ThePortForum.com

I'm running a tasting for a wine group next Monday.
The plan is
Krohn Lagrima
Taylor LBV 2007
Noval LBV 2001 (unfiltered)
Q Bomfim 2001
Q Senhora Ribeira 1998
Tesco (Symingtons) 1994

Is that a sensible running order? Or should I put the Tesco 94 before the two single quintas?

There is also the logistics of decanting. I was planning to decant the last 4 at home beforehand, then rinse the bottles out and put them back in their bottles to take to the tasting -does that make sense? And about 2 hours before the tasting?

What about nibbles with a port tasting? Stilton? Chocolate? Or nothing?

Looks like a fine evening of drinking.

The Tesco 1994 is Quarles Harris 1994, of which we think there were two batches. One batch, delicious. The other, not so much. So, are you feeling lucky?

Paulliac wrote:There is also the logistics of decanting. I was planning to decant the last 4 at home beforehand, then rinse the bottles out and put them back in their bottles to take to the tasting -does that make sense? And about 2 hours before the tasting?

That works. Rinse bottles. Rinse again with a small amount of the port. ‘Dispose’ of that into a glass. No comment is made on what to do with the contents of the glass.

Paulliac wrote:What about nibbles with a port tasting? Stilton? Chocolate? Or nothing?

Meat, or nothing. Stilton hides port rather than flattering it. Dark chocolate is good, and an excellent pairing, but also hides it.

Also, you might want to use this free software to make placemats.

Paulliac wrote:Is that a sensible running order? Or should I put the Tesco 94 before the two single quintas?

Your running order looks fine to me; '94 is still quite youthful and very powerful, so no real concern about the previous wines overwhelming the palate.

Paulliac wrote:There is also the logistics of decanting. I was planning to decant the last 4 at home beforehand, then rinse the bottles out and put them back in their bottles to take to the tasting -does that make sense? And about 2 hours before the tasting?

I would choose a longer decant for wines of <=20yr; at least 4hr, preferably 6+.

Paulliac wrote:What about nibbles with a port tasting? Stilton? Chocolate? Or nothing?

Whatever you do, provide lots of water. If you prefer to keep your palate clear, then crackers work well as suitable nibbles. You will get lots of views on the cheese and chocolate options; I would always prefer to initially taste without, but enjoy both alongside when drinking rather than tasting. Personally, I would not go for stilton as it can be very strong/harsh and overwhelming, but a softer creamier blue cheese can work well (I like Castello blue); For chocolate, I find a creamy milk chocolate works better than a dark, but I'm probably in the minority here. In the end you should try whatever you fancy and then go for what you enjoy.

Good luck with your tasting, and let us know how it goes.

If you post details of who (or how many) are attending some kind soul here might produce some of these for you

I think it is the right order, youngest to oldest. I am finding the Tesco 94 increasingly reliable, sometimes I think they have a rough time in transit though.

Nibbles; sorry to add to the confusion but I think a sweet biscuit, wholemeal digestive is the classic, plain nuts, especially walnuts. Oh and an apple. But plain bread and butter is as good as anything.

Whoever said lots of water was right.

When we organise tastings in Belfast we have a buffet that people can avail of first. There might be a few things on that: slices of cold roast beef; fruit and dried fruit; and a good subtle cheese - I would add nice salty Manchegos to the list already suggested. Dark chocolate is a very good companion, the best you can get though.

The placemat software is not the most immediately accessible thing. It is extremely useful though. Once you have more than a few glasses it's easy for people to mix them up and forget what's what. How many people do you expect to have?

Water. Did someone mention water?

The order looks fine. I would prefer to serve water and white bread only to the tasting, if you do it as a proper tasting. When the initial tasting is over you can add cheese, chocolate or other. If you are planning on having a meal, I would prefer to have that before the port tasting. Decanting the way you describe is good. If you have the time to decant a few additional hours in advance, as someone suggested, that is good, but if not it is not the end of the world.

Thank you all for the helpful comments. I will make sure there's plenty of water. There will be about 16 so the alcohol pp will not be too excessive.
And thanks to JDAW for the amazing piece of postscript code, which I have enjoyed hacking with emacs.
I will try and remember to post TNs here.

Brief comments:
Krohn Lagrima well balanced, smooth and rich, apricots...
Noval unfiltered LBV had much more oomph to it than the Taylors.
Q Bomfim a bit disappointing, dull, almondy.
Q Senhora Ribeira and Tesco 1994 both excellent, former WOTN, latter more evolved.

More detailed comments here, lower half of post.

Thank you for reporting back, and also for the link.