not participating.

Glenn E.

Paulliac wrote: ↑16:51 Tue 02 Dec 2025 Royal Oporto 1983. Likely to be any good? Cellartracker thinks not.

It'll probably be ... fine... unless it's a Colheita, then it'll be really good provided it was bottled recently.

Glenn E.

That's a superb price for a G45, well done!

Glenn E.

Maybe the solution is for less VP to be sold when first bottled with more of the production being matured in the producer’s cellars and held back for later release. There would be a cash flow hit for the producer, but they would then have more control over the future price of the mature wine. We ar...

Glenn E.

I think the real problem here is that far too many people still think of Port as only a dessert wine, which means they don't need very much of it. That tends to cap demand, which suppresses prices of well-aged Port. This is true. What is also true is that people spend less time at the table, unfort...

Glenn E.

why would i go buy a case of 2023 to lay down for the next 20 years or more when i can go find a case of 1985 for roughly the same price? That's been the problem for several decades. I think that Port producers have been trying to raise the en primeur price of Port since the dawn of time, but the f...

Glenn E.

Mike J. W. wrote: ↑16:55 Mon 22 Sep 2025 I have all of those Ports except maybe for the Cockburn, but I wouldn't open all of those bottles, lol. I'll keep an eye on this thread for updates.

Oops, forgot to come back with the results.

Sadly, N&P can't help us, so we can't participate.

Glenn E.

Before he moved to Porto, Roy lived about 3 miles from me. I'd get calls on random nights asking what I was doing, and I quickly learned that the proper response was "nothing Roy, what do you have in mind?" :rofl: His tours are pretty special! They're intense, but the access you get and th...

Glenn E.

I get mine from FTLOP and here, and occasionally from one of the producers or people that I follow on Facebook. Also just word of mouth. Not everything that is known is posted here or on FTLOP, so some of it just floats around in the Portosphere until it occurs to someone to post it somewhere. :rofl:

Glenn E.

Wonderful writeup, Harry! I can almost taste the Port.

Glenn E.

Good to know that Taylor Port from the 1800s is mostly rubbish. I shall strike it from my shopping list.

Glenn E.

Wow, that's really close!

13-12-11-10.5-9.5 might just be the closest spread for the top 5 that I've ever seen.

Glenn E.

I've been to 1 tasting that had 14 bottles that were all over 100 years old, but those were all Madeira. Was that Saturday 18 th October 2008 at Triomphe, 49 West 44 th Street, New York ( TNs , placemats )? No, it was the Madeirathon in Seattle in 2016. But the one you have linked appears to be si...

Glenn E.

I feel this is a challenge set! Can this tasting ever be beaten. Suspect with Ferriera but not any other Port house Definitely. I should note that the Decades tasting in Los Angeles was not a single producer. There were many producers represented in order to get to a mere 9 centenarians, and a coup...

Glenn E.

That might be an understatement. The book has mention of many tastings. I do not recall any with ten Vintages more than a century old. Just none. Even Taylor’s great bicentennial tasting discussed in A Celebration of Taylor’s Port (1992), p53 onwards, had none older than a century. And the Cockburn...

Glenn E.

Scoring Scoring was done electronically using a cobbled-together mobile app. Thinking being that the timetable was tight, and the usual TPF shout-out-your-scores approach could take too long and be challenging in a room of 25 people. Not all attendees loved the use of the technology, some perhaps e...

Glenn E.

All of your notes sound familiar to me. I have organized and helped run several events with a similar number of Ports, but never with that many attendees. I can confirm that as soon as you make the leap to "multiple sessions in one day" that the complexity goes up exponentially, and that's...

Glenn E.

An incredible event! I wish I could have been there.

Could someone explain the color-coded dots on the scoresheets? At first it seems that red indicates someone who did not taste that flight, but then I see that there are a few scores recorded under red dots, albeit not a full set of scores.

Glenn E.

I'm in! Hopefully. Always a bit unpredictable since it's the middle of the work day, but other than this last one it usually works out.

Glenn E.

Sorry I missed this - I got busy at work and things didn't slow down until now. I hope you all had a great time!

Glenn E.

I have a work meeting from 11-12 (roughly the start time for this tasting) that of late has been running long, so I may not be able to join until 8 or 8:30 pm London time. But I'll get online eventually!

