ThePortForum.com

Churchill have today launched a direct to consumer Port Club for the UK.

You can enrol (free of charge) for the mailing list at https://port.club, if interested. Membership perks include 3 shipments of Port a year, including some bends unique to Port Club members, discounts at the Churchill Club online shop, VIP tour of Quinta da Gricha and an invitation to tread grapes for harvest 2021.

Paid for membership starts at £20 per month for a minimum of 1 year.

I have no affiliation with the Club other than being delighted to help a producer being creative by spreading the word.

I think we both managed to post about this at the same time but in different places so I will just copy my post across!

JacobH wrote: ↑14:38 Fri 04 Dec 2020 Something a bit different: Churchill’s have started https://port.club/ which is a subscription-based Port delivery service.

For £240 p/a you apparently get 4 deliveries of three bottles: “1 x Anytime Port”; “1 x The Right Time Port”; and “1 x One Time Port” which is, intriguingly, a “Unique Club Blends bottled only for member shipment.” There are also a load of discounts for things in Portugal / virtual tastings etc.

Strangely, I can’t see any details of bottle sizes on the website. If they are in 50cl bottles (which Churchill seems to like a lot) it wouldn’t be bad value at £15 a bottle, but I would be a lot less tempted if they are halves or even 20cl bottles.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful is someone independent tried something like this so you could get bottles from different shippers, too?

Looks interesting. There's a picture on the website which suggests 75cl bottles, however I've emailed to ask them. Will post response.

Quarterly bottles appear to be 2x75cl 1 x 50cl

1 x Anytime Port (75cl)
Hardworking ports for everyday drinking.

1 x The Right Time Port (50cl)
Ports that makes a moment and command attention.

1 x One Time Port (75cl)
Unique Club Blends bottled only for member shipment.

nac wrote: ↑15:19 Fri 04 Dec 2020 Looks interesting. There's a picture on the website which suggests 75cl bottles, however I've emailed to ask them. Will post response.

I have done so, too! No doubt they will be fed up by our emails! I assume they won’t all be 75cl since Churchill’s only bottles their tawnies and white in 50cl / or 20cl (I think!).

the sizes are on their website as per what simon said.

hadge wrote: ↑17:11 Fri 04 Dec 2020 the sizes are on their website as per what simon said.

That’s definitely been amended since we started hassling them.

The picture they use in their shop for the subscription purchase looks very much like:

1 x VP (in this case SQVP, 2009 Quinta da Gricha)
1 x 20 Year Old Tawny
1 x Ruby Reserve

The 20yo looks like it could be a 50 cl bottle because the shoulders are different than the Ruby Reserve and VP, but it isn't explicitly stated nor is the bottle size visible in the picture.

Based on current exchange rates and current (rough) retail prices, this seems like a pretty good deal. An SQVP of Churchill's quality would normally run $50-$60 at retail. A 20yo in 75 cl would run $50-$60, so in 50cl would probably be $40-$45. And a Ruby Reserve runs around $15-$20. So each quarterly shipment has a retail value of around $110 to $125 for a yearly total of $450-$500, all for an actual cost of $320.

Of course, that analysis is based on US prices. You can probably get all of these Ports for less in the UK, so this may not actually be that great of a deal for you.

Yes: they’ve just emailed me to say that that’s what the first batch will be. The 20YO is a 50cl bottle and the QdG ’09 is apparently a special blend.

It seems to me to be a fair price, especially since I might actually enjoy the bonus items, although I am conscious that Churchill is always a bit more expensive than the mainstream brands we get from supermarkets here. Also if you sign up now you seem to be able to give a further initial set of three bottles to a friend free, lowering the price per bottle by another 20%.

I took the plunge! The sign up process is a bit vague. Quick to take my money. No contact (so far) about the bonus bottles.

Personally I discovered I really like the Churchill style at their lockdown tasting but found their bottles hard to find in the U.K. Buying from Portugal was certainly more expensive than these prices!


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benread wrote: ↑20:29 Fri 04 Dec 2020 I took the plunge! The sign up process is a bit vague. Quick to take my money. No contact (so far) about the bonus bottles.

Personally I discovered I really like the Churchill style at their lockdown tasting but found their bottles hard to find in the U.K. Buying from Portugal was certainly more expensive than these prices!

I’ve done so too. I am sure there are cheaper ways of buying Port but I like Churchill; it seems good value; and I think we should encourage these sorts of things!

JacobH wrote: ↑13:45 Sat 05 Dec 2020 I’ve done so too. I am sure there are cheaper ways of buying Port but I like Churchill; it seems good value; and I think we should encourage these sorts of things!

