Years ago I was a regular reader/lurker in this group. I always
enjoyed the warm, knowledgeable community. I fell out of the habit,
but continue to enjoy wine.

Last week, I pulled a 1970 Warre's port from my unconditioned wine
cellar located on the shore of Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio USA. The
cellar thermometer read 39 degrees Fahrenheit.

I almost never drink port--maybe a couple of glasses a year, so my
impression is not educated in anyway. The wine seemed live and fine.
I had it over several nights with pears and Shropshire and when the
Shropshire was gone with an American blue. The wine was more
translucent than my recollection of ports, but was certainly sweet and
enjoyable with the pears and cheese.

Underneath the bottle in the cellar I had placed some reviews from
2002 which proclaimed the wine to outstanding (Michael Broadbent) and
exceptional (Wine Magazine whatever that is).

But I also had kept a post here from Mark Lipton on January 10, 2002
saying he had had a bottle to celebrate the publication of his first
book. He said the sweetness was much subdued and that it would not
have lasted much longer. I don't know if Mark still reads or posts
here, but I thought I would recognize his comment from eight years
ago.

Bill Hogsett
www.billhogsett.com

On 1/10/11 11:43 AM, Bill wrote:
> Years ago I was a regular reader/lurker in this group. I always
> enjoyed the warm, knowledgeable community. I fell out of the habit,
> but continue to enjoy wine.
>
> Last week, I pulled a 1970 Warre's port from my unconditioned wine
> cellar located on the shore of Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio USA. The
> cellar thermometer read 39 degrees Fahrenheit.
>
> I almost never drink port--maybe a couple of glasses a year, so my
> impression is not educated in anyway. The wine seemed live and fine.
> I had it over several nights with pears and Shropshire and when the
> Shropshire was gone with an American blue. The wine was more
> translucent than my recollection of ports, but was certainly sweet and
> enjoyable with the pears and cheese.
>
> Underneath the bottle in the cellar I had placed some reviews from
> 2002 which proclaimed the wine to outstanding (Michael Broadbent) and
> exceptional (Wine Magazine whatever that is).
>
> But I also had kept a post here from Mark Lipton on January 10, 2002
> saying he had had a bottle to celebrate the publication of his first
> book. He said the sweetness was much subdued and that it would not
> have lasted much longer. I don't know if Mark still reads or posts
> here, but I thought I would recognize his comment from eight years
> ago.

LOL! Thanks for the note, Bill, but I cannot take credit for that
earlier comment. It was made, I see, by a poster named "Steam GENE":
<http://groups.google.com/group/alt.food.wine/browse_frm/thread/991a2ebe9fcf8bb1/e234d6192a1ad8ed>

Cheers!
Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Jan 10, 10:43*am, Bill > wrote:
> Years ago I was a regular reader/lurker in this group. *I always
> enjoyed the warm, knowledgeable community. *I fell out of the habit,
> but continue to enjoy wine.
>
> Last week, I pulled a 1970 Warre's port from my unconditioned wine
> cellar located on the shore of Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio USA. *The
> cellar thermometer read 39 degrees Fahrenheit.
>
> I almost never drink port--maybe a couple of glasses a year, so my
> impression is not educated in anyway. *The wine seemed live and fine.
> I had it over several nights with pears and Shropshire and when the
> Shropshire was gone with an American blue. *The wine was more
> translucent than my recollection of ports, but was certainly sweet and
> enjoyable with the pears and cheese.
>
> Underneath the bottle in the cellar I had placed some reviews from
> 2002 which proclaimed the wine to outstanding (Michael Broadbent) and
> exceptional (Wine Magazine whatever that is).
>
> But I also had kept a post here from Mark Lipton on January 10, 2002
> saying he had had a bottle to celebrate the publication of his first
> book. *He said the sweetness was much subdued and that it would not
> have lasted much longer. *I don't know if Mark still reads or posts
> here, but I thought I would recognize his comment from eight years
> ago.
I still have a few bottles of the 1970 which have been properly stored
by me since shortly after they were released, I have not tasted
the1970 for a few years, but the last time it was in top form and
seemed likely to last well for many more years You can get an off
bottle of even port now and then. At one time I had several bottles of
Dow's 1960. All bottles tasted, except for one, were decent but not
top ports. The off bottle was so bad that no one likely would be
willing to drink it. It smelled so nasty that I at once flushed it
down the sewer in the bathroom.What could have happened to this wine?
The fill was not lower than for the other bottles. Perhaps someone
used it to prop a furnace door closed. Perhaps a worker at Dow's
drank the port and filled the bottle with ordinary table wine. Who
knows.