TOP PORTS OF 2010 - Your list of favorites

[Roy Hersh]

Ok, so this is not like Madeira or even Douro wine where it is pretty easy to narrow down the best one or three that you've had this year. Let's have some fun with this!

You can put in as few or as many as you'd like ... but please try to keep it to less than a dozen if possible. Long lists make for boring reads (usually).

Please feel free to break your selections into categories if you would prefer to do it that way. If doing so, let's try to keep to these basic simple groupings, so we can all be on the same page:

a. Vintage & Crusted Ports

b. Wood-aged Ports - including Tawnies with indication of age (10-40 year olds) + white/red Colheita + Garrafeira

c. Other Ports - basic bottlings like Ruby for example, LBVs, White Ports, even Rose ... or any others you can think of


You can edit your list or add to it, if you have something amazing during the month of December. I will leave this as a sticky thread for the rest of 2010.

It would be great to include "why" you have selected the Ports that you do. This will give us something great to read during the entire month of December. Pull up a glass or a bottle, but don't fall in!

[Eric Menchen]

I'm just going with one of each. I didn't make it on the Harvest Tour or attend any grand tastings, so I didn't try a whole lot of exotic things this year. On the other hand, I did make it out to L.A. for the Quevedo tasting, and that supplied a favorite or two.

1. 1970 Niepoort - A wonderful bottle that kept on giving as the night went on.
2. 1975 Quevedo Colheita - Just all sorts of things were going on in this, served at the L.A. dinner with Oscar. I should see if I have any notes to dig up to make a TN.
3. 2000 Quinta do Portal LBV - This was carried into the backcountry for a hut trip, which may mean my impression was biased by the overall experience. Hey, if that makes for better Port drinking, so be it!

[Moses Botbol]

1970 Niepoort - A wonderful bottle that kept on giving as the night went on.

I had the '70 Niepoort early this year and it's one of the best of the 1970 vintage for sure.

[Peter W. Meek]

Well.....
Nimrod
and
Ferreira 20

[Glenn E.]

I had the good fortune to try a large number of Ports in 2010, so it has taken me some time to go back through my notes and pull out the best. Not too surprisingly, a lot of my entries come from the 2010 Port Harvest Tour.

Vintage Ports
1977 Fonseca (97) - tasted at Roy's for David Sprigg's birthday
2007 Graham (96+) - tasted at the lodge
2007 Dow (96) - tasted at the lodge

Tawnies
1910 Andresen Colheita (98) - tasted at the lodge and bottled mere days before opening
1970 Andresen Colheita (97) - tasted at the lodge
1900 Constantino Colheita (97) - tasted at Quinta do Crasto
Quinta da Romaneira 40 Year Old Tawny Port (97) - tasted at Vinologia

Whites
1952 Dalva Golden White (94) - tasted at C. da Silva in Vila Nova de Gaia
"1973" Casa de Ste Eufemia Special Reserve White (93-94) - tasted at Andy's in L.A.
1963 Dalva Golden White (92+) - tasted at C. da Silva in Vila Nova de Gaia

LBVs
1994 (bottled 1999) Pocas LBV (95)
1999 (bottled 2004) Quinta da Gaivosa LBV (93)
2006 Crasto LBV (cask sample) (93) - tasted at Quinta do Crasto

Honorable Mentions
1940 Burmester Colheita (96) - tasted at the Kopke Tasting Room in Vila Nova de Gaia in the flight known as "wines that don't suck"
1957 Kopke Colheita (95+) - tasted at the Kopke Tasting Room in Vila Nova de Gaia in the flight known as "wines that don't suck"
J.H. Andresen 40 Year Old Tawny Port (95+) - tasted at the lodge
Porto Rocha The Glorious 50th Anniversary (95) - opened over Thanksgiving to celebrate my parents' 50th anniversary
1934 Dalva Colheita (95) - tasted at C. da Silva Port Bar in Vila Nova de Gaia
1968 Quevedo Colheita (95) - tasted at Andy's in L.A.
1963 Kopke Colheita (95) - tasted at World of Wines in Redmond
2008 Taylor Vargellas (95) - tasted at the lodge
2000 Vesuvio (95) - tasted at Quinta do Vesuvio
1977 Taylor (95) - tasted at Roy's for David Sprigg's birthday
1970 Niepoort (95) - tasted at Andy's in L.A.

