Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage Port 2003

Delicious, and I hope this is an excellent harbinger of Taylor's 2003 Vintage Ports. Dark fruit with wonderful flavors of chocolate on the nose, and smooth, luscious feel on the mouth. Great wine, and an amazing value at $20 a bottle. Four out of five stars.

Warre Otima 10 Year Tawny Port

I love the Lovely Young Lady. One of the vices she tolerates -- nay, encourages -- is a monthly cigar in the apartment. After a busy weekend (which basically went from us celebrating our anniversary to me working all day on Sunday) and a busy week, I was in need of my mid-month cigar. Stopping at the local grocery store for some victuals, I picked up a bottle of the Warre Otima 10 Year Tawny Port. I have not had a Tawny in a long time, and I was about due. [Oh, and by the way, I am still amazed, after growing up in Pennsylvania, that I can buy decent wine at a Safeway.]

Solid red color with amber hues, with caramel, plum and licorice nose. The palate is smooth, fruity, and sweet, but also powerful enough to remind me of Dr. Johnson's famous quote: "Claret for boys, port for men but brandy for heroes." Pleasantly little heat on the finish (unlike way too many rubies worth mentioning), the Port makes for a pleasant nightcap. And being a 10 Year Tawny, the open bottle will keep for the next few days, allowing me to polish it off. Three and a half stars out of five.

Looking forward to May.

Ok, May is going to be a really busy month -- but also very fun. On the wine note, if all goes well, I will have another tasting note up for a 92 Insignia (in addition to a restaurant review), a 95 Cheval Blanc, a 77 BV Reserve, and a 94 Vintage Port (a little young, but not from a great producer). May could not come sooner!

Stilton and Port?

Is there anything as tasty as some Stilton cheese with Port -- even if that Port is, to be polite, subpar (i.e., tastes like medicine and one would not wish it on one's worst enemeny)?

Yum.

Top ten list from 2007

I think I'm a little overdue in posting this, but here's a top ten list of my favorite wines from 2007.

1. Dominus Estate Napa Valley Napanook Vineyard 1996. An amazing, amazing wine, and enjoyed with two of my best friends (whom I haven't seen in almost a year). Smooth, filled with fruit and amazing character. Worth buying, and great to enjoy (especially over some Venison with Maytag Blue Butter).

2. Grgich Hills Paris Tasting Commemorative Chardonnay 2003. A great wine, and enjoyed with a wonderful person. Great memories.

3. Francois Chidaine Montlouis Sur Loire Les Boumais 2005. An amazing wine, and really shows how great Chenin blanc can be. As complex as a Chardonnay, but not as in your face.

4. Plumpjack Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2004. I'm glad I have a second bottle of this... and I'm eager to open it!

5. Dow's Vintage Port 1994. I had only a taste of this at the Philadelphia Wine Festival, but it was almost worth the price of admission (okay, I'm probably overstating that). Great wine, and it makes me wonder about the Bishop of Norwich.

6. Crozes-Hermitage Paul Jaboulet Aine "Thalabert" 2003. A wonderful Rhone, and enjoyed at a great restaurant.

7. Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes 2001. A great Sauternes, I can't wait until I open the d'Yquem.

8. Grgich Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2004. I can't wait for the 750 ml bottles to come out!

9. Quinta do Vale Meao Douro 2003. I can still taste it, and I wish I had a bottle of it right now.... Maybe I can pick one up when I'm home in February?

10. Vasco Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino 2001. It turned me on to Brunellos.

And looking over this list, and the host of wines I've tried over the past year, and I can say that I feel really lucky to be able to enjoy this hobby.

Dow's Vintage Port 1994

From the famous 1994 vintage (a vintage that I do not have any bottles for), this wine had cherry, licorice and chocolate on the nose. It was rich, creamy and smooth on the palate and a nice, if short, aftertaste. Given that it was a 1994, I was surprised how good it was now. Delightful. Four out of five stars.

Vintage Port

James Suckling has posted a blog entry about vintage Port ($). Suckling is probably my favorite Wine Spectator editor (probably because he comes off as very down to Earth and unassuming), and he is an avowed Port connoisseur -- as this entry shows. His last line sums up the greatness of Port: "Vintage Port is a wonderful drink with wonderful traditions. . . ."

Not only is Vintage Port an amazing wine, but it has a rich history and culture. Among some families, there has been a custom of buying a case of vintage Port for a newborn child -- obviously, a great gift to give someone when they became an adult (a concept that I'm probably going to follow when/if I ever have any children, though I'll probably throw a First Growth Bordeaux and a d'Yquem in for good measure).

Another great Vintage Port tradition is how to pour the Port. When a group gathers to drink a fine Port, they sit around a table and pass the decanter from "port to port." Starting with the host, each person passes the decanter to the person on their left, who then pours into passer's glass. But, should someone not have the Port poured into their glass (or should their glass run low), the ask the person on the left if they "know the Bishop of Norwich." If no Port is poured and the response is a "no," the questioner says something like: "He's a great fellow, but he's mighty stingy with the Port!"

Sorry for the hiatus.

I have been terrible, and have not posted anything in the past week or so. Unfortunately, I've been busy sorting out some things -- including making some career plans that will involve a very fundamental change in the next few years. I hope to post more in the coming week, including more tasting notes. Also, expect a deluge of notes sometime after March 17 -- I plan to try at least three or fourCabernets that day!

UPDATED (3/26/2007): Ok, I had a wine party on March 17, but I was too busy socializing to put down all of my notes. Anyway, the wines tried that night included: (1) Lake Sonoma Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2003; (2) Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon 2003; (3) Berringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1999; (3) Leoville-Barton 1998; and (4) Warre's Vintage Port 1985. The Lake Sonoma and Martin Ray were enjoyable, but nothing special (two and a half to three stars, each, with maybe another half-star for value). TheBerriner seemed bitter (three stars, with maybe an additional knock down for lack of value), but I thoroughly enjoyed the Leoville-Barton (easily three and a half stars). And the Warre's? The nose smelled of licorice candies and walnuts. A delightful end of the evening drink. Easily four stars out of five.

A Three Year Anniversary

Three years ago this month, I discovered wine. The bottle that caused it? A Taylor Fladgate Tawny Port 10 Year. Even more than its sweetness, I remember how smooth and refined it was. The flavors were in harmony -- and I knew how good a wine could be. Since then, I have spent a lot of time and effort to learn more about wine. But still, I am looking for opportunities to learn more because I still do not know enough. Thus, this blog.

My goal for this blog is simple: it will give me the chance to develop skills and knowledge so that I can appreciate wine even more. Also, too many wine books are written by either professionals or very experienced amateurs. I hope that, in approaching wine from a novice's perspective, I can help others starting out to avoid the same mistakes that I have made and will make. At times this blog may stumble, but hopefully it will improve with age.

On that note, may your glass be full and you never have to ask anyone if they know the Bishop of Norwich!