Hi.
I don't post much but follow these threads on a daily basis. I wanted to give you some opinions I received last weekend. I held a wine tasting at my home (about 15 people) and served 80% home made vs. 20% commercial wine. All them wrapped in foil so the source was hidden.
I took all my carboys out for theme and had a 3 gal carboy of fortified La Bodega Port. The wine tasting went quite well and actually my wines were chosen over the commercial wine. I got brave and asked if anyone would like a barrel tasting of the port. I assumed it would be really harsh and not very integrated. IT WAS SO SMOOTH. It was way better than the commercial port I had to compare it to. Everyone who tried it wanted me to bottle it.
I started 6 gals of the La Bodega Port in July/Aug. I broke up the 6 gals into many different variations of Good ($50) Brandy, Apricot Brandy, Vodka, Oak, Chocolate and Orange flavoring.
Even though I will continue to age this batch, it is more than drinkable and I can't imagine it getting any better.
Cheers,
Doug
P.S. I may go start another one since I think I'm going to be getting gift requests....