I have had a good year of tasting some brilliant young and old Ports from a wide variety of Port categories. I will finish the current newsletter and then go through my 2025 top picks of the year.
Please don't wait! You can start to consider your tasting notes and top Ports now. Although it is Christmas Eve, I hope you will all enjoy something special tonight. Merry Christmas to everyone here!
I look forward to read your single bottle or list of Best Ports you had at some point this year!
Top VP: 1977 Taylor's. I've opened some duff bottles of this VP before, but this one was really singing.
Top TWAIOA: Quinta da Romaneira 40 y.o. Tawny (bottled 2022). I opened it for Xmas and it was fantastic.
Top Aged White: DR 30 y.o. White (bottled 2023). Any wood aged Port by DR is always a winner.
Top LBV: 1995 Andresen (Unfiltered and bottled 2001). I've had this twice and it's always been fantastic. It's the best LBV I've had to date.
Honorable Mention: Pocas 30 y.o. Tawny (bottled 2018). Pocas makes really good wood aged Ports and this is a great Port at a great price (under $65).
"I have often thought that the aim of Port is to give you a good and durable hangover, so that during the next day you should be reminded of the splendid occasion the night before." - Hungarian/British journalist & author George Mikes
I always do lists for this and figure out the "threshold" once I've made the list. I'm guessing the wood-aged lists are all going to be cut off at 97 this year - it was a very good year!
TWAIOA
100 - DR Barrel No. 150 V. V. Old Tawny (cask sample)
99 - DR L70 (cask sample)
98 - DR L70 (2017)
97 - Quinta de Brunheda T6a (2025)
97 - DR 50 Year Old Tawny (cask sample)
97 - Quinta do Mourao "60" (2017 - FTLOP buying op)
96 - Quinta de Brunheda T100 (2025)
96 - Quinta do Noval 40 Year Old (b. date unknown)
96 - DR 40 Year Old (2021)
I had to let the TWAIOA extend down to 96 points or I wouldn't have had any properly bottled examples on the list!
Colheita
100 - 1900 Andresen (b. same day)
100 - 1906 Quinta de Brunheda (2025)
99 - 1885 DR (cask sample, cask #1)
99 - 1885 DR (2023)
98 - 1937 Kopke (2025)
97 - 1941 Kopke (2025)
97 - 1941 Kopke (2025) yes, again, different bottle different day
White
98 - Quinta de Brunheda V. V. Old White Port (2025)
98 - DR 90th Anniversary Porto Branco (cask sample)
97 - DR Very Old White (2021)
97 - DR 50 Year Old White (cask sample)
97 - Quinta do Mourao "60" white (2017)
Vintage Port
98 - 1994 Taylor
97 - 1970 Graham
97 - 1945 Graham
Other
97 - Alambre 40 Year Old Moscatel de Setubal
The 1906 Brunheda Colheita is the first time I've ever given a Port a second 100 point score. In all other instances, later tastings just haven't had the same impact and so have reached no higher than 99. I have a pretty concrete definition of what it takes to get 100 points, and once I've tasted a Port that definition is just very difficult to meet again. This 1906 did it.
Glenn E. wrote: ↑Tue Feb 03, 2026 12:33 pm
Colheita
100 - 1900 Andresen (b. same day)
100 - 1906 Quinta de Brunheda (2025)
99 - 1885 DR (cask sample, cask #1)
99 - 1885 DR (2023)
98 - 1937 Kopke (2025)
97 - 1941 Kopke (2025)
97 - 1941 Kopke (2025) yes, again, different bottle different day
Out of interest, what score did you give the Graham 1940 Colheita sample that you had on day 3 of the FTLOP Anniversary tasting?
95 points. Was that after we were done? If so, it may have been hurt by following the 97-point Mourao "60", the 98-point DR L70, and the 99-point DR 1885 that closed out that session.
Still, it was in good company. 2 Brunhedas also received 95 points that day - a Tonel #3 and a 70T.
Glenn E. wrote: ↑Tue Feb 03, 2026 12:33 pm
Colheita
100 - 1900 Andresen (b. same day)
100 - 1906 Quinta de Brunheda (2025)
99 - 1885 DR (cask sample, cask #1)
99 - 1885 DR (2023)
98 - 1937 Kopke (2025)
97 - 1941 Kopke (2025)
97 - 1941 Kopke (2025) yes, again, different bottle different day
Out of interest, what score did you give the Graham 1940 Colheita sample that you had on day 3 of the FTLOP Anniversary tasting?
95 points. Was that after we were done? If so, it may have been hurt by following the 97-point Mourao "60", the 98-point DR L70, and the 99-point DR 1885 that closed out that session.
Still, it was in good company. 2 Brunhedas also received 95 points that day - a Tonel #3 and a 70T.
I scored it 97 points. For me to score it 2 points higher than you - and it's a brown sticky thing - suggests you might have had a little palate fatigue.
By comparison, I score the thoroughly delicious Quevedo 40YO (2022 bottling) at 94, occasionally 95, points. For me, the Graham 1940 is a tier above the Quevedo 40YO.
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