And one notable only because it's a new record for me:

1890 Burmester Colheita (91) - now the oldest Colheita I have ever tasted!

[John M.]

A. Grahams 2007 & Taylor Fladgate 2007. Amazing!!
for a Crusted a Dow 2002 (Bottled 2004).

C. LBV: Q. do Crasto 2004. Really nice - cherries, blackberries & currants. Just dances on the tongue!
Ruby: Noval Black--everyone loves this one.

Honorable Mention: My port buddies & I purchased 4 cases of Fonseca Bin 27 375ml bottles--just perfect for everyday or to share with one or two.

I know we're not drinking anything old, rare etc. (yet) but we are having a great time and enjoying our port. On the other hand I have managed to squirrel away a mixed case of vintage ports this year--I just have to wait until they're ready--and will continue to collect for later & buy enough for now.

[Barry Sunderland]

Graham's 2007
Ferreira 20 Years

BOTH=YUM!

[Gerwin de Graaf]

A)
Grahams 1977 VP, I have only two left (of three), my wife's birthyear, drunk at her birthday this year;
Taylor's 1960 VP, at my uncle's 50th birthday last week.

B)
Kopke 1977 Colheita
Quevedo 2000 Colheita (cask sample at the Quevedo winery;
Quevedo 1996 Colheita (cask sample at the Quevedo winery;
Quevedo 1995 Colheita (cask sample at the Quevedo winery;
Vasconcellos 40+ yo Tawny (at their lodge in VndG);
Vasconcellos 20 20 yo special reserve Tawny (bought earlier this year at their lodge)

C)
Duff Gordon 1997 LBV (the 2nd bottle of 12 I bought at auction was best so far);
Quevedo Special Reserve Tawny (excellent QPR)

[Roy Hersh]

Ok, it is now mid-December ... are the rest of you thinking it is still too early to post your list?

[Eric Ifune]

1900 Niepoort Colheita
1935 Cockburn Vintage
1935 Taylors Vintage
1937 Noval Colheita

[Derek T.]

Ok, it is now mid-December ... are the rest of you thinking it is still too early to post your list?

There is still plenty of time in 2010 to add to this list, but...


In alphabetical order...

Fonseca Guimaraens 1976 - a rare treat from Richard Mayson at a very enjoyable informal off-line alongside a Fonseca 77. The 76 won hands down!

Graham 1955 - star of the show at the 1955 Horizontal in London.

Quinta Vale do Coelho LBV 1961 - fabulous juice and a fantastic experience to share it with Dom Symington and other good friends at the quinta where it was made.

Quinta do Vesuvio Colheita 1992 - wow! the best "house wine" I have ever had

Warre 1934 - a great honour to taste this old gem in the Douro - a big thanks to Al B.

There were other ports that I have tasted in 2010 that might be superior to these but I have gone for a list of those that I have not tasted before that left a great impression on me. Who needs another Dow 1896, Cockburn 1908, Fonseca 1927, Croft 1945, Taylor 1948, Nacional 1963 or Fonseca 1966 when you can taste the ports I have listed above? Yes, you're right. I do.

[dom carter]

Best ports this year, All VP's

1) Taylor's 1970 VP @ Glenn E's house for the "2 Brits on tour" evening - Kris H, i believe was the fine individual who bought this to the tasting.
2) 1980 Dow's VP - i can see why it's on the FTLOP homepage in Roy's article (top 12 port's) : http://www.fortheloveofport.com/port-ba ... tage-ports
3) 1983 Warre's VP

Got a 1997 Graham's for Xmas so this could all change!

Regards

Dom

[Richard Jennings]

Wow, Glenn! Impressive list.

I just posted my top 21 wines (rated 97 points or more) on my blog, and thanks to being part of Roy's Fortification Tour this year, 10 of those were amazing Ports, and 3 were Madeiras. Here's the list of Ports. For the whole post, see my blog at http://www.rjonwine.com.

