The BEST Port Wine you've opened/tasted in 2024?

[Roy Hersh]

I have been guilty of not doing this kind of post in the past two years, as I pretty much turned the Forum over to Andy and Glenn, our FTLOP Forum moderators. While they both do an excellent job, in 2024, I have tried to be better at coming back here to post more often than I have in the years since Covid.

I am very pleased with Andy and Glenn's diligence in keeping this Forum alive and well for so many years. Thank you guys!

Finally, after years of involvement in building a presence on FB and IG social media platforms (for FTLOP) it took up a lot of my time. But excuses aside, Let's get back to what has been your favorite Port that you have either opened and/or consumed, or just had a sip or glass of in 2024?

You can choose one, two or list one or some from a variety of categories. It's all good, please feel free to share what your discoveries have been too.

[Al B.]

I seem to have been in the right place at the right time to have tasted some astonishingly good Ports in 2024. Nothing quite reached perfection but I awarded 99 points to 2 wines and 98 points to nearly an unprecedented dozen Ports.

99 points were given to the 1900 Niepoort Colheita (bottled 1971) that Garrafeira Nacional on Rua das Flores in Porto were selling by the glass from their enomatic machine shortly after they opened. Maybe I was being generous because I was so happy to see GN open in Porto, maybe I wasn't.

The other 99 point award went to the Quinado that Kopke included in the Library Collection released this year. Matured for over 100 years in barrel without racking, this was bottled in 37.5cl to be put into the "Library Collection" along with half bottles of a Very Very old Tawny and a Vermouth.


I gave 98 points to a surprising number of Ports in 2024, those being Cockburn 1912 VP, Croft 1945 VP, Ferreira 1940 VP, Graham 1927 VP, Kopke 1937 Colheita, Kopke 50YO Tawny, Kopke VVO Tawny (Library Collection), Kopke Vermouth (Library Collection), São Leonardo 1972 Colheita, Taylor 1948 from the Raby Castle sale and Vesuvio 1994.

[Mike J. W.]

I was also fortunate to taste some really great Ports this year. All of the best ones were some version of Tawnies that I had on my May tour for Glenn's birthday. The top one that I had was DR's 150 year-old Tawny. I didn't rate it at 100 points, but it was damn close (and maybe should have been) as I rated it at 99+++. It's a somewhat silly rating and it was excellent, but I feel like I will know when something is 100 point worthy; nonetheless, it was an amazing Port and the best one that I've ever had, hands down.

Not far behind that was the Andresen 1970 Colheita. I rated that at 99+. It tasted absolutely amazing and had probably the most intoxicating bouquet I have ever experienced on any wine. My note at the time said that the aroma had the same effect as inhaling laughing gas in that it envelops the senses and almost altered my consciousness.

In third place was DR's 90 year-old white at 98++. It was easily the best White that I have ever tasted,

There were several that came in close behind the DR 90 white in scoring, but I'll leave my list at that.

[Glenn E.]

This is always a fun thread! I get to flip back through my tasting notebooks and look at all the amazing Port that I've had in the last year. Drawing the line is always hard, because I'm lucky to get to taste so much incredible Port!

I'm drawing the line at a minimum score of 98 for wood aged Ports and 97 for bottle aged Ports this year. Even just 1 more point down (to 97 for wood aged and 96 for bottle aged) would have resulted in a list at least twice as long, if not 3 times as long. There were a lot of fantastic Ports that just didn't quite "make the cut" for this year's post! (Including some 100+ year old Tawny Ports that "only" received 97 points.)

98 - DR L70 1/25/2024
98 - 1937 Kopke Colheita (2019) 5/18/2024
98 - 1963 Andresen Colheita 5/21/2024
99 - 1970 Andresen Colheita Family Reserve 5/21/2024
98 - Quinta da Brunheda "Simao" VVO Tawny Port 5/21/2024
98 - DR 90 Year Old White Port cask sample 5/25/2024
99 - DR 150 Year Old Tawny Port cask sample 5/25/2024
98 - S. Leonardo "60" White Port 10/19/2024

