Your Top 10 Port List for 2009 & Discussion

[Andy Velebil]

As I started to put this list together I realized just how lucky I was to drink so many wonderful bottles this year. I decided it wasn't fair to leave off LBV's and Colheita's. That is the reason I included them in their own categories.

But even more than the bottles, I got to enjoy almost all these with other Port lovers and friends. To me drinking and sharing with my fellow Port lovers and the memories they bring is what this crazy addiction is all about. It always amazes me that something as simple as a bottle of Port can bring people from all over the world together. Here's to many many more years ahead

Vintage Port:
1931 Quinta do Noval (yes it was very very good, but it was also my first time ever trying it)
1945 Croft VP (I am glad to see TFP reviving this house to its previous glory)
2007 Quinta do Noval VP (Love this bottle)
1941 Constantino VP (I would love to put this side by side with a 1963 Noval Nacional to see who wins)
1948 Fonseca VP (Still so amazing fresh and youthful for a 61 year old Port)
1963 Quinta do Noval Nacional VP (come on, whats not to love. A perfect showing of this bottle)
1955 Graham's VP (Being a little shorter on the finish than the '48 Fonseca was its only shortfall to tying it for the same score)
1967 Quinta do Noval Nacional VP (Served blind by Christian S., what an awesome bottle. And on par with the rare regular '67 Noval. One day I'd love to try these two side by side)
2003 Quinta do Noval Nacional (This will no doubt outlive me and all the rest of us....and probably our kids too)
1935 Sandeman VP (Glad to see this house getting back on track with the 2007)

Honorable mention:
1977 Smith Woodhouse VP
1977 Taylor's VP
1985 Smith Woodhouse VP
1985 Fonseca VP
1994 Taylor's VP
1994 Quinta do Vesuvio VP
1966 Dow's VP
1966 Graham's VP
2007 Churchill's VP


LBV's:
2003 Taylor's LBV (served double blind by Oscar Q., what a bottle and I am glad to see the quality of this improve)
2003 Quevedo LBV (this thing rocked and was even better than the Taylor's...also served double blind by Oscar in the same flight)
2003 Quinta do Noval LBV Unfiltered (Gotta hand it to Oscar, he picked some greats to serve us double blind)

Colheita's:
1970 Quinta do Crasto (I am always grateful when I get to drink this rare nectar)
1937 Quinta do Noval
1957 Rocha
1966 Kopke
1952 Dalva Golden White
1959 Niepoort
1972 S. Leonardo cask sample (Quinta do Mourao)

[Roy Hersh]

Andy,

You know you have had a magnificent year when the 1959 Niepoort is just an "honorable mention."

[Andy Velebil]

Andy,

You know you have had a magnificent year when the 1959 Niepoort is just an "honorable mention."

Yeah, no kidding!

But like I said, as great as it was to drink these beautiful Ports, the memories of enjoying them with others are what I truly cherish.

[Peter W. Meek]

Andy,

You know you have had a magnificent year when the 1959 Niepoort is just an "honorable mention."

Yeah, no kidding!

But like I said, as great as it was to drink these beautiful Ports, the memories of enjoying them with others are what I truly cherish.

Well I had a pretty good year myself, if the 1983 Warre's was my disappointment of the year.

[Ronald Wortel]

We're well into 2010 by now, but I'll give my list nonetheless. Although my current location makes port drinking much more difficult, I did manage to taste a good amount of great port. Here we go, the ports are in random order:

Fonseca 1985 - Tasted more than once this year, and this is always great.

Fonseca 1966 - Finally, I was able to taste a truly great bottle of this port this year. Simply incredible

Taylor 1963 - A bottle tasted in NY in April was slightly disappointing, but another only a week later (served by StevieCage) was beautiful. Fully mature and delicious.

Taylor 1966 - The first time I tasted this port. And it's a beauty. Not the power of Fonseca 1966, but what joy to drink.

Dow 1970 - Our last bottle and a great moment to open, I love it when a port has all those beautiful aged notes, but still has a youthful bite.

Quinta do Vesuvio 1994 - Another one that I tasted twice this year and that wowed me both times.

Quinta do Vesuvio 2007 - The best of the 2007's that I was able to taste. A masterpiece.

Graham's 2000 - I am not normally big on Graham, and certainly wouldn't open a 2000 at the moment, but this showed great.

Warre 1994 - This bottle never really opened up completely, but it was easy to taste its class nevertheless. One of the bargains of the vintage.

Dalva Golden White 1952 - Tasted at Vinologia. Not including this would be silly, as this is always stunning.

Not a bad list in the end. Especially considering my runner-up would be Taylor 1948.

[Glenn E.]

Especially considering my runner-up would be Taylor 1948.

The 1948 Taylor didn't make your Top 10 list???

Wow.

[Ronald Wortel]

Especially considering my runner-up would be Taylor 1948.

The 1948 Taylor didn't make your Top 10 list???

Wow.

I've had the pleasure of tasting this port twice now, and both times I was slightly underwhelmed. It is a beautiful old port, don't get me wrong, but for my taste a little bit on a downwards slope. I scored the last one (tasted april 2009) 92 points. That's still pretty darn good for a port over 60 years old!

[Glenn E.]