• 1994 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/18/2010)
  Visit to Quinta do Noval (and verticals of Noval and Nacional) (Quinta do Noval, Douro, Portugal): Opaque black violet color; big black fruit, berry, chocolate, chocolate mint nose; incredibly rich, berry, chocolate palate with structure and huge depth; very long finish (100 pts.)
• 2003 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/18/2010)
  Visit to Quinta do Noval (and verticals of Noval and Nacional) (Quinta do Noval, Douro, Portugal): Black violet color; OMG!, rich, black fruit, tar, herbal nose; awesome, rich, ripe plum, rich berry, complex, deep and layered palate; very long finish (98 pts.)
• 2000 Quinta do Vale Meão Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/19/2010)
  Dinner and Tasting with Francisco Javier de Olazabal, former President of Ferreira and current producer of Quinta do Vale Meao (Cafeina Restaurant, Oporto, Portugal): Opaque black red violet color; bittersweet chocolate, tar nose with depth; deep, bittersweet chocolate, rich berry, tart blackberry, blackstrap molasses palate; long finish (98 pts.)
• 1963 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/18/2010)
  Visit to Quinta do Noval (and verticals of Noval and Nacional) (Quinta do Noval, Douro, Portugal): Dark ruby red color with pale meniscus; rich, aromatic, berry nose; tasty, deep, gorgeous, rich, baked berry, blackberry, eucalyptus palate with refined tannins; long finish (98 pts.)
• 1970 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/18/2010)
  Visit to Quinta do Noval (and verticals of Noval and Nacional) (Quinta do Noval, Douro, Portugal): Medium ruby red color; rich, raspberry, sassafras, black fruit nose; rich, tart black fruit, berry, chocolate, orange palate with depth; long finish (in an awesome place right now) (97 pts.)
• 2007 Quinta do Vale Meão Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/19/2010)
  Dinner and Tasting with Francisco Javier de Olazabal, former President of Ferreira and current producer of Quinta do Vale Meao (Cafeina Restaurant, Oporto, Portugal): From magnum - opaque black red violet color; tart black fruit, rich berry, blackberry nose with depth; rich, sexy, luscious, surprisingly approachable, berry, blackberry, black fruit palate with good structure and sweet tannins; long finish 97+ pts. (40% Touriga Nacional, 35% Touriga Franca, 25% other varieties) (97 pts.)
• 1963 Graham Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/17/2010)
  Port "Diagonals" - Graham, Dow, Warre, Taylor, Fonseca and Croft: 1963, 1966 and 1970 (Graham and Taylor Port Lodges in Oporto, Portugal): Bricking medium red color with pale meniscus; earthy, spice box, sweet meat nose; lovely, hedonistic but poised, dried cherry, raspberry, chocolate palate with sweet tannins and serious grip; very long finish 97+ pts. (decanted for nearly 4 hours) (97 pts.)
• 2007 Fonseca Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (1/23/2010)
  2007 Vintage Ports (Beltramo's in Menlo Park, California): Opaque, very dark red violet color; rich, complex, berry, blackberry, faintly herbal, black fruit, tar nose; rich, powerful but poised, berry, black fruit, blackberry, vanilla, black cherry palate; long finish (97 pts.)
• 2000 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/18/2010)
  Visit to Quinta do Noval (and verticals of Noval and Nacional) (Quinta do Noval, Douro, Portugal): Opaque black red violet color; black fruit, herbal, green herb nose; tasty, rich, blackberry palate with sweet tannins; super long finish (97 pts.)
• 1952 Dalva Porto Golden White Colheita - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/26/2010)
  Medium translucent orange red color with ruby lights and pale meniscus; VA, sultana raisin, walnut skin, tangerine marmalade, baked cherries and apricots nose; tangy, tasty, rich but layered and complex, mellow but still fruity, apricot orange peel, tangerine and orange marmalade palate with roundness, depth and good acidity, but also a little spirity; long finish 97+ pts. (97 pts.)

[Ronald Wortel]

I don't get to drink that much port these days, but did have a large tasting of Fonseca's in the summer. Not surprisingly, many of my top ports of the year come from that tasting. My top 5 in no particular order:

- Fonseca Guimaraens 1976
- Fonseca 1985
- Fonseca 2000
- Warre 1977
- Quinta do Vallado 20 YOT

[Mahmoud Ali]

This has not been a good year for drinking port (or wines for that matter) since I have been away from home almost the entire year with much of the time spent in dry or non-drinking nations. My list is easy to make because in each case it was the only bottle!

Vintage Port: 1977 Smith Woodhouse. Served to me by good friends here as I have just returned home. Excellent port, still young and vigorous, great depth, structure and elegance.