97 - 1970 Graham VP 1/27/2024
97 - 1948 Graham VP 5/14/2024
97 - 1927 Graham VP 5/15/2024 - I feel like this score might have been stingy. It was incredible. Alex gave it 98; I probably should have.
97 - 2011 Graham VP 5/20/2024
98 - 2011 Graham The Stone Terraces VP 5/20/2024
97 - 2020 Graham Limited Edition VP 5/20/2024
97+ - 2021 Graham The Stone Terraces VP 5/20/2024
97 - 1977 Fonseca VP 5/22/2024
97 - 1985 Fonseca VP 5/22/2024
97 - 1994 Fonseca VP 5/22/2024
97 - 1966 Graham VP 5/23/2024
97 - 1994 Vesuvio VP 8/3/2024

Everything dated from 5/18 to 5/25 was on my birthday trip, which - as you can see - was pretty awesome. All of the Grahams on 5/20 (4 of the 10 made this list) and the 1985 Fonseca on 5/22 were bottles that I brought from my cellar to taste at Graham and at Panascal respectively.

No 100s this year. I must be getting jaded.

[Mike J. W.]

Everything dated from 5/18 to 5/25 was on my birthday trip, which - as you can see - was pretty awesome. All of the Grahams on 5/20 (4 of the 10 made this list) and the 1985 Fonseca on 5/22 were bottles that I brought from my cellar to taste at Graham and at Panascal respectively.

No 100s this year. I must be getting jaded.

Glenn,

I may be going crazy, but didn't we have a 2017 Graham's The Stone Terrace at the Graham's tasting on your trip? The reason I ask is because I scored it as my Favorite Graham's that day followed closely by the 2011 GST. I thought it was a tiny bit more concentrated than the 2011 version. Of course, I could have been drunk on my butt and imagined it; I'm just surprised it didn't make your list.

[Glenn E.]

I may be going crazy, but didn't we have a 2017 Graham's The Stone Terrace at the Graham's tasting on your trip? The reason I ask is because I scored it as my Favorite Graham's that day followed closely by the 2011 GST. I thought it was a tiny bit more concentrated than the 2011 version. Of course, I could have been drunk on my butt and imagined it; I'm just surprised it didn't make your list.

We did! I scored it 96, so it just barely didn't make the list.

I have long thought that the 2011 was the best of the series. It is a bit difficult to taste alongside the others, though, because it is (relatively) so much older. Almost twice as old as the 2017 at the time we tasted them! These almost always score well for me the first time, when they're just 3 years old, so that's probably why the 2021 scored so well on this trip. It may not hold at that score in coming years.

[Eric Ifune]

I'm going with the Brunheda Simao. Although that impromptu blend might have been a hair better.

[Lucas S]

1966 Graham was something special, I have to give 2024 to it.

2001 QVDM Sarzedinho was best QPR/biggest surprise for me, punched well above its weight.

[John M.]

White: DR White 30 was it for me.

VP: 1966 Grahams certainly was up there.

Tawny: Romaneira 40 Year

I drank a lot more tawnies this year than ever before....a 3-4 year trend.

[Eric Menchen]

I was also fortunate to taste some really great Ports this year. All of the best ones were some version of Tawnies that I had on my May tour for Glenn's birthday. ...

The Glenn trip certainly had an awesome array of tawny, and some pretty nice VPs too. But while I really enjoy drinking something like Brunheda Simao or 100+ year old things after dinner with Miguel Braga, with their incredible concentration I can't keep drinking them throughout the evening glass after glass. But I might be able to do that with DR VVO L70, my highest scoring Port of the year. I'm willing to give it a try. I just have to open one of those with a smaller group some time.

My favorite VP of the year was 1994 Taylor, tasted blind in the FTLOP anniversary 1994 horizontal tasting.

[Glenn E.]

My favorite VP of the year was 1994 Taylor, tasted blind in the FTLOP anniversary 1994 horizontal tasting.

Yes, but which one?

As I recall, Stewart was the only person to figure out that there were actually 3 glasses of 1994 Taylor in that session, 2 of which came from the same magnum.

[Eric Menchen]

My favorite VP of the year was 1994 Taylor, tasted blind in the FTLOP anniversary 1994 horizontal tasting.

Yes, but which one?

The one from the 750 ml bottle was much better than the two glasses from the magnum, so that one. The two glasses from magnum I did not identify as the same wine, but at least gave the same score, less than the glass from the 750.

[Glenn E.]

My favorite VP of the year was 1994 Taylor, tasted blind in the FTLOP anniversary 1994 horizontal tasting.

Yes, but which one?

The one from the 750 ml bottle was much better than the two glasses from the magnum, so that one. The two glasses from magnum I did not identify as the same wine, but at least gave the same score, less than the glass from the 750.

