Your 100 point Ports

[Glenn E.]

I had reason to look up all of my 100 point Ports, and in doing so tried to find a list of them here on FTLOP. It seems that I've never posted that list here and neither has anyone else. Either that or my search-fu has failed me!

So... the Holy Grail. A 100-point Port. I have been blessed to experience such a Port an astonishing 12 times! In chronological order...

1906 Brunheda Colheita
Mourao "60" (original hand bottling)
Mourao "100" (old blend)
1885 DR Colheita Roncao
Mourao "100" (new blend)
Mourao CL
Brunheda "Muito Velho" 125+ Year Old Tawny Port
Mourao 140+ Very Old Tawny Port "VOT"
DR 100 Year Old Tawny Port Cask #3
1900 Andresen Colheita
1906 Brunheda Colheita - labeled 1905 at this tasting in 2025, but told is the same Port as above
DR Very Very Old Tawny Port Barrel #150

Note that I have had a few of these multiple times after having awarded them 100 points, but other than the 1906 Brunheda none of them have ever warranted a repeat 100. Even the 1906 Brunheda has received 98 and 99 points in between the two 100-point scores. So despite this list having 12 entries, I feel like I'm reasonably stingy when it comes to giving out 100s. I've just been extremely lucky to have tasted some fabulous Ports!

I have toyed with 100 points for a White Port 3 times - the Mourao "90" White Port, a Brunheda Very Very Old White Port, and the DR 90e Anniversario Very Very Old White Port - but on each occasion I ultimately settled on a lower score.

No Vintage Port has ever warranted 100 points for me. I've reached 99 a couple of times, but that's it.

What are your 100-point Ports?

[Mark L]

I have not nearly been as fortunate as you, Glenn! What a spectacular list!

The only 100 on my list is the Mourao "60"

(I actually preferred that to the Mourao "100+" which originally came out at the same time.)

I've probably scored the Mourao "60" 100 pts on two distinct occassions, but other times has been 99 or 98. I have 1 bottle of it left....

But that's it!

(I'm sure if I had the chance to try some of the other ones on your list, I'd have a few more 100s on my list!)

Would love to know what others have on their 100 pt lists!

[Eric Ifune]

1880 Mourao. My only 100 point wine.

[Eric Menchen]

I am perhaps a little more stingy, as I've never given a wine 100 points. I've considered whether I need to do so, but I've chosen to remain consistent with my scoring over the years. So maybe my 98 point wine is your 100 point. Compared to Glenn, I enjoy VP a little more; and while I really enjoy tasting those concentrated 100+ year old wines, I prefer the 40-60 year old tawnies for drinking more than one generous pour. So with that said, here are the highest scoring wines I've ever tasted:

• 1963 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port - 98 points
• 1994 Fonseca Vintage Port - 98 points
• DR VVO L70 - 98 points
• S. Leonardo Old "60" Tawny Port - 98 points
• 1940 Casa do Douro Colheita Port - 98+ points

I've had the S. Leonardo many times, and other times scored it 97-98, 96, ... and I had a Brunheda special bottle that I scored 97-98.

[Moses Botbol]

100ish point points I can think of offhand I liked.

1908 Graham
'48 Fonseca
'45 Croft
'31 Noval
'70 Niepoort
'66 Fonseca
A few Niepoort Garrafeira's which vintages escapes my memory

[Al B.]

I’ve only ever tasted a perfect Port four times. All of the perfect four I’ve tasted more than once but bottle variation or mood variation meant only once did I award the wine a perfect score.

Perfection has been seen in bottles of:

• Quinta do Noval 1931 in January 2013
• Quinta do Noval Nacional 1931 in February 2022
• Quinta do Noval Nacional 1963 in June 2009; and
• Taylor 1896, bottled 2021 and drunk in June 2023

[Roy Hersh]

Glen,

I had that 1906 Brunheda two weeks ago and it is still amazing and I remember your reaction the first time you tasted it, before Mr. or Dr. Tawny came into play. On my previous visit a few weeks earlier, they were providing this sample as 1905. I explained clearly why it should be accurately renamed as 1906 and was glad to see this corrected. It is even more concentrated then your first time having it (which seems impossible) and equivalent to last year's examples.

It is nice to see how many Ports on your list, I was there to witness your reaction and sip them at the same time!

[Roy Hersh]

Eric Ifune wrote:

1880 Mourao. My only 100 point wine.

Only because you were stingy when visiting Krohn, having had samples of 1863 and 1896 Tawny and White in a category that would eventually become to be known as VVO Port. Alex Bridgman had the 1896 "Taylor's" as one of his 100 pointers. For me it was the 1863 ... the three times I had all of them. Last night, I had the new VVO White (80) from Taylor's and it was somewhat obvious to me, this had to come from a mother wine such as the 1896 White.

