Sorry if this is the wrong ng but I can't seem to find a better one - please
let me know if there is.

A friend of mine has done me a big favour but will not accept any payment
for the job he's done. I know he's a bit of a connoisseur of Port and I
thought I'd get him a bottle or two of decent stuff.

I'm in the UK and looking to spend about £50 GBP - can anyone recommend
something suitable?

Cheers,

Mogweed.

"Mogweed" > wrote in
:

> Sorry if this is the wrong ng but I can't seem to find a better one -
> please let me know if there is.

I think it is the proper ng to ask your question!!!

>
> A friend of mine has done me a big favour but will not accept any
> payment for the job he's done. I know he's a bit of a connoisseur of
> Port and I thought I'd get him a bottle or two of decent stuff.
>
> I'm in the UK and looking to spend about £50 GBP - can anyone
> recommend something suitable?

At a recent tasting I attended (18 vintage ports from the Symington
Family), I loved the Dow's 1985 Vintage Port which www.winesearcher.com
lists as widely available in the 25-30 GBP in the United Kingdom (it even
seems too cheap to me). Warre's 1970 was also great and is available in the
surroundings of 50 GBP if winesearcher.com is right. I liked the 1985 Dow's
better, though, so you could give him two bottles. Both are ready to drink,
which is good when we are talking about Port.

Best from Spain,

Santiago

On 4 Jan 2006 20:38:57 +0100, Santiago > wrote:

>"Mogweed" > wrote in
:
>
>> Sorry if this is the wrong ng but I can't seem to find a better one -
>> please let me know if there is.
>
>I think it is the proper ng to ask your question!!!
>
>>
>> A friend of mine has done me a big favour but will not accept any
>> payment for the job he's done. I know he's a bit of a connoisseur of
>> Port and I thought I'd get him a bottle or two of decent stuff.
>>
>> I'm in the UK and looking to spend about £50 GBP - can anyone
>> recommend something suitable?
>
>At a recent tasting I attended (18 vintage ports from the Symington
>Family), I loved the Dow's 1985 Vintage Port which www.winesearcher.com
>lists as widely available in the 25-30 GBP in the United Kingdom (it even
>seems too cheap to me). Warre's 1970 was also great and is available in the
>surroundings of 50 GBP if winesearcher.com is right. I liked the 1985 Dow's
>better, though, so you could give him two bottles. Both are ready to drink,
>which is good when we are talking about Port.
>
>Best from Spain,
>
>Santiago

"Santiago" > wrote in message
.. .
> "Mogweed" > wrote in
> :
>
>> Sorry if this is the wrong ng but I can't seem to find a better one -
>> please let me know if there is.
>
> I think it is the proper ng to ask your question!!!
>
>>
>> A friend of mine has done me a big favour but will not accept any
>> payment for the job he's done. I know he's a bit of a connoisseur of
>> Port and I thought I'd get him a bottle or two of decent stuff.
>>
>> I'm in the UK and looking to spend about £50 GBP - can anyone
>> recommend something suitable?
>
> At a recent tasting I attended (18 vintage ports from the Symington
> Family), I loved the Dow's 1985 Vintage Port which www.winesearcher.com
> lists as widely available in the 25-30 GBP in the United Kingdom (it even
> seems too cheap to me). Warre's 1970 was also great and is available in
> the
> surroundings of 50 GBP if winesearcher.com is right. I liked the 1985
> Dow's
> better, though, so you could give him two bottles. Both are ready to
> drink,
> which is good when we are talking about Port.
>
> Best from Spain,
>
> Santiago

Ah, thanks very much Santiago, that's just the sort of information I was
looking for. Have a happy new year my friend.

Mogweed.

"wine_passion69" > wrote in message
...
> On 4 Jan 2006 20:38:57 +0100, Santiago > wrote:
>
>>"Mogweed" > wrote in
:
>>
>>> Sorry if this is the wrong ng but I can't seem to find a better one -
>>> please let me know if there is.
>>
>>I think it is the proper ng to ask your question!!!
>>
>>>
>>> A friend of mine has done me a big favour but will not accept any
>>> payment for the job he's done. I know he's a bit of a connoisseur of
>>> Port and I thought I'd get him a bottle or two of decent stuff.
>>>
>>> I'm in the UK and looking to spend about £50 GBP - can anyone
>>> recommend something suitable?
>>
>>At a recent tasting I attended (18 vintage ports from the Symington
>>Family), I loved the Dow's 1985 Vintage Port which www.winesearcher.com
>>lists as widely available in the 25-30 GBP in the United Kingdom (it even
>>seems too cheap to me). Warre's 1970 was also great and is available in
>>the
>>surroundings of 50 GBP if winesearcher.com is right. I liked the 1985
>>Dow's
>>better, though, so you could give him two bottles. Both are ready to
>>drink,
>>which is good when we are talking about Port.
>>
>>Best from Spain,
>>
>>Santiago

Hi wine_passion69, maybe it's just me but I can't seem to see that you've
added anything to Santiago's posting. Did you hit the "enter" key too early?
)

Mogweed.

