Port tasting - in which order should I serve?

[Gerwin de Graaf]

I am hosting a Port tasting at our house in a couple of weeks (some collegues of my wife asked if I would give a Port tasting for them).

There will be about 10 people tasting , so I am planning to open 5 (maybe 6) different Ports, and I am considering the following Ports:

- 10 YO White Port (Vasconcellos - Butler & Nephew)
- 20 YO Tawny Port (probably Quevedo)
- 1992 Colheita Port (Quevedo)
- 1999 LBV (Senhora do Convento), from Magnum
- 1977 VP (Croft)


I am thinking about serving the Ports in the order as stated above here. Would you agree, or do you have a different opinion about the order in which the Ports could be served? The people who are partaking in the tasting are quite new to Port I should add.


Thanks in advance for any input

[John M.]

Very nice lineup for newbies. Personally in a mixed tasting I prefer rubies first... then the tawnies. If you have the glasses might even try two flights... this gives the taster the chance to directly compare and contrast.

[Eric Menchen]

I'm fine with the tawnies first, but would reverse the last two, expecting the '77 VP to be more nuanced than the powerful LBV. But I must admit I've never tasted Senhora do Convento, from magnum no less, so I can't say how that 1999 will be. Most LBVs of that age I would expect to still be fairly juicy, but I had some Kopke LBV, in a smaller format bottle, from around that time that I think was fairly well on its way to tawny. How does it look? Can you see any sort of color in the bottle?

I also like the idea of two flights, adding a third bottle to the ruby side.

[Glenn E.]

With Tawnies, you typically want to serve the younger ones first and then move on to the more powerful old ones as the evening progresses.

With Rubies, the opposite is true because the aged Rubies have developed lighter, more nuanced flavors that are overpowered and overwhelmed by the boisterous fruits and vibrant tannins of the youngsters.

I've also found that a transition between old Ruby an d old Tawny (or vice versa) doesn't work very well in either direction for reasons similar to the old Ruby to young Ruby situation. An old Tawny is simply too powerful for an old Ruby.

So that leaves you starting with the old Ruby, progressing to the younger Rubies, then transitioning to the younger Tawnies (white first), and then on to the older Tawnies.

- 1977 VP (Croft)
- 1999 LBV (Senhora do Convento), from Magnum
- 10 YO White Port (Vasconcellos - Butler & Nephew)
- 20 YO Tawny Port (probably Quevedo)
- 1992 Colheita Port (Quevedo)

The LBV to White Port transition isn't going to be great, but I feel like it's the "least bad" of your options. You could also serve the 10 YO White first as an aperitif as guests arrive, which would leave the transition as LBV to 20 YO which should work fine.

[Mahmoud Ali]

My preference would be the white port first, then the rubies, and finally the tawnies. With the rubies, I could be convinced either way but since you will be opening them in advance, sample them and then decide which way to go. As for the tawnies, I think younger before the older, though once again, sample first and serve the richer style last.

Cheers ................. Mahmoud.

[Gerwin de Graaf]

Thanks for your replies and suggestions!

I think you're right with the observation that with tawnies one goes from young to old, and with rubies the other way round.

I'll see if I can get enough glasses to make it two flights (and then add another Ruby style, a reserve Ruby I think). I kinda like that idea as well. I'll use the 10 you White as an aperitive then, while I give some general explanation about Port (I hate the situation at a wine tasting/masterclass, where you have to sit through the explanation time without something to taste/drink in your hand )

Maybe I'll also put a pallet refresher in between both flights so there's no difficulty in switching from ruby to tawny or vice-versa.