Interesting! I like both glasses from the magnum much better than the 750, and even though I knew that they were from the same magnum I liked the 2nd glass better than the first. (Though I did give them the same score.)

The Warre was the one that really surprised me - it almost made this list at 96+!

[Eric Menchen]

The Warre was the one that really surprised me - it almost made this list at 96+!

1994 Ferreira was my big surprise, coming in at 96 points, with big powerful flavors.

[Frederick Blais]

a few nice bottles this year...

Niepoort Garrafeira 1987 is a good example of everything you want in a bottle.

I was gladdly surprised with Messias 40 white and Qta Estanho 50 Tawny.

[Roy Hersh]

Frederick,

I have had that 1987 Niepoort Garrafeira, and 2 of 3x, it has scored the highest of all of the Niepoort Garrafeiras I've ever tasted.

Admittedly, I am a much bigger fan of their family's Colheitas, but I have had every Garrafeira they've made at least 2x (and some, many more). You are absolutely right on that call!

[Roy Hersh]

Top 10 Wood-Aged Ports - In random order:

1970 Andresen Colheita
Pocas "Bonficado" Tawny = biggest QPR surprise!
1957 Qta. do Mourao Colheita
DR 150 Year Very Very Old Tawny
1961 Krohn Colheita
S. Leonardo 70 Year Old White Port
1963 Andresen Colheita
1963 Burmester Colheita
Pintas 5G (finally!)
DR 90 Year Old White

(Honorable Mention - the unicorn "non-existent" Brunheda Simao - Mind blown).



Top 10 Vintage Ports - In order of preference:

1945 Croft's
2022 Niepoort
1945 Taylor's
2011 Graham's Stone Terraces
2003 Taylor's
1985 Fonseca
1955 Sandeman
1927 Niepoort
1963 Fonseca 
2000 Quinta do Noval Nacional

[Glenn E.]

Niepoort Garrafeira 1987 is a good example of everything you want in a bottle.

I have had that 1987 Niepoort Garrafeira, and 2 of 3x, it has scored the highest of all of the Niepoort Garrafeiras I've ever tasted.

I have only had it twice (that I can remember off the top of my head), and it holds the top 2 scores that I've ever given to any Garrafeira*, not just Niepoort's. The first time was at the Decades tasting where it was out-scored by only 3 wines - an 1851 Warre, a 1927 Niepoort, and a "mystery wine" which was revealed to be an 1863 Niepoort*. And that tasting included a 1931 Noval, which the 1987 Niepoort Garrafeira beat.

* The 1863 Niepoort at the Decades tasting was technically a Garrafeira, but it spent 100 years in wood so it looked and tasted more like a VVO tawny Port.

[Roy Hersh]

That 1863 is always a treat. It was my very first Port from that year, (but I''d already had Madeiras from that excellent year) and the very first time I met Dirk, in the spring of 2002, in Vancouver ... he pulled a bottle from under his table for me to try. I felt so fortunate to meet him in person, and try that Port ... a heck of a generous pour, too. At that same event, sadly, it was the very last time I got to see Bruce Guimaraens, who passed only a few months later.

Glenn, that was an epic tasting in CA, one of my faves. It was also before pours grew much smaller, at later events there. Anyway, I am not sure if we sat right next to one another, but certainly within earshot. That first time tasting the then "new" 1987 Garrafeira ... that Daniel brought from PT. Oddly enough, it was Dirk who was supposed to be there, but it was about 36 hours after Rolf died and he obviously couldn't attend. Honestly, I was really surprised that Daniel did. But it was a very honorable thing to do.

That was one of my 2, possibly 3 ... greatest Port tasting events.With 7 bottlings from the 19th century and almost all showed REALLY well, given how some 1800's Ports show, especially when they are VPs! I am only going from memory, and as I had a ridiculously fantastic bottle of 1851 (with Stewart, Sean C. and other friends in 2013 ... best VP tasting in my life!) but the Warre's bottle then was so much more profound and in much better shape than the one we had in CA ... which didn't suck, but it was far from GREAT. Fond memories. Another decade and they'll be lost.

That 1927 Niepoort was also pretty great and IIRC, we also had a 1987 Niepoort Colheita and maybe one other 1987 Niepoort (maybe a VP?).

[Al B.]

I drank a lot more tawnies this year than ever before....a 3-4 year trend.

Somehow that seems to be happening to me, too.