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I think it was bottled in 1976...

Alex Bridgeman wrote: ↑18:06 Sun 22 Mar 2026 I think it was bottled in 1976...

Correct!

MigSU wrote: ↑18:29 Sun 22 Mar 2026

Alex Bridgeman wrote: ↑18:06 Sun 22 Mar 2026 I think it was bottled in 1976...

Correct!

Ahh, yes. Hadn’t read it properly.

That is a great purchase! I really like the 52.

One each of the following for a casual tawny tasting in April

Borges 20
Messias 20
Barao de Vilar 20
Quinta dos Murcas 10 (Mike's W recommends!)

Another Graham’s 1945 at auction for €88.08 all in!
Collected today, slight seepage but as you can see level is good. Executive decision made as this is too good a bottle to mess around: new cork and wax applied immediately.
2/3’rds of cork came out revealing ‘sham’ 194’ so I think it is safe to assume it’s genuine
Did I do the right thing?
Btw I poured a tiny amount (see before and after pictures below), colour was so dark and I’m still sniffing the empty glass!

Did it really say "sham" on the cork?

What a ridiculous price, btw. Amazing.

MigSU wrote: ↑18:57 Wed 25 Mar 2026 Did it really say "sham" on the cork?

What a ridiculous price, btw. Amazing.

Autocorrect gone mad, should read ‘aham’!

Justin K wrote: ↑22:12 Wed 25 Mar 2026

MigSU wrote: ↑18:57 Wed 25 Mar 2026 Did it really say "sham" on the cork?

What a ridiculous price, btw. Amazing.

Autocorrect gone mad, should read ‘aham’!

Yeah, I figured

Congratulations on the price, what a steal.

A great find
I generally wax all my old bottles. Personally if it had some seepage as you have lost 3/4 of the cork I would find an excuse to drink it soon

Christopher wrote: ↑07:23 Fri 27 Mar 2026 A great find
I generally wax all my old bottles. Personally if it had some seepage as you have lost 3/4 of the cork I would find an excuse to drink it soon

Agree with Christopher, and even more so not just because of the seepage, but since you sampled some as well - so rather than a recorked vts-level with potential to decline from recent additional air, I'd drink it in very near time while still as good as it can be, and save the other bottle rewaxed but not recorked. Fabulous bargain.

Justin K wrote: ↑17:39 Wed 25 Mar 2026 Another Graham’s 1945 at auction for €88.08 all in!
Collected today, slight seepage but as you can see level is good. Executive decision made as this is too good a bottle to mess around: new cork and wax applied immediately.
2/3’rds of cork came out revealing ‘sham’ 194’ so I think it is safe to assume it’s genuine
Did I do the right thing?

Did you top off one bottle before re-corking and drink the other?

mosesbotbol wrote: ↑14:36 Sun 29 Mar 2026

Justin K wrote: ↑17:39 Wed 25 Mar 2026 Another Graham’s 1945 at auction for €88.08 all in!
Collected today, slight seepage but as you can see level is good. Executive decision made as this is too good a bottle to mess around: new cork and wax applied immediately.
2/3’rds of cork came out revealing ‘sham’ 194’ so I think it is safe to assume it’s genuine
Did I do the right thing?

Did you top off one bottle before re-corking and drink the other?

No the bottle on the left I bought last year (oroginal cork and wax), I just put it up for comparison. Another idintical bottle sold last summer (€260) and I was the underbidder. I am tring to establish if there are more.

Thanks for the advice folks which I am going to ignore! The reason is that at €88.08 it is worth the risk of a few minutes (2 to 3) of exposure, the small amount I tasted, as it still leaves the bottle at vts istead of in. I wouldn't hesitate to buy an even lower ullage on such Ports. So what I am going to do is bring this to a tasting at the B&F whenever people think it would fit in. Phil can be the first to slap me over the head if it turns out to be ruined

Justin K wrote: ↑18:43 Sun 29 Mar 2026The reason is that at €88.08 it is worth the risk

Behold: sunk-cost fallacy at large.

jdaw1 wrote: ↑18:45 Sun 29 Mar 2026

Justin K wrote: ↑18:43 Sun 29 Mar 2026The reason is that at €88.08 it is worth the risk

Behold: sunk-cost fallacy at large.

Maith an fear!

4 x 1985 Taylor VP with 2 of them going to BigLove (John M.).

Mike J. W. wrote: ↑15:02 Mon 30 Mar 2026 4 x 1985 Taylor VP with 2 of them going to BigLove (John M.).

I love the Taylor’s 1985 (and indeed a lot of other Taylor vintages!) but it’s not turning up much hereabouts

T 55 - a cracking vintage that has not gone mad yet

An interesting Magnum purchase, lost colour but I thought a nice left field bottle for a 63 horizontal!

