I think this is where being new to the port world bites me in the behind again, lol.Glenn E. wrote:Sounds like you're shopping at the wrong stores!Andrew E wrote:Being a newbie in the port world, it's price that's killing me. This past decade has had "good" harvests and highly rated vintages. So buying brand new bottles of VP at $40-$100 that aren't going to have the taste profile I prefer for at least 20-30 years (the time variable - they might get corked, a power outage causing them to overheat and get ruined, etc) isn't going to make me want to run out and drop my cash. Their are old VP's already in existence, but $200 a bottle isn't any easier than $40-$100, lol.
Tawny is the easiest to handle, but the value proposition changes a ton past a 20 year old, heck even within the 20 year old range. It's hard to find a great value for the money tawny for $40-$50. Some 20 year old tanwies flirt with 30 year old prices.
It's pretty easy to find 1980-1985 VPs in the $80-$100 range. No, they're not as mature as a 1970, but many of them are "early mature" and even some that aren't are still drinking very well already. None of those vintages is as good as 1970... but then again you're not paying 1970 prices either.
In the 20-yr old tawny range... there are great ones available in the $40-$50 range! And if you go just a little higher (around $55 usually) you can get some of the finest 20-yr old tawnies available. It's really tough to beat the QPR of a 20-yr old... you just have to know what you like and find the producer who makes it. I've seen Sandeman right around $40, and that's one of the best 20-yr olds available (though not a style I prefer). I've seen Fonseca and Taylor around $45. Porto Rocha is good and routinely in the $48-$50 range. But even Ferreira's Duque de Braganca can be found online in the $55 range, and my personal favorite Ramos Pinto is usually in the $50-$55 range.
At retail, an 30-yr old will normally be closer to $80-$90. A 40-yr old will typically be $120 or more. (Up to $140 for Kopke sometimes.) So the 20-yr olds are still great values, and you can splurge once in a while for a 30- or 40-yr old.
The great thing for us as consumers is that tawnies are even sturdier than VPs, so buying over the internet is just about as foolproof as it can get. No fear involved - look for what you want on WineSearcher.com and order away. Sure, you'll have to pay for shipping, but you probably won't have to pay sales tax so it works out in the end.
Sure a 20 year tawny can be great for the price, but I haven't tried nearly enough of them to know which ones I like, haha. That means going through more than one $40-50 bottle to find where my tastes lie. The Otima 20 Roy likes to mention was a welcome low cost revelation. I've tried Sandeman (at a restaurant... ) and while it was better than any 10 I've had so far, it wasn't my style to continue forking $40 out for it. My other biggest hurdle is Everett, WA , haha. It's all rubies and basic tawny ports up here. I have considered going online but just haven't yet.