I've had the pleasure of tasting this port twice now, and both times I was slightly underwhelmed. It is a beautiful old port, don't get me wrong, but for my taste a little bit on a downwards slope. I scored the last one (tasted april 2009) 92 points. That's still pretty darn good for a port over 60 years old!

Ah, okay. That makes sense to me, actually - I had a similar reaction to the 1935 Sandeman at the 2009 Port Gala.

I guess I should try to get a taste of the '48 Taylor ASAP then, huh?

[Roy Hersh]

Then again, more than half of the room loved the 1935 and thought Glenn was . Others agreed with him so it was a very controversial bottle. David Spriggs thought it the best VP of the day. Who knows.

[Eric Menchen]

I thought the 1935 Sandeman was a wonderful bottle and a great experience, but that didn't make it my favorite. I was more intrigued by the 1960 Niepoort. If I were to do it again and could only have one, I might just go with the Sandeman, because when might I be able to experience it again?

[Roy Hersh]

Do you think the 1960 Niepoort is any less rare these days?

Just kidding of course. But in reality ... finding either one is not all that easy.

I wish my wife didn't make me sell that 2nd case of the 1935 Sandeman. I must admit though, her timing was impeccable.

[Eric Menchen]

Do you think the 1960 Niepoort is any less rare these days?

I suppose you are right there. I guess I was thinking in more general terms of 1960 vs. 1935, as I've see 1960s around a bit. But 1960 Niepoort is indeed a rare breed.

[Glenn E.]

Do you think the 1960 Niepoort is any less rare these days?

I suppose you are right there. I guess I was thinking in more general terms of 1960 vs. 1935, as I've see 1960s around a bit. But 1960 Niepoort is indeed a rare breed.

Everything 1960 is getting pretty rare since this year is the 50th Anniversary. I've been trying to source bottles at reasonable prices because my parents were married in 1960 and they're tough to find.

Right now I have a Taylor and a pair of Crofts, but that's it. I had three Crofts but gave one to a friend for his 50th birthday.

[Al B.]

A little late, but still fun to look back, I've pulled together my top 10 ports of 2009. Astonishingly, the top 6 came from a single tasting that was held with other port loving friends in the Dining Room at Noval - themed "the 8 ports to drink before you die". What a tasting that was!

Honorable mentions go to 11 different ports, which just lost out on a place in the top 10. These include the Constantino 1941 that Derek referred to, Dow 1970, Fonseca 1920 (which was the port of the night at our Christmas Offline), Fonseca 1966, Fonseca 1970, Fonseca 1985, a family reserve colheita 1970 from the family cellars of Jorge Borges, Taylor 1927, Vesuvio 2003, Warre 1970 and my absolute pick of the 2007 ports tasted this year - the Quinta do Noval.

Joint seventh place is shared between Croft 1948, Taylor 1948, Nacional 1966 and Crasto 1970 colheita. The Croft was very kindly brought to London by Adrian Bridge from the company cellars and is the only time I have ever seen a Croft '48. It was delicious and quite irresistable. The Taylor 1948 was a surprise bottle that I opened at home and was expecting it to be a Taylor 1955, what a pleasant surprise that was! The 1966 Nacional edged past the 1967 Nacional in a 1966 vs 1967 comparative horizontal that we held in London in November, just to test the theory that 1967 was an unfairly overlooked vintage. The Crasto colheita was shared with us by Miguel Roquette on a visit to Crasto, and was a truly remarkable port to be shared with friends over lunch. All these ports scored 96/100.

In sixth place, Fonseca 1948 - powerful, but spoiled by a slight touch of heat, but only a flaw when compared alongside the best 5 ports. Delicious and well deserving of 97/100.

In joint fourth place, Graham 1955 and Noval 1931 - both exquisite, but not quite as good as the next three ports - its quite something to say that the Noval '31 was the equal fourth place wine of the night at a tasting! 98/100.

In joint second place, Croft 1927 and Croft 1945 - both absolutely superb and only just bettered by the next port below. 99/100.

And in first place, Noval Nacional 1963 - drunk the way that port was meant to be drunk, with friends in Portugal after dinner and showing at its absolute best. The only time I have ever scored a port as 100/100.

I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time last year. Sad to have missed out on the FTLOP Port Gala, but I tried hard to make up for being absent.

[Roy Hersh]

A great post, thanks Alex. Certainly a fine year with some stellar bottles consumed. Was your impression of the 1967 you had vs. the 1966 Nacional ... were both bottles showing in top and youthful form?

As to the 1963 ... it is simply a great wine. From my four most recent examples of 6-7 tastings over all, I had scored it 97, 98, 98, 99. I love it too. Good to see you score this 100 points. I was not sure you'd ever go that high so it was nice to see a perfect score!

[goncalo devesas]

Here it goes:

Over 40y Old - Quinta da Romaneira
Golden White 1952 - Dalva
1970 VP - Borges
1970 Colheita - Quinta da Romaneira
2007 VP - Capela
30y old tawny - Sao Leonardo (Quinta do Mourao)
1994 VP - Quinta do Vesuvio
2005 VP - Quinta do Vesuvio
20y old tawny limited edition - Quinta do Estanho
10y old (white) - Niepoort