[Roy Hersh]

Mark L wrote:

I have not nearly been as fortunate as you, Glenn! What a spectacular list!

The only 100 on my list is the Mourao "60"

(I actually preferred that to the Mourao "100+" which originally came out at the same time.)

I agree with your Mark. I have always found the 60 (especially when first bottled) more precise than the 100 year old. I love both though, but prefer the 60 if I had to choose to drink just one. Some freshness is now lost from that early buying op, but they are still beautiful Ports nonetheless.

[Roy Hersh]

Alex B. who doesn't love the 1931 Noval regular bottling. They are certainly more consistent than the 1931 Nacional. There is also bottle variation of the Noval bottling. I have been fortunate to taste a lot of bottles and most are as good as Vintage Port gets. The others are typically pretty close, but there is a notable difference in some of them. What is the lowest score you've ever given a 1931 Noval VP?

[Roy Hersh]

Eric Menchen:

An impressive list. Can I ask you what holds you back from a 100 point score?

Do you believe that nothing can be perfect or deserving of 100 points? I would appreciate hearing your rationale if you don't mind sharing!

[Roy Hersh]

Moses B., GREAT list, that 1948 Fonseca is incredible.

But the 1945 Croft you mentioned, is up there with the 1931 Noval (and Nacional) as all time great Vintage Ports.


There are a few mentions of 1963 Nacional and it is an incredible VP well deserving the accolades. I know many that disagree, I have found the 1994 to be the reincarnation of the 1963. I've given it 100 points several times. Love it. Can't wait to try the 2024 Nacional again, in focused blind tasting. Sighted, my score was very high, but also for the regular Noval. More to come.

[Eric Menchen]

An impressive list. Can I ask you what holds you back from a 100 point score?
Do you believe that nothing can be perfect or deserving of 100 points? I would appreciate hearing your rationale if you don't mind sharing!

I don't think I have a strong reason for this. Maybe when I first tasted something that I scored 98 points I was still leaving room for something to be even better? And for the record, I haven't had 1931 Noval, regular nor Nacional. I gave the 1963 Nacional 98 points, so maybe a 1931 can be better?

[Roy Hersh]

Eric,

Not necessarily better, but the 1931 and 1963 Noval Nacional are very different today. In the same way that the 1963 Nacional and the 2024 or 1994 are very different today.

[Andrew Kirschner]

While I have had so me incredible Portos over the years, I must have some kind of mental block against giving any of them 100 points. I feel like I couldn’t accept that there wouldn’t be anything better, it would feel like the end of a journey for me- and I’m not done,

[Glenn E.]

Regarding 100 points being a "perfect" or "insurmountable" score...

That's why I intentionally define it otherwise. I realized that if I tried to save a 100-point score for some mythical "perfect" Port, then I would never find one because I would always wonder if there might be something better somewhere in the future. I shy away from labeling it as "perfect" or "the best" because those are too absolute in meaning.

So for me, the 100-point score simply means that it was at least as good as the next lower bracket (97-99 aka "Magnificent" or "Magical") and that it changed my perception of what Port could be in some way. Presumably a good way. A Port might also qualify if it leaves me speechless. Or if it makes me cry. A couple of times, both of those have happened at the same time.

That probably contributes to my list being longer than others' lists. It's probably also why only the 1906 Brunheda Colheita has ever received 100 points twice - once I've tasted a Port, it's extremely difficult for it to get the same reaction from me a second time. So subsequent tastings tend to score 99 or 98 points.

I was with Eric Ifune the day he first tried the Quinta do Mourao 90 Year Old White while we were all standing around inside Port Knox. (Which, IIRC the story correctly, is a 1927 Colheita that lacks documentation. And also IIRC it's what was eventually sold, possibly after some blending, as the S. Leonardo VVO White in those big cork boxes.) It literally knocked him off his feet - he had to stumble over to a barrel and sit down, and then he sat there speechless for a couple of minutes before he could talk. And yet... that's not worth 100 points? C'mon, man, quit being so stingy!

[Glenn E.]

What is the lowest score you've ever given a 1931 Noval VP?

I know you were asking Alex, but for me the answer is 95 points. That was at the Decades tasting in LA, so I'd be curious to know what you scored it at that same tasting. (And which bottle yours was - red dot or green dot. If our scores are too far apart I'll have to find my brochure from that tasting where I recorded which bottle mine was from.)