I enjoyed being able to gift a pack too - and my recipient was very pleased.

benread wrote: ↑15:28 Sat 05 Dec 2020

JacobH wrote: ↑13:45 Sat 05 Dec 2020 I’ve done so too. I am sure there are cheaper ways of buying Port but I like Churchill; it seems good value; and I think we should encourage these sorts of things!

I enjoyed being able to gift a pack too - and my recipient was very pleased.

Also joined up. Gifted the bonus pack to Mrs NAC.

Just purchased annual membership. Do I need to wait for confirmation in order to be be able to take advantage of the gifting option (it didn’t give me this option when subscribing)?

Watch your spam folder for an email then log in and use the code you are sent.

I got the email about 2-3 hours later I think. I suspect it is a manual process so don’t be surprised if it comes tomorrow!

If you need to email them they are quite responsive. I emailed to check I had everything right and got a fairly quick reply.


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Thanks Ben- I think their website probably needs a little working on (not sure what Julian makes of it!)

Out of interest, who do the Port Club emails come from?

The Port Club emails come a chap also called Ben-from a Port club email address.

AHB wrote:Out of interest, who do the Port Club emails come from?

It's Ben Himowitz who according to this is Zoe Graham's (Johnny's daughter) husband and Churchill's director of business development. It looks like they (re?)joined the business a year ago so I guess it's probably their idea?

My second box arrived today. It contained a 2005 LBV, the white reserve and what is described as Johnny Graham’s first ruby port: the “Club Ruby”. I guess by “first ruby port” they mean first basic ruby as opposed to a ruby reserve.

The Club Ruby is the most interesting of the Ports. From the blurb that came with it, they say that this a single-harvest Port from 2015 which got 2 years in a 30,000 litre oak vat and then another 4 “mellowing in a Portuguese oak barrel” which I presume was a pipe. So I guess it is effectively a colheita which hasn’t had enough time in wood to qualify for that distinction?

I’m really pleased to see something like this because I find Port oddities really interesting and it is quite hard to get them in the UK. Hopefully we will get some more in the future.

Hi,

I'm following this thread for a time. I also did ask Churchill's but I didn't het an answer.
Does anyone know when it will be able to purchase outside GB?
In my case it would be in Europe.

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JacobH wrote: ↑12:22 Thu 01 Apr 2021 The Club Ruby is the most interesting of the Ports. From the blurb that came with it, they say that this a single-harvest Port from 2015 which got 2 years in a 30,000 litre oak vat and then another 4 “mellowing in a Portuguese oak barrel” which I presume was a pipe. So I guess it is effectively a colheita which hasn’t had enough time in wood to qualify for that distinction?

4-6 years in wood is an LBV, regardless of the size of the barrel (ignoring organoleptic characteristics). Most producers release their LBVs after 4 or 5 years in wood, but 6 is still an option.

I was wondering about that. I couldn't remember the maximum and whether it was 5 or 6 years. But I'm think I'm right in saying that an LBV has to pass the subjective test, too? I presume they either decided that this would be too tawny to pass or that it was easier to send it out as a Ruby since that doesn't get tested (I think?).

JacobH wrote: ↑20:14 Thu 01 Apr 2021 I was wondering about that. I couldn't remember the maximum and whether it was 5 or 6 years. But I'm think I'm right in saying that an LBV has to pass the subjective test, too? I presume they either decided that this would be too tawny to pass or that it was easier to send it out as a Ruby since that doesn't get tested (I think?).

I think they both have to pass subjective tests. Or rather, I think that all Port has to pass subjective tests. Even VP, which is probably the only reason that we've never seen a white VP since there are no laws prohibiting one. Tawnies have subjective tests, too, and if you try to age a Port in 30k liter vats for 10 years and then release it as a Tawny Port you'll be denied.

Plus, if this were even close to a Colheita, they'd send it out as a "Club Tawny" rather than as a "Club Ruby". Given the discussion during the virtual tasting, this sounds like a VP-level Port that they're calling a "Club Ruby" because it lacks documentation or registration to be used as originally intended. It sounds to me like the kind of thing that they probably had a plan to use as something specific, but forgot about it or thought they'd lost it/already used it, then found it an wondered what the heck they were going to do with it.

A ruby that spends a few years in wood is not automatically an LBV. First, you have to request it; second, it has to be approved; and third (from the consumer's viewpoint), it has to, well, taste and smell like an LBV - which sends us back to my second point.

EDIT: you might be right on how this particular wine came to be.