On Wed, 4 Jan 2006 22:59:20 -0000, "Mogweed" >
wrote:

>
>"wine_passion69" > wrote in message
.. .
>> On 4 Jan 2006 20:38:57 +0100, Santiago > wrote:
>>
>>>"Mogweed" > wrote in
:
>>>
>>>> Sorry if this is the wrong ng but I can't seem to find a better one -
>>>> please let me know if there is.
>>>
>>>I think it is the proper ng to ask your question!!!
>>>
>>>>
>>>> A friend of mine has done me a big favour but will not accept any
>>>> payment for the job he's done. I know he's a bit of a connoisseur of
>>>> Port and I thought I'd get him a bottle or two of decent stuff.
>>>>
>>>> I'm in the UK and looking to spend about £50 GBP - can anyone
>>>> recommend something suitable?
>>>
>>>At a recent tasting I attended (18 vintage ports from the Symington
>>>Family), I loved the Dow's 1985 Vintage Port which www.winesearcher.com
>>>lists as widely available in the 25-30 GBP in the United Kingdom (it even
>>>seems too cheap to me). Warre's 1970 was also great and is available in
>>>the
>>>surroundings of 50 GBP if winesearcher.com is right. I liked the 1985
>>>Dow's
>>>better, though, so you could give him two bottles. Both are ready to
>>>drink,
>>>which is good when we are talking about Port.
>>>
>>>Best from Spain,
>>>
>>>Santiago
>
>Hi wine_passion69, maybe it's just me but I can't seem to see that you've
>added anything to Santiago's posting. Did you hit the "enter" key too early?
>)
>
>Mogweed.
>



yes. sorry.

If someone from Spain pipes in on Port it's usually just best to
listen. Unless someone from Portugal pipes in. Then the world might
explode because of the immovable object vs. an unstoppable force
theorum.

All that to say, I've had the Dow's '85 Vintage and it is stellar and
definitely under-priced. I'd go with that one.

Rick
----
Saving the world: One drink at a time.
http://martini-lounge.blogspot.com

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> If someone from Spain pipes in on Port it's usually just best to
> listen. Unless someone from Portugal pipes in. Then the world might
> explode because of the immovable object vs. an unstoppable force
> theorum.
>
> All that to say, I've had the Dow's '85 Vintage and it is stellar and
> definitely under-priced. I'd go with that one.
>
> Rick
> ----
> Saving the world: One drink at a time.
> http://martini-lounge.blogspot.com
>

Thanks very much Rick - I think we'll go with the Dow's '85 then )

Mogweed.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> If someone from Spain pipes in on Port it's usually just best to
> listen. Unless someone from Portugal pipes in. Then the world might
> explode because of the immovable object vs. an unstoppable force
> theorum.
>
> All that to say, I've had the Dow's '85 Vintage and it is stellar and
> definitely under-priced. I'd go with that one.
>
Sorry to be a dissenter, but I found the 1985 Dow's to be the most
uninspired of all the 1985 vintage Ports I've tried.
The 85 Fonseca and Grahams were so good 5 years ago, that I bought some 85
Dows on my last trip to Porto. As previously mentioned, it's quite
cheap-even more so at the Porto Duty-Free- and I was looking forward to a
great drink on my recent birthday. I was quite disappointed, and believe
that it is underpriced for a good reason.
The more recent Taylors LBV (1999) and Smith Woodhouse LBV (1994) are both
richer and more full-bodied than the 85 Dow's; at a fraction of the price.

You might want to keep an eye out for the 1987 Fonseca Guimarens. Many think
that 1987 should have been declared, and to my taste the 87s have been
superior to several of the vintage 1985 offerings.

YMMV

--
Commander Bob

"Commander Bob" > wrote in
news:%9Svf.60285$OU5.50964@clgrps13:
>>
> Sorry to be a dissenter, but I found the 1985 Dow's to be the most
> uninspired of all the 1985 vintage Ports I've tried.
> The 85 Fonseca and Grahams were so good 5 years ago, that I bought
> some 85 Dows on my last trip to Porto. As previously mentioned, it's
> quite cheap-even more so at the Porto Duty-Free- and I was looking
> forward to a great drink on my recent birthday. I was quite
> disappointed, and believe that it is underpriced for a good reason.
> The more recent Taylors LBV (1999) and Smith Woodhouse LBV (1994) are
> both richer and more full-bodied than the 85 Dow's; at a fraction of
> the price.


Hi,

I think you got an off bottle of 1985 Dow's. Probably very slightly cork
tainted made it dull and uninspiring. What I tasted was an extraordinary
wine, and it compared favourable to Warre's and Graham's from the same year
and provenance (the Symington cellars).

About the underpricing, I think it relates to the fact that the Port market
is very well developed in the U.K. where most of the links provided by
winesearcher come from if you do a free search. 1855.com has the same Port
at 89,90 euros FWIW. Vintage Port seldomly sells in Spain and it is a
specialized item and, therefore, sold at special prices (expensive).

Best,

Santiago

> Sorry to be a dissenter, but I found the 1985 Dow's to be the most
> uninspired of all the 1985 vintage Ports I've tried.

Never apologize for being a dissenter if you have an educated post to
follow. Sounds like just a difference in tastes here, though I do
agree with you on your other selections (Though I haven't had the
Fonseca).

--Rick
----
Saving the world: One drink at a time.
http://martini-lounge.blogspot.com