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Port Primer

Port comes in a number of varieties, which differ significantly in style, quality and price. Authentic, “true” Port comes from the Douro region of Portugal. There are many imitations made in the New World, and they continue to improve. Below is a short primer to “true” Port styles.

WHITE: Traditionally lightweight; a rather bland, sweetish drink, usually enjoyed as an apéritif. Recently, more interesting examples have become available. Correspondingly, they are more expensive.

RUBY: Robust young Port. As its name suggests, it is ruby-coloured and tends to be sweet and fruity, without the complexity that comes from longer aging.

RESERVE: Though used for a long time, this term only received official approval in 2002. It is somewhat hazy but it tends to mean a wine of good quality blended from different ages to create enhanced flavour and complexity. The best guide to quality here is the reputation of the producer.

TAWNY: Wine that is given prolonged aging in wood, resulting in its characteristic tawny colour. Fine tawny can be superb, developing subtle, nutty tones and a dryer finish. Cheaper versions are a simple blend of white and ruby.

COLHEITA: Like Vintage Ports, Colheitas come from a single vintage, but the resemblance ends here. Colheitas are aged in wood for a minimum of seven years, usually longer. They most resemble Tawny Ports and can be excellent value for money.

VINTAGE CHARACTER: A relatively superior Port from a particular shipper. Usually aged for four years in wood before bottling. Ready to drink when released, it has been filtered and will not throw much sediment. In the view of many port aficionados, this filtration robs it of true vintage character.

CRUSTED: A blend of several good years, this Port is wood-aged for four years. In all other respects, it is treated like Vintage Port, which it closely resembles.

LATE-BOTTLED VINTAGE: Wine from a single year, aged four years before bottling. Like Vintage Character, it is filtered and will not have the richness and complexity of true Vintage Port. It can nonetheless be good value for money. Recent unfiltered versions are more interesting.

SINGLE-QUINTA VINTAGE: The wine of a single year and of a single vineyard or quinta. It is the product of a good year, but not necessarily a widely declared vintage year (see below). In almost all respects, it closely resembles the vintage Port. The main difference is that it is somewhat lighter and tends to mature faster.

VINTAGE: The greatest of all Ports. Vintage Port is the product of a single vintage. The wine spends two years in wood and is then bottled. Vintage Port should age for at least a decade in bottle, and in most cases longer. Ports from a great year will often need twenty years or more to reach their peak. A vintage year is one that is declared by a majority of “shippers” (Port houses). In a very great year, almost everyone will declare.

Complexity In A Bottle

There’s been much consolidation in the Port business in the last few years. Many of the great old traditional houses set up by English merchants in Oporto are now owned by larger concerns. The Symington family, for example, owns Graham’s, Dow’s, and Smith Woodehouse. Symington also acquired another great house, Martinez, last year. Several other venerable names have been gobbled up by major players as well. With this has come new capital investment in the vineyards and the modernization of winemaking facilities.

Hand in hand with these changes, there appears to be a new tendency toward more approachable, fruity styles that require less prolonged ageing. You may not have to wait quite as long before enjoying a Vintage Port, but this will likely come at the cost of complexity.

Cockburn’s Twenty Year Old Tawny Port ($47.49)

Delicate, light tawny colour with a refined rancío bouquet, dried fruit and a dusting of fine spice. Extremely smooth on the palate with stylish dried fruit, some toffee and a trace of licorice.

Martinez Late-Bottled Vintage Port 2004 ($24.23)

Shows some complex developed notes on the nose, with good depth of dark, concentrated, richly plummy fruit and supple tannins. More character and depth than most LBV Ports.

Graham Malvedos Single-Quinta Vintage Port 1998 ($66.80)

Very noticeable fruitiness on the nose with ripe spicy red plum and hints of toffee and caramel. Soft dried-fruit flavour, some caramel, chocolate and a long, rather straightforward finish.

The following two Ports from celebrated years showed the power, complexity and age-worthiness that fine Vintage Port can deliver.

Graham’s 1985 Vintage Port ($100)

The lighter ruby colour indicates advanced bottle development. Gloriously elegant developed bouquet displays dark cherry with Kirsch-like intensity, together with plum, pencil-box oak, cinnamon and clove. Integrated dark rich black cherry and plum, with sweetness balanced by classic fiery bite on the palate. Wraps up with layers of fruit, elegant spice and dry pencil-box oak on the finish.

Dow’s 1994 Vintage Port ($85)

Sill youthful plummy dark fruit bouquet with black cherry, cinnamon and clove spiciness and a whiff of alcohol. Powerful, densely textured flavours of black fruit, black chocolate and plenty of fiery alcohol, fruit and well-integrated oak on the finish. Still a youngster, this Port has yet to lose its primary fruit character. Needs another 3 to 5 years at least.