For The Love Of Port

I am always intrigued to read what people buy as their "go to" Port, whether it is Tawny or Vintage, which producer, what vintage etc.

There are so many great ones out there, but a ton of opinions as to which is the best. I am more interested in "personal favorites" rather than what you consider is the best. Please do share your reason for the selection. Thanks!

Roy, you give me a lot of writing before I turn off the light. Its 23:30 pm here on the east coast!

Well, as stated in another thread and many communicaionts we had, I'm just a big fan of what Niepoort is doing. He is successful in all the ranges he does. No one rivals his colheita that age superbly in bottles. Their vintage Port are also stunning. Their tawny also have to hability to age and improve in bottles and always remain fresh with bright nuances. Their LBV rivals with ease some of the lower end VP, the 99 and 96 are just stunning. It is a shame that we don't have any colheita, Tawny sold trough our regular branches. Never had the chance to taste the Batuta and Charme but the Redoma 2001 is just great. It was my first experience in its new style, the other I tasted were the 96 and 97 that are more rustic but aged gracefully. I looking to meet with Dirk this fall as he invite me. All because of your nice contact Roy, much appreciated.

Then there is Noval, because it is also successful in everything they do. They produce Nacional, the greatest Port I had the chance to taste was the 2000, purity and freshness mixed with concentration and power. They also produce top of the line colheita and to me the best tawny 20 years available. Their LBV shows great complexity and concentration thad make them age for more than 15 years easily.

And the last one, Qta do Vesuvio. To my taste it was the best port of the 2000 wave behind the Nacional. So immense in the mouth with so much fruit and extraction. To me Vesuvio in its youth is showing more fruit and concentration than any other VP and its really appealing to me. I just can't wait to see how they are going to turn out as they age. I like the commitement the Symingtons made by releasing top of the line VP every year the quality is there, truly impressive and the price remains fair for what it is. I have every vintage since 1992 and looking forward to add more!

Without really thinking much about this question, my personal favorite has to be the 1970 Nacional. There are many more, but this one off the top of my head truly stands out. I guess the '63 as well.

Well, Roy, as you know, there are many "go to" Portos . . . at least, for me.

When it comes to

. . . White Porto, I have a distinct preference for Churchill's that has yet to be equaled by that of another house.

. . . Colheitas, Niepoort, Kopke and Burmester are on my list, as is Krohn and Romariz (though based on fewer tastings), probably in that order, but the more I try Noval's versions of this style, the higher they rank.

. . . 20-Year Tawnies: I prefer A.A. Ferreira overall, though Barros can also be exquisite.

. . . 10-Year Tawnies: Niepoort, Noval and Delaforce are all favorites.

. . . Late Bottled Vintage Porto: As you know, Roy, Quinta do Crasto is one I'm partial to, but here, too, what is important for me in the Traditional, Unfined version -- and which specific wine captures the "top" position can vary with the specific vintage and the specific wine. In random order, Niepoort and Noval score here, too, as does Smith-Woodhouse, Ramos-Pinto, Quinta do Portal-- and now that you've mentioned it, I guess I'll have to try the A.A. Ferreira!

. . . Vintage Porto: Here, too, it's a matter of "all the usual suspects." Depending upon the vintage, and in alphabetical order, I love/have loved Cockburn (albeit not in a while, but I still have fond memories!), Churchill's, Croft (coming back, I should think), Delaforce (ditto), Dow's, Fonseca, Gould, Campbel, Graham's, Niepoort, Quinta do Crasto, Quinta do Noval, Quinta do Vesuvio (and several other single quintas, too numerous to mention), Taylor's (aka Taylor, Fladgate) and Warre's . . . did I leave anyone out? Well, Sandeman, I suppose, but it's been a long time since I've had a Vintage Porto from this house that stands up to their wines of old . . . .

Cheers,
Jason

Jason,

I am total agreement with you on the Crasto LBV. Also, I just had the Churchills White port on Sunday. Very nice. I like the Fonseca Scirocco (sp?) as well. The Ferreira White is what I drink most of though.

I have had lots of white Ports and Churchill is certainly way at the top. For a drier and probably less complex white Port, I enjoy the Dow's flavor profile. I have never had the Ferreira White Port although I do have a bottle of their "Lagrima" style of white Port in the cellar for sometime this summer. I look forward to trying it.

TAYLOR!

Fonseca first Taylor second for me.

recently, 1980 royal oporto not realy rated by anybody but i liked it full of strong berry flavour opening another soon.

I don't really have a "go to" port. There are so many out there and just not enough time to try them all.

