For The Love Of Port

John a great question that I'm sure others have too, as it is a bit confusing at first.

To add what Derek said. Single Quinta (SQ) ports are from the top vineyards (or Quinta) for a given producer. Taylor Fladgate has Quinta de Vargellas, Dow has Quinta do Bofim, etc. When a house (i.e. Taylor, Fonseca, etc) doesn't "declare" a Vintage Port (VP) in a given year, but when the quality is high enough (but not high enough to declare) they often bottle SQVP's. These ports are not a blend of several vinyards (Quinta's) but bottled from grapes of a single vineyard, hence the Quinta name on the bottle.

Usually, they are great values to buy between declared years. BTW, a great book to read, and keep as a reference, is "Port and the Douro" by Richard Mason. I refer to it regularly.

EDIT: Looks like Tyler beat me to it, good explaination

Jon,

Stick with us ... guys like Derek, Tyler, Andy and others make my life much easier these days as I no longer feel the need to answer every question. There are so many Port savvy folks on this site, it is fun to see all the learning going on.

Taylor and Fonseca are the names of 2 of the most famous port producers.

This is the only thing that I disagreed with of all the information above. I don't necessarily think those two producers are the most famous. Sandeman, Quinta do Noval, Ferreira, and Cockburn are every bit as "famous" and every bit as well known around the globe. But now I am getting picky. The responses above were outstanding and I think picking up one of the many fine books on Port would be well worth your time.

The BASICS FORUM has threads there that list many Port books if you so desire, albeit Richard Mayson's book is probably the best from this decade.

Wow! Once again, thanks for all the helpfull information everyone is posting!

Ok, I have heard back from Rupert Symington who misunderstood me and was talking about 2003.

Here is the real story:

No declarations of 2004's at all from any of our houses.

We will shortly be releasing 'en primeur' bottlings from Dow's Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira, Vesuvio and Roriz.

We will also be bottling some Malvedos, Bomfim and Cavadinha for later release as mature Quinta.

Roy Hersh wrote:"Taylor and Fonseca are the names of 2 of the most famous port producers. "

This is the only thing that I disagreed with of all the information above. I don't necessarily think those two producers are the most famous. Sandeman, Quinta do Noval, Ferreira, and Cockburn are every bit as "famous" and every bit as well known around the globe.

Roy, I didn't say Taylor and Fonseca were THE most famous, I said they were 2 OF the most famous - and shame on you for omitting Graham's, Dow and Warre from your list

Derek

I heard from Miguel Martins this a.m. and he will be declaring the 2004 Vista Alegre and Valle Longo from the Vallegre stable.

I also had an email exchange on a seperate topic with the owner of Quinta do Portal and they will declare the 2004 too.

Any word on opening prices?

I checked the websites of the principle UK en primeur merchants, but found no mention.

Tom

Where can I order 2004 ports en primeur in the Bay Area or elsewhere in the US? I would like to get some of the Vesuvio and possibly the Roriz, but only at a good price. Thanks,

Jay

Most of my normal contacts in the UK have decided not to offer the 2004 en primeur as they still have large stocks of the 2003 that they are having difficulty in selling. Since I am in no rush to get my 2004 wines, I have decided to wait until they ship in 2007.

Alex

as they still have large stocks of the 2003 that they are having difficulty in selling

More grist to the argument that VP prices have overshot

What's the story Stateside?

Tom