Glenn E.

*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 ...

Glenn E.

winesecretary wrote: ↑07:25 Thu 18 Sep 2025 @Glenn - try being of 1973 vintage…

hey at least they made VP in 1973... they just had to dump it all out!

Glenn E.

Wonderful writeup, Martin! I've been to Vesuvio several times, but your visit seems to have been a little more in-depth. For example, it's possible that I've been in that barrel room before, but we definitely did not get to taste the 1992 Colheita directly from the cask! (I've had it with lunch befo...

Glenn E.

lport224 wrote: ↑09:20 Thu 18 Sep 2025 *samples can only be delivered to UK addresses*

I haz a sad.

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.

Glenn E.

As an aside, I see that the Pocas LBV did very well. Pocas not only makes very good TWAIOA and Colheitas, but their LBV's are top notch as well. I had their 1994 LBV last year and it's one of the best LBV's I've had (topped only by the 1995 Andresen and 1995 Smith Woodhouse). Their 2011 LBV is no s...

Glenn E.

Welcome! Good to see another port fan from a similar vintage to myself! I suspect we live in the shadow of 1983... but still a good year for port and exceptional to Bordeaux. :) 1982 and 1983 are often referred to as a split declaration. As it turns out there were actually more Vintage Ports declar...

Glenn E.

I've had the 1977 QH and it's pretty awesome, so if the BBR is actually the same Port you're in for a treat.

Glenn E.

@ Glenn E. - would be lovely if you could make it. If you can make it, I will disinvite my guest, who will understand being turfed out for someone who has travelled 5,000 miles for the evening, but you are top of the reserves for now. Tickets purchased and I can now confirm attendance. Kari will be...

Glenn E.

Eye = Visual Nose = Nariz Mouth = Boca I was having a debate with Julian about these. My feeling was that you wouldn't translate directly but would instead go: o aspeto o cheiro o sabor What would you expect to see if you were looking at wine reviews in a copy of, say, Revista dos Vinhos? I debated...

Glenn E.

I'll start working through these as I have a few moments. Others can contribute as well! Wine Of The Night? Vinho da Noite What is it? O que é? Times (i.e., time at which wine decanted) literal: vezes hours of the day in Portuguese are usually plural, though so... hour: hora becomes horas and is use...

Glenn E.

...except for a valuation on a late 00s Taylor VV, which it values at £300+ for 6 bottles! I'd buy that! '00s VVV is typically $200 per bottle here in the US. Not sure it's worth that (for me) in London, though, because I then have to get it to WA which adds significantly. Is that at retail? Or wha...

Glenn E.

The Moscatels from JMdF (which are Setubal, not Douro) are difficult to distinguish from good white Ports. If Douro versions are as good*, then I have no problem with them being kept with the Port TN index.

* doubtful. It is unfair to compare them to JMdF.

Glenn E.

rich_n wrote: ↑09:44 Thu 04 Sep 2025 ...except for a valuation on a late 00s Taylor VV, which it values at £300+ for 6 bottles!

I'd buy that! '00s VVV is typically $200 per bottle here in the US.

Not sure it's worth that (for me) in London, though, because I then have to get it to WA which adds significantly.

Glenn E.

From a sample brought to me the next morning... first time I've had the pleasure of trying this Port! Medium brown color with tawny highlights, some greening at the rim. Nose is rich and generically tawny with significant vinagrinho. Big, bright palate. Fairly intense acidity. Drying finish due to t...

Glenn E.

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!

Glenn E.

I believe that all Vargellas 1965 was bottled in Porto, in 1968 - but I might be wrong... Further to this; the only non-Oporto bottling of any Taylor Vargellas of which I am aware are the '67 and '69 bottlings by BBR. Does anyone know of any other non-Oporto bottlings of any Taylor Vargellas vintag...

Glenn E.

It might be relevant to know the bottler? Was this an English bottled case, or one bottled in Porto?

Glenn E.

The only recommendation that I have for 1960 is Ferreira. It is light and elegant, but really a special Port that you don't often see. Their 1980 is also pretty special. I have been told that 1963 is returning to form, but I have had enough non-outstanding performances from that vintage that, combin...

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