Crusted Port: Churchill's Crusted Port (bottled 2002). I left home with this bottle over a year ago and recently opened it with friends in Abu Dhabi who love port. It made it all the more delicious.

LBV Port: 2004 Dow's (bottled in 2009). Bought this just before Christmas after sampling it at a local wine store. A nice LBV, on the drier side, perfect for winter sipping.

It's a sad tale but these were the only ports I have had all year. I meant to have a few "ports" when I was in Australia but ended up sipping on a bottle of single malt bought at duty free.

Happy New Year............................Mahmoud.

[Ronald Wortel]

Mahmoud, are you in the Gulf region more often? Perhaps we can get together sometime and share a bottle.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Hi Ronald.

I'm usually bouncing between Bangladesh, Sydney and Edmonton. I happened to take Etihad Airways from Dhaka to London and of course it went via Abu Dhabi. My partner and I have friends who work there so we stopped for a few days. It was a short but pleasant visit, including two days spent at the Dubai Rugby Sevens tournament (England beat Samoa in the final so my friend Andy was happy).

I appreciate the invitation to share a bottle of port so if I'm ever in the region for any length of time I'll send you a note. I take it you are in Muscat?

Mahmoud.

[Ronald Wortel]

Yes, Muscat, but we do go to Dubai pretty regularly. If you're ever in the area, let me know!

[Scott Anaya]

My favorites this year:

Vintage: '77 Fonseca, 94 & 95 Vesuvio

Wood P(p)orts:
Ramos Pinto 20 yr...can't drink enough of this one!
Kopke 30 yr...
Chateau Reynella 12+ year tawny AUS rlly well done

Other: 2000 Portal LBV, '95 Smith Woodhouse LBV

[Al B.]

It's taken me some time to go through my notes from 2010, but I've finally managed to do it. Playing strictly by the rules, this is what I decided for my best ports from the year just ended.

Vintage & Crusted
Niepoort 1942, from a 1 litre bottle brought by Dirk Niepoort to an offline just before Christmas. This was the best wine that night, despite some big names and big years also being there. A great port and only the second time I have drunk a vintage port from 1942.

Also at that offline, was a 1917 Unknown (guessed to be Croft or Cockburn from the flavour profile). This was my runner-up to the Niepoort that night. Evolved, mature and so full of orange flavours. Makes my mouth water just remembering these flavours. *sigh*

The best Crusted Port I drank in 2010 was a bottle of Noval's Crusted, bottled 1965. This was drunk at Quinta do Noval and was just the way I like my port - elegant and refined, with superb balance. Christies say that this Crusted Port is a blend of 1/3rd 1962 Nacional and 2/3rds 1963 regular Noval. I have no idea whether this is true or not, but this was certainly a very good wine.

And the last bottle I'll choose to include here was a wonderful bottle of Graham 1955, which was one of the last 20 bottles of library stock held at the Graham's lodge and which was opened for the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter Port Masterclass in London in November. This was decanted for about 6 hours before the tasting and was the best bottle of this port that I've had in a while.

Wood Aged
I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to be able to drink a 1968 Noval colheita when visiting the Quinta in the autumn. It was one of the best colheitas I have ever tasted and completely blew me away. Such concentration and flavour, yet with perfect balancing acidity. Just amazing. It was the last glass I finished that night, because I didn't want anything else to wash the taste away.

Is LBV wood aged? Perhaps. Just in case it is I will mention that the best LBV I drank in 2010 was the 2004 Quevedo LBV. That could be partly because I was sitting in the tasting at the Quevedo winery, but it was a really good port and one I loved. I hope in 2011 to be able to try a much wider range of LBVs - we've organised an offline in London in January to taste LBV from the 1990s right back to the 1960s. This should give an interesting insight into the ability of LBV wines to mature (or whether I am completely wasting my time holding on to these bottles). (There are some spare seats at the table - PM if you're interested.)

Other
I've got to give this award to the bottle of "Vargellas Ruby Port, bottled in 1969 to commemorate the investiture of the Prince of Wales". All we know for sure is that this is a ruby port - it said so on the label - but we have no idea if this is a plain, vanilla ruby; or a reserve ruby; or a crusted port; or even a vintage port that was not labelled and declared as such. It did have a fair amount of sediment in the bottle and was pretty impressive.


I just hope 2011 will bring as many good bottles and enjoyable occasions to be shared with friends.

Alex