For The Love Of Port

If you've tried White Port, what are your overall impressions?

Do they reach the quality of the ruby or tawny versions?

Generally no---but all I've had (with one exception) are basic whites, sometimes mixed with tonic. Overall, not that impressed. Early this year I won four bottles of Barros Very Old Dry White Port the base of which is apparently a 1934 white. It is very good--would certainly try more of a superior grade--yet overall, still prefer traditional port.

Not the basic ones, but I do like the wood aged ones.

Eric Ifune wrote:Not the basic ones, but I do like the wood aged ones.

+1

Basic whites are pretty... basic. I just don't get a lot of enjoyment out of them, and I've never really been fond of Port cocktails.

But wood aged white Port can be great stuff! 1952 Dalva Golden White, 1964 Krohn Colheita Branco, Casa de Ste. Eufemia Special Reserve White... all superb. I haven't had many of the "newer" 20-, 30-, and 40-yr old whites, but look forward to trying them!

I was just a little surprised at how much like a tawny port it taste, but then I have only had 1 white port, a Casa de Santa Eufemia 30 Year. Personally I like the ruby ports better than the whites if this one is any indication.

Most, though not all, of the basic White's are shall we say serviceable. Not something I would seek out and drink alone. Mixed with Tonic water or something else, they make a good mixers. Obvisouly, aged ones are a different matter. However, there are two camps of older white Tawny's. About 1/2 of the ones I've had tend to be very dry and bitter and not all that great. The other 1/2 being nicely balanced sweetness, not bitter, and more like it's red tawny sibling.

My only experience with White Ports are ofcourse from Niepoort! On a handfull of occasions I have had the "Very old dry White". An extraordinary Port! And tastes like an ancient Colheita!

Ups, I had an American friend over for Ports last Year....and he brought me a White Quinta do Mourão direct from Portugal.

And I would never mix that with Tonic.... It was very fruity and alive.

Some that have posted here, were on last year's Port Harvest Tour where we were fortunate to have a bottle (my 2nd) of the Niepoort 1917 White Port. Great juice, really. Loved both experiences even though they were bottled some years apart, the last version in 1930s and the first one was in 1927.

Also on the 2014 PHT we had that awesome 1935 Kopke White Colheita which I thought was pretty fun to try, but not in the same class as the aforementioned 1917. I never thought I would ever get to see that a 2nd time in my life and it did show up as quite a surprise, actually.

I think on the 2011 tour we had a fairly old Niepoort white as well. It was either from the 30s or 40s but I wasn't taking good notes at that stage of the day. I remember it being pretty dark in the glass.

I don't get a lot of joy out of 10 yr old tawny ports, so on balance I prefer the white 10 yr olds that I've tried. I think the Kopke 10 yr old white punches above it's weight. I have a bottle of Andressen 10 yr old which is rather moorish too.

Micheal T - Are you sure the Casa de Santa Eufemia 30 Year old is a white? I think it might be 50% tawny and 50% white. I have a bottle I bought directly from them because the blend was unusual, when we were there on the 2013 harvest tour.

Paul Fountain wrote: Micheal T - Are you sure the Casa de Santa Eufemia 30 Year old is a white? I think it might be 50% tawny and 50% white. I have a bottle I bought directly from them because the blend was unusual, when we were there on the 2013 harvest tour.

That might explain why I thought it tasted so much like a tawny. I will check it out and see, I still have 1 bottle.

Paul Fountain wrote:Micheal T - Are you sure the Casa de Santa Eufemia 30 Year old is a white? I think it might be 50% tawny and 50% white. I have a bottle I bought directly from them because the blend was unusual, when we were there on the 2013 harvest tour.

The label, which I am going to try to attach here, says it is a Special Reserve White matured in oak for 30 years. So is this a white port or a tawny?

Michael T wrote:The label, which I am going to try to attach here, says it is a Special Reserve White matured in oak for 30 years. So is this a white port or a tawny?

Yes!

Eric Menchen wrote:

Michael T wrote:The label, which I am going to try to attach here, says it is a Special Reserve White matured in oak for 30 years. So is this a white port or a tawny?

Yes!

I am more confused than ever, so you are saying it can be a white port and a tawny at the same time?

Eric Menchen wrote:

Michael T wrote:The label, which I am going to try to attach here, says it is a Special Reserve White matured in oak for 30 years. So is this a white port or a tawny?

Yes!

Hah. Ok this is where things get a little confusing in the land of the Douro. Tawny is just generic term that means it was aged in barrel at least 7 years or more. You can have a white tawny and a red tawny if both were aged appropriately. The later is typically just called a Tawny and the previous a white (or Branco) Tawny. Of course then there is Colheita's, where Branco or white is added for white ones and nothing is added for the red ones. I tried explaining that to a bunch of college students once with the help of a PowerPoint. The confused blank stares were priceless.

Ok, well back to Roy's original question. Apparently I have not tried a white port, what I tried was a white port tawny. Any suggestions for a good white port?

Michael T wrote:Ok, well back to Roy's original question. Apparently I have not tried a white port, what I tried was a white port tawny. Any suggestions for a good white port?

I'd still say that is a white port, which happened to be a tawny. I don't know what Roy's original intent was when he asked.

I'm a fan of some of the old sweet whites, but not really of the old or new dry whites. The very young dry whites seem to be designed as mixers, while the old dry ones while they can be impressive are not really my taste, such as the Kopke 1935 white. Kopke have also made some sweet whites - I have only tried the 30yr white which I did not like, it was too sweet and unbalanced. Others however are superb, and I think the old sweet whites are sometimes an overlooked category. The Dalva Golden White '52, '63 and '71 are all very good (though I would rank them '52, '71, '63 personally) and more recently I had and enjoyed the Barao de Vilar white colheita 1989. Unfortunately I was not able to meet Glenn in London on his recent visit, otherwise I would have been interested to share one of these with him and compare his recent experience with the Barao de Vilar 1977 colheita.

Found two old White Ports in my Winefridge. I dont know what to expect. I no they both should have been drunk Maby 40+ years ago....I will tell You saturday in wich drain they went down....

One Barros branco and an special White from Gonzalez Byass.

Opend the Barros Branco Lacrima last night. Age unknown, with a T-stopper. The color allmost transperent. At first a little cemical taste, But that blew off fairly quickly. A little thin, But a long Nice aftertaste.
Bought direct from Portugal for 16€.

Sometimes, these standard Ports are not very drinkable, But this one was a good experience.

Ok, well back to Roy's original question. Apparently I have not tried a white port, what I tried was a white port tawny. Any suggestions for a good white port?

My recommendation of a fine White Port that is not Tawny = Churchill's White Port. It has long been my White Port of choice, one that is NOT Tawny or a specific age like a 10 or 20 year old White Port. It pairs beautifully with food too!