vintage port wine tasting at zachy's

yesterday afternoon, after the habitat for humanity 5k, i stopped in at zachys for their great vintage (2007) port wine tasting. the whimsical cartoon image above is a bit ironic because i personally associate port wine not with ships and working ports, but planes and airports! over the years of a seemingly endless string of business class travel lounges, i've drunk my share of (good and not so good) port as i waited for a flight :D

but i digress... here is how the flyer described the event:

"Join us with two very special guests as we taste through a line-up of some of the best 2007 Vintage Ports under one roof!

Rupert Symington will be here pouring, Grahams, Dows and Quinta do Vesuvio; plus Robert Bower will be here to pour Talylor Fladgate, Fonseca and Croft. When it comes to Port, these two gentlemen are two of the leading port authorities in the world not to mention they represent the crème de la crème of Port Houses."

both were incredibly knowledgeable men, and seemed to truly enjoy talking about their wines. the most remarkable bottle of the roughly bakers dozen selection was the 2007 taylor fladgate port "quinta de vargelias vinha velha" (97-100 ws)! i was even more taken aback when bower mentioned that only 40 cases of this exceptional port had been shipped to the united states (not even a case per state) - wow!

i also enjoyed the smith woodhouse (89-92 ws), quinto do vesuvio (92-95 ws), and the taylor 10 and 20 year old tawnys (to end on).

a spectacular tasting for a beautiful fall afternoon!