Start a vintage collection

[djewesbury]

That's enough. My reputation with the international port community simply will not be impugned in this way. Sirs, I challenge you to a duel. Magnums at dawn.

[PhilW]

1970 Croft, £50
1977 Warre, £60
1977 Gould Campbell, £60
1983 Warre, £50
1983 Smith Woodhouse, £50
1983 Dow, £50
1985 Churchill, £30
1994 Romaneira, €25

Hi Nik, welcome to (I thought I should give you a proper response rather than just frivolous responses to other comments).
Your list of ports looks good; my observations would be:
- 1970 Croft is often lovely, and often available at decent price (much is Oporto-bottled which generally seems to have been filled at base-neck).
- 1983 Warre : Although I am a big Warre fan, I would drop this one from the list; the Dow is much better.
- 1985 Churchill : A good choice, and that is a good price.
Unless you've already identified that Taylor/Fonseca are less your taste, I would suggest dropping both the W83 and SW83 from your list, and use the funds to buy a few bottles of F70 and T77 or T85.
As others have suggested, another option would be to buy a few individual bottles and join us for some tastings in London if you are able, as this would give you the chance to taste many more ports and narrow down (or broaden) what you prefer.

[PhilW]

Sirs, I challenge you to a duel. Magnums at dawn.

I accept, but only if followed by Tregnums at lunchtime.

[djewesbury]

Sirs, I challenge you to a duel. Magnums at dawn.

I accept, but only if followed by Tregnums at lunchtime.

What a wonderful way to settle a dispute, nobody will remember what it was about by dinner time.

[RAYC]

As others have suggested, another option would be to buy a few individual bottles and join us for some tastings in London if you are able

OP lives close to Copenhagen, which has a very active port scene from what i understand.

[DrNik]

Thank you all.

It's all a few bottles here and there from different dealers. That's the whole point of the list: It's what's accessible right now. It's also the big disadvantage.

A few of you have given the same advise: To not try to build a cellar too aggressively in the beginning and instead spend the money on tastings.

I think that's vey sensible. Next week I'm attending a tasting of Quinta do Noval, Grahams, Ramos Pinto and Fonseca from 1975, 1985 and 1995. After that we'll see what I decide to buy. Thank you all so much for helping me.

[SushiNorth]

1970 Croft, £50
1977 Warre, £60
1977 Gould Campbell, £60
1983 Warre, £50
1983 Smith Woodhouse, £50
1983 Dow, £50
1985 Churchill, £30
1994 Romaneira, €25

I'm thinking I'd buy 6 bottles of each though I may have to split the collection with one or two others.

I would suggest the Croft 70 and Churchill 85 @ 6 bottles. I've found the others to be weaker choices, and would not suggest you start with 6 of each. get 2, maybe, for exploration purposes, or go to a TPF tasting to learn more about your own preferences.

The 83 SW is a port I have a lot of, and has done relatively well as a nice port for a quiet evening, but I wouldn't bring it out for a celebration -- that said, I bought it at $30 (USD) /bottle. If I'd paid £50 I would be disappointed with it.

[LGTrotter]

What happened? Did you twist or did you stick? How is the port collection looking? The vicarious pleasure of spending someone else's money on port was nice. If you would like any help in spending more I am sure we would all be glad to help.