For The Love Of Port

Hello everyone, as a member who is a neophyte to port and had more madeira and sherry by comparison, I would welcome your suggestions for LBVs especially offering solid value for money. I am guessing they should be treated with the same respect as a 5, 10 or 15 year old madeira vis a vis vintage madeira, something that offers a similar experience to the top wine but not having the same depth or concentration, meant to be enjoyed guilt free and keeping your hands off the more serious and expensive wines until they are fully mature.

I've been staring at a 1995 Smith Woodhouse LBV wondering if it is worth dropping about $38 Cdn for it. Or are there other options that I should be considering, even if a bit more pricey?

Thanks in advance for your input here.

Ray

Ray,

One of the best LBV deals I've found in BC is the 2003 Quinta do Noval LBV. An excellent port for a decent price!

Not sure what you can find north of our border but 2005 Quinta do Crasto can be found for $17/bottle (case price), 2004 Dows for $18, etc. (Dow's is unfiltered). Quinta de la Rosa 2003 is also quite nice, but I see it mostly for $30, less with a case of course.

Quinta do Noval LBV does not appear to be available in BC at the moment, but do Crasto retails here for $27 a bottle. Has anyone tried and enjoyed the Taylor Fladgate? I'm intrigued about this one because its website claims to serve it to visitors at the estate. Smith Woodhouse makes special claims for its LBV based on 4 years of cellaring there prior to release.

PS..thanks for your responses!

The 1995 Smith Woodhouse LBV is a very nice one. I find it to be more VP-like than classically LBV-like, and its age gives it a very nice, smooth feel.

I also really like the 2003 Taylor Fladgate LBV, but I'm not as fond of their more recent LBVs. They're still good, but to me the 2003 is head and shoulders above the others.

thanks Glenn!

I'm not sure what's available in your area but these producers generally make a solid unfiltered LBV

Niepoort
Quinta do Crasto
Smith Woodhouse
Warre's
Quinta do Noval
Quevedo
Taylor* (2003)

To name a few


*Filtered, but still very good

thanks Andy...and I am pleased to see a few estate names keep reappearing among the recommendations.

I would recommend trying the 1999 Smith Woodhouse LBV, but give it 24 hours in the decanter before you drink it.

I'd agree with all of the other suggestions so far. Also, I just had my first Ramos-Pinto LBV (2004) and it was excellent - one of the better unfiltered LBVs I've had in a long time. It's definitely worth a try if you can find it where you are.

Thank you John and Lamont. Guess this means I have to convince my wife to take the plastic flowers out of the crystal decanter and use it for its intended purpose.

If I may share an unrelated silly anecdote, when trying to uncork the 1988 Chateau Margaux last Friday, the cork split in half. Its bottom was wedged in the bottle neck, leaving no option but forcing it down into the bottle, loose sediment and all. Since I could not use the decanter, to my temporary great and patrician consternation I was left with no alternative but a (thankfully clean and unused) teapot with strainer designed for unbagged loose tea leaves. It is in some circles bordering on sacrilege to serve a mature Bordeaux First Growth, but the crowd, in good spirits thants to generous servings of Chateauneuf du Pape, found the whole exercise hilarious. The pot worked flawlessly, although I am now very reluctant to use it for tea!!

Note to Markus et al: the 2003 QdN LBV is still available in my home town of Surrey (aka by the critics "Sorry" and "Slurrey") for $34 a bottle.

Ray Barnes wrote:Note to Markus et al: the 2003 QdN LBV is still available in my home town of Surrey (aka by the critics "Sorry" and "Slurrey") for $34 a bottle.

Good to know! I noticed it wasn't on the BCLB website anymore. I'm down to 3 bottles so I'll need to restock up in case they are running out.

Warre LBV - Any vintage
Dow LBV - 2005 is special
Noval LBV - not sure which vintages are best, but is generally solid LBV
Ramos Pinto - has several good vintages
Quevedo - Whatever you can find

I'm surprised no one mentioned the rozes.

their 94 lbv is absolutely fantastic. (requires 2-3 days of decant tho)

Ray,

The 1995 Smith Woodhouse LBV is a very nice LBV made in a "traditional" style, that is, unfiltered and bottled after 4 years unlike "regular" LBVs that are bottled after 5 or 6 years (check the bottling date).

As for whether C$38 is good value is hard to say. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to be told by a friend here in Edmonton that it was available in one store for C$24.99. I bought the last 3 bottles of the 1994 and 3 of the 1995. I should have bought many more of the 1995 as they are now selling it for about C$38 and the value isn't there for me. An extra C$12 can get me a 2000/2003 Portal VP or a 2000 Ferriera VP.

Moses mentioned the 2005 Dow's LBV being something special. I've not had it but I have tried both the '03 and '04 and they were pretty good in a drier style. They're not unfiltered (bottled after 5 years I think) but but they have good density and extraction and could use a decant. In both instances, with the '03 and '04, my partner and I drank it over three days. It's about $25 here in Edmonton and in BC so it might be worth a try.

I've had my eye on trying a Cockburn LBV (C$20) but haven't yet done so. I don't know if it's available in BC.

Cheers...........................................Mahmoud.

Thanks for the update. On my last check, the 1995 Smith Woodhouse LBVs were gone and they were stocking 1999s, bottled in 2003.

Jeff G. wrote:I'm surprised no one mentioned the rozes.

their 94 lbv is absolutely fantastic. (requires 2-3 days of decant tho)

I have a couple left in the cellar and although I've not had one in a couple years, the last time I did it was drinking very well. Thanks for reminding me, i had forgotten about this one...and I need to open another sometime soon to check in on it.

Ray Barnes wrote:Thanks for the update. On my last check, the 1995 Smith Woodhouse LBVs were gone and they were stocking 1999s, bottled in 2003.

1999 is also very good.