JacobH wrote: ↑21:13 Fri 07 Aug 2020
When I first read this, I thought you would be referring to their 30-40-year-old tawnies or some ancient colheitas but it turns out they actually make a Port called “Very Old”!
"Very Old Port" is relatively new allowance on labels to give producers somewhere to put their non-registered family reserves, et al. As I recall, Very Old Tawny Port is also allowed. They can technically be sold as either "Very Old" or as "40 Year Old" Port. DR's L70 is fabulous and allegedly roughly 70 years old, thus the "clever" naming that everyone is doing these days. It can't say 70 years old on the label because that's not an approved category, so they name it Lot 70 or Glorious 50th Anniversary or CL and the true fans know what it is. Or even more blatantly, "60" or "100" with the quotes.
DR's L70 is the first and only time that I've seen my friend Vic give a Port 100 points. He liked it better than the 80-year old cask sample that we tried, and also better than the 1885. It's a very limited run of 200 bottles of which I have owned 10 (8 remain). IIRC Lisa and Vic bought 6 (4 remain).
Glenn E. wrote: ↑20:52 Thu 20 Aug 2020"Very Old Port" is relatively new allowance on labels to give producers somewhere to put their non-registered family reserves, et al. As I recall, Very Old Tawny Port is also allowed. They can technically be sold as either "Very Old" or as "40 Year Old" Port. DR's L70 is fabulous and allegedly roughly 70 years old, thus the "clever" naming that everyone is doing these days. It can't say 70 years old on the label because that's not an approved category, so they name it Lot 70 or Glorious 50th Anniversary or CL and the true fans know what it is. Or even more blatantly, "60" or "100" with the quotes.
This had escaped me. Thanks! These naming attempts aren’t always that successful since I’d assumed “L70” referred to 1970 rather than it being approximately 70 years’ old.
Looking forward to the first person to make a similar mistake with a bottle of the Fonseca Bin 27, too
Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo declared their 2018 Vintage Port, but very limited production: just 1350 bottles! ( source: Vinho Grandes Escolhas )
Last edited by PCM on 21:44 Thu 24 Sep 2020, edited 1 time in total.
I hadn’t noticed before how declarations by smaller producers dribble out throughout the year. It seems to me that they are missing a bit of a trick here, publicity wise, since the wine press only really covers Port in April and at a Christmas. If it’s not possible to get the declarations out early for the smaller players, then I wonder if there is a bit of a gap in the market for a pre-harvest event when enough would be announced to get some coverage?
JacobH wrote:I hadn’t noticed before how declarations by smaller producers dribble out throughout the year. It seems to me that they are missing a bit of a trick here, publicity wise, since the wine press only really covers Port in April and at a Christmas. If it’s not possible to get the declarations out early for the smaller players, then I wonder if there is a bit of a gap in the market for a pre-harvest event when enough would be announced to get some coverage?
Not just small producers. Taylors isn’t releasing their 2018 to market until next year. Covid is slowing things down.
JacobH wrote:I hadn’t noticed before how declarations by smaller producers dribble out throughout the year. It seems to me that they are missing a bit of a trick here, publicity wise, since the wine press only really covers Port in April and at a Christmas. If it’s not possible to get the declarations out early for the smaller players, then I wonder if there is a bit of a gap in the market for a pre-harvest event when enough would be announced to get some coverage?
Not just small producers. Taylors isn’t releasing their 2018 to market until next year. Covid is slowing things down.
Or maybe they are not aimed at the UK/US markets, so they have no need to worry about the traditional wine press or being drowned out by the Symingtons, TFP or other large producers.
I think you need to get rid of the 800 cases for Taylor, Alex. David just told me that they bottled 7.800 cases and the wine is a beauty (last part of the sentence was from me
Axel P wrote: ↑16:57 Thu 15 Oct 2020
I think you need to get rid of the 800 cases for Taylor, Alex. David just told me that they bottled 7.800 cases and the wine is a beauty (last part of the sentence was from me
Thanks; I've corrected the number of cases on the first page.
I'm glad you liked the Taylor, I was disappointed. Perhaps I had a poor bottle but I didn't think mine had a normal Taylor structure or balance.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