That is a really interesting bottle. I wonder why they decided to bottle such a varied mix of shippers?

Most mixed I’ve seen? Factory House; Confraria; Unidido. Then this.

And yet no Cockburn as part of the blend...even stranger still.

The weird one out of that blend is Boa Vista.

Sounds like the bottler had a little left of each and just decided to dump them all into a magnum!

I love the idea of this; maybe it was a blend of their favourite shippers, or just what they had left from each cask after the main bottling, and who knows what the proportions might be. Would love the know the story behind it (did they know the Avery family perhaps?).

I strongly suspect it was a combination of samples left over from a tasting, taken home by one of the staff for later consumption.

It’s quite efficient for a horizontal tasting, you only need one glass
Don’t hold out much hope given the colour.

Christopher wrote: ↑17:26 Thu 02 Apr 2026It’s quite efficient for a horizontal tasting, you only need one glass

Christopher’s “efficient” tasting:

Thanks Julian
A splendid idea! It should be done!
We may need some back up bottles!

Thanks Julian
A splendid idea! It should be done!
We may need some back up bottles!

A 63 horizontal in one glass tasting!

I just picked up 2 x 1961 Krohn Colheita's at a decent price (relatively speaking). I'm unsure when they were bottled, but based on the pics of the front of the bottles I'd say somewhere between 2006 and 2016. They will be delivered on Friday so I will update this post then.

Edit: The bottles arrived in pristine shape and were bottled in 2013, so 52 years in cask.

1 X Borges '63
1 x D '83
1 x RP '85
1 x Ck LBV '90
1 x FG '95
All at auction for under €300.00

A few of us went in together and bought a case of 1963 Smith Woodhouse and 10 bottles of 1966 Rabello Valente at that amazing Port Auction at Heritage.

Lost out on a few lots. Truly an amazing auction--some crazy deals.

63 Smith Woodhouse! A case wow!!! That is super rare

I picked up a case of V94, half a case of GST11, and a bottle of G35 (Whitwham's bottling) at the same Heritage auction. These are all ex-Don Schliff bottles.

This officially puts me at 1% of the GST11 production run. 2.5 cases owned out of 250 produced. (I don't still have 2.5 cases... with these I'll be back up to 24 bottles... but I will now have had 30 in total.)

Glenn E. wrote: ↑16:06 Tue 21 Apr 2026 I picked up a case of V94, half a case of GST11, and a bottle of G35 (Whitwham's bottling) at the same Heritage auction. These are all ex-Don Schliff bottles.

This officially puts me at 1% of the GST11 production run. 2.5 cases owned out of 250 produced. (I don't still have 2.5 cases... with these I'll be back up to 24 bottles... but I will now have had 30 in total.)

Glenn,

You should be on their Christmas card list

Whitwhams bottling —- ooohhh

Christopher wrote: ↑14:12 Tue 21 Apr 2026 63 Smith Woodhouse! A case wow!!! That is super rare

Yes--and I know one bottle is slated to one of you stalwarts compliments of Mike W.

3 x Noval 1991

1 x Fonseca Crusting, landed 1975
1 x Graham Crusted, bottled 1985
1 x Gould Campbell Crusted, date unknown

"Crusting" = "in the process of becoming crusted"?

2 x 1937 Barros Colheitas won at auction. I'm unclear as to what year they were bottled, but based on the label style I would say it was most likely between 2000 and 2010. From the pics, the bottles look to be in excellent condition.

Edit: I picked up the bottles today and they were bottled in 2008, so 71 years in cask.

MigSU wrote:"Crusting" = "in the process of becoming crusted"?

And “LANDED”. But from where? A plane? spaceship?

Ooh, Lake Isle Wines in Uppingham. Blast from the past.

1 x Cr60
3 x FG84
1 x RO83
6 x CrR18
12 x T70 (Irish bottled)

Nice purchases Justin

8 x 1983 Grahams for a super price. Sharing with Mike J. W.

Christopher wrote: ↑17:13 Fri 15 May 2026 Nice purchases Justin

Thanks Christopher; pleased with them except for the Royal Oporto which I believe is dreadful but I know an ‘83 baby who will want it (and at €22.46 it didn’t break the bank!)

Justin K wrote: ↑16:00 Fri 15 May 2026 1 x Cr60
3 x FG84
1 x RO83
6 x CrR18
12 x T70 (Irish bottled)

Very nice! Love the Irish bottled T70.

And be sure to drink the CrR18 over the next couple of years. They currently make amazing food wines, just so full of fruit.

Alex Bridgeman wrote: ↑19:42 Sat 16 May 2026Love the Irish bottled […]

I spy a theme.