It is Darrell. I drank a bottle of that while I was in chat last night! Gift from my nephew for my birthday. Not as sweet as I normally like but it was very good.
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I think the '85 Dow may be their best vintage since 1970, perhaps even longer. It is still such a baby and has huge aging potential. The 1977 Dow has some bottle variation to them, so it's a crap shot. I have only had a handful of Dow 85's and I say jump on them. For sure, one of Dow's drier vintages, but has the perfect balance to be one Dow's best ever. The '83 is also good, but is not '85...
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I hear you... I would not spend $60 on it either. For a 20 year, go for any you can get for $40 or less.

There's a big difference in complexity and length between 10 & 20 that anyone would pick up on. 20 to 30 or 30 to 40; it's not so much. It's only in Colheitas where you can really taste the old stuff and very old stuff difference more dramatically.
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No it's not. If the tawny style is what you prefer, go for an older Colheita from the 50's.
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Thanks Moses, I knew I could count on a brother for a straight answer. Can you enlighten us(me) on Colheita and where to look for them from the 50's please
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Sure, I'll ship you a bottle. PM me the details.
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Is there a particular Six grapes I need to look for? I've never had port wine and have been thinking about picking up a bottle of Six grapes.
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I cant tell you where to look (maybe Moses can) but Colheita is basicaly vintage Tawny, so it spends xxx amount of time (10, 20+ years) in barrel before being bottled. All the grapes are from one year, and when it is finaly bottled it stops maturing.

In my market (seattle) we see lots of Colheita from Kopke and Rocha (wineworth the importer is based here) and Kopke makes a 1950 and Rocha has 1957, 1947, 1937 that I know of. Im sure there are lots of others to look for either localy or on the net.

~Vitis
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Got this bottle of Kopke tawny port that I've been trying and I'm liking it so far. Dunno if it's a vintage or not (probably not), but I'm not minding if it or isn't.

Like how I rate cigars, this falls into the "doesn't suck" category.

:-)
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Six Grapes is a specific bottling by Grahams. Quite popular for the money. Personally, at that price point, I like Broadbents Auction Reserve.
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Don't know what stores have what in your area, but the most popular Colheitas are;

Niepoort
Noval
Barros
Burmester
Kopke
Rocha

Colheita is not as common under the British brands of port. Their versions may say "Reserve" and have a vintage somewhere in fine text (even though they are from Portugal). It's best to get a recent bottling on Colheita. That means it has been sitting in the barrel longer than in the bottle. Once it's in the bottle, it slowly declines.
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Great thread Joey!! I'll post and follow since I am not an experienced Port drinker, but I am a Port lover. I have a small bottle of Six Grapes given to me in the 20 Men That Ride Like 100 bombing raid.





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I have had Many of the Taylor Fladgate Ports.
The 20 is really nice. The 40 is smoother & a bit stronger with a more lasting finish.
As a present to yourself it is nice.

If your going to have it with guests after dinner Stay with the cheaper 20 year old.

On an other surprising note for every day. Taylor Makes a "Fine Tawney Port" which is young but full of underlying flavor . It sells for about $10. And is a nice drink with a Cigar as you read a book or watch TV,
Churchill Makes a nice white port Good for a Long Cold Drink for about $25.
Enjoy your port.
Lenny :-):-)
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I just picked up a bottle (like 10 minutes ago) of Dow's Fine Ruby Porto

anyone have any experience with this? I've only ever had 6 Grapes before, and the guy there said this was the closest they had since they could never get any Graham's product in
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They are quite similar in quality, but Dow is known for a drier style of port and Grahams is known to be on the sweeter side. I have not had either side-by-side.
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hmm, well hopefully it's not too dry, I was going for sweet

I guess I'll just have to give it a go and find out
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It's plenty sweet; it is port after all.
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Just bought a bottle of Six grapes reserve Porto. Looking forward to it! I assume like any other "wine" it's better when cold...(?) Gonna snatch a bottle of that 10 year Taylor Fladgate next time. Joey, They sell the 10 and 20 year at Green's.
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Not cold, just not warm. Cellar temp (58 or so) would be great as it warms up in your glass. Room temp (70) will work though. If my reds are at room temp, I often give em 20 minutes in the fridge first.

~Vitis
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it is certainly sweet! I tried some today and was very pleased with it. Pretty dang good for 15-16 bucks a bottle

still, I must continue my quest for 6 grapes. someone in town must have it
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