I rarely drink the same port twice in near succession. I've probably drunk more Quinta do Tua 1987 than anything else and that was a great value "go to" port a while back when I bought a couple of cases at auction and they were fabulous.

Right now my "go to" port is a Quarles Harris 1995 Own Label VP. Light, fruity and delicious - but not a serious or heavyweight port.

Alex

My favorite overall producer would probably be Niepoort, the standard level ports are already very good and it only gets better the higher you go.

When it comes to VP alone, I think my favorite is Fonseca, the elegant complexity of a good Fonseca VP is unequaled IMO.

I can't say that I really have a "go to" port, but Taylor's '77 is an old standby of mine. Warre's 20 year old is a VERY tasty tawny that ranks right up there with Ramos-Pinto & Burmester. In terms of LBV, I'm partial to Churchill.

Graham's is my go to port with Taylor almost even. The 63, 70,83, 85, yes , the now controversial 77 have been consistant favorites at our house.. The various Malvedos , have all been staples and of course their LBV and the famous 6 Grape NV are great values. I am currently drinking from 2 cases of 95 Malvedos bought for $20.
Taylor is not really behind . The 55, 63, 70 , 77, 85 and the blockbuster 92 are great ports. Their LBV 's and their First Estate NVand their various Vargellas and other single quintas are outstanding.

Fonseca is a very close third.
Ferreira was my first VP and always great value and a sentimental favorite.

Ok, I'll play at my own game:

I would not be able to say that I prefer a specific house style above all the others. I have done verticals of just about every single top producer and tasted these wines seperately too. In some vintages I prefer Dow, some Niepoort, others Graham, Taylor, Fonseca, Vesuvio, Croft, Noval/Nacional to be sure ... while finding deep pleasure in some lesser known producers as well.

Giving this more thought, I find that in any given vintage ... there are normally a handful or half dozen top wines of the vintage. When examining those ... the same 5-10 names tend to pop up, but occasionally a producer not normally thought of in the above group ... makes a fantastic wine that puts it way high in the overall spectrum.

For example:
Kopke and Burmester in 1985
Ferreira and Sandeman in 1935
Vargellas and Guimaraens in 1987
Offley in 1908
Warre in 1927
Gould Campbell in 1977
Feist in 1970
Smith Woodhouse in 1983
Delaforce in 1963
Cockburn in 1912

and the list goes on and on.

Roy,

Delighted to see Gould Campbell 1977 on your list - I have never tasted it but someone delivered 12 bottles of this at my house yesterday 8)

I don't think I have tasted a wide enough range to declare a favourite shipper yet but from what experience I do have I think Graham's is in front of Fonseca by a short nose. Although, I have to say I have had more Graham's vintages (63, 66, 70, 85, 91) than I have had Fonseca (63, 66, 77). I have had quite a few examples of Malvedos and Guimaraens and definately prefer Malvedos, which is probably why I am putting Graham's slightly in front.

Maybe we should organise a 1945, 1955, 1963, 1966, 1970, 1977, 1985, 1994, 2000 & 2003 vertical of each side by side just to be sure

Derek

Regarding "low-quality" tawnies, I actually prefer australian tawnies. But I'm not that well versed in port yet - and I tend to avoid cheap port.

I generally stay clear of low-qual. rubys, as LBV offers much more Q/P.

When it comes to LBV I prefer Rozes (unfiltered), Romariz (as an alternative to ruby) or Warres (unfiltered).

Vintage Port - Fonseca.

Xyo tawny - Niepoort

Colheita - Burmester

When friends ask me for a Port recommendation, I always tell then to go for Niepoort - as (for my taste) there isn't a bad bottling in their entire line-up.

Dow VP is a personal favorite - whilst no bottling can claim "Best of the Vintage" in my TNs, it is the one house I buy every year (declared or not), and I have yet to come across a disappointing bottle. It is a style I enjoy a lot, and hope to do so for many years to come (just bought some '03s)!

My go to port, the one that is reasonably priced, easy to enjoy and doesn't make you feel like you have over analyze it to get you moneys worth is 1988 Grahams Malvedos.
unfortunately I can't find the stuff any more locally in denver or really on the internet to any great extent, and I am out.

my favorite VP in terms of overall quality and quality-to-price value has to be the Grahams 85 hands down

I prefer different houses in different vintages, but if I had to pick one "go-to" producer which, on average, rarely stumbles, I would go with Noval. At the low end, their Raven ruby is not a bad little deal. Their vintage ports are always among my favorites since the 1994 vintage. Their colheitas are wonderful (I am in love with the 1974)... and for special occasions there is Nacional.