Cheese and crackers. Any cheese and any crackers.
Your "go-to" nibblies to go with Port ... ??
- Thread starter Doc4
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2011 is young for sure. 1991 is about the youngest that is super ready to drink IMO but even a recent release vintage port will still be delicious. Try a 10 or 20 year old tawny if you want a good port to try now. Graham’s, Warres, Taylor’s, Quinta do Novel, etc.
I have a 1970 Taylor Fladgate that I have had in the cellar for 15-20 years that I am waiting for the right occasion to open.
Yeah, I think that is the way they would do it in Porto. Maybe some of that potted cheese they seem to have. Maybe some cured black pork. In England, Stilton and maybe walnuts.
In Lisbon last October (2019), my wife surprised me (us!) with a tasting flight at Taylor-Fladgate's tasting room. The nicest was 1968 Single Harvest. Pecan pie in a glass! What an eye opener it was it terms of how Port matures as it ages, whether it be in bottle or cask!
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Stopped on the way to work. They only had one bottle of vintage. It’s a small bottle too. 12oz I think. Beer bottle size. Damn expensive for the size. Had to pick up some other stuff too of course. Never had a Reserve Port.
I guess the next stop if the grocery store for some nibbles!!
I guess the next stop if the grocery store for some nibbles!!
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- #26
Try "Late Bottled Vintage" port. (It will say "Late Bottled Vintage" or "LBV" on the bottle.)
The main difference is it spends longer in the cask and gets softened by the longer barrel ageing so it's ready to drink much sooner. Ultimately it's not "as good as" vintage port, but it's 75% of the enjoyment at a third of the price and a quarter of the ageing.
That 2009 Vintage port probably needs two decades in your wine cellar. The Optima should be ready to go now; ditto the First Estate.
Good post, Doc4.
Wine cellar? Haha I wish. How bout a dark closet that is about 68 degrees right now
I have had a LBV before, I can’t remember by who though. It was great. I pretty much like all Port. The little bottle of Vintage I just got was 62 bucks. It is 375ml which is roughly 12.5oz. So I suppose (based on what little I know about Vintage) that the price is in line with what full size bottles of Vintage Ports typically go for if they are not decades old already. That’s with the 10% off the guy gave me. I kinda wanna crack it, write down some tasting notes, then go get another to age for a decade or two as you say.
I have had the Otima in the past and it is delicious. I suspect I will always have a bottle of it around going forward.
Heading to the grocery tomorrow for some nibbles. Then Thanksgiving I’ll be cracking one open. Unsure what yet.
Grocery didn’t have the Stilton cheese. So I went with Blue Cheese and Figs. Never had figs before. Never had anything with Port. So tomorrow should be fun!
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- #30
And?
Should be perfect.
Figs ae really nice. The texture may take a little getting used to, but not much!
Figs ae really nice. The texture may take a little getting used to, but not much!
Interested
Sorry, didn’t see the alerts for some reason.
The Blue Cheese was absolutely disgusting. It smelled not to bad, so I was Thinking hmm ok. But tasted it and YIKES. I couldn’t do it, not even with port. I threw it out.
The figs were better. They were OK. I‘m not a fan of the seeds, they made it slightly gritty. But they were good. I wasn’t prepared for how large they are. Somewhat filling after just a few. I’ll probably look for some different brands and some that are maybe fresh or just preserved differently.
The Port itself was fantastic. Very smooth up front, sweetness right in the middle, and a slight dry aftertaste. Which was odd, the aftertaste. But just delicious overall. I can’t say the figs made it any better though, it was just good with or without.
Next I’m going to get some good chocolate. Some walnuts too.
The Blue Cheese was absolutely disgusting. It smelled not to bad, so I was Thinking hmm ok. But tasted it and YIKES. I couldn’t do it, not even with port. I threw it out.
The figs were better. They were OK. I‘m not a fan of the seeds, they made it slightly gritty. But they were good. I wasn’t prepared for how large they are. Somewhat filling after just a few. I’ll probably look for some different brands and some that are maybe fresh or just preserved differently.
The Port itself was fantastic. Very smooth up front, sweetness right in the middle, and a slight dry aftertaste. Which was odd, the aftertaste. But just delicious overall. I can’t say the figs made it any better though, it was just good with or without.
Next I’m going to get some good chocolate. Some walnuts too.
Chocolate would probably go well...maybe some fruit and chocolate.
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- #35
... and this from the guy who survived eating the atomic pepper.
I do not know much about that brand of blue cheese. At least one on-line source refers to it as artisanal. It might be more strongly flavored and otherwise aggressive than other blue cheeses. There is quite a variety of blue cheese. So I might not give up on the genre based on one trial.
I pretty much like them all, but I can think of some I would not suggest as an introduction to blue cheese!
Glad you liked the port! Figs are not my favorite things, but I like them well enough. I guess I like fresh better than dried. Gritty is a reasonable word for the dried variety.
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- #37
I've been enjoying a bottle of 2005 Taylor Fladgate LBV with some Stilton.
Mmmm ... nice stuff and a nice combination!
Mmmm ... nice stuff and a nice combination!
Perfection!
Glorious.
Going to crack a half bottle of 2016 Taylor-Fladgate Vintage Port on NYE to see how it compares to 2017. I’ll get a full bottle for aging, too.
