For The Love Of Port

There are many different styles of Port and of course, each shipper has their own "house style" so to speak.

Over-simplifying "stylistic preference" to categorize this, is not easy. Some like their VP's fully mature, some prefer them middle aged, some only like ancient bottlings and don't drink Port as often, whilst some actually prefer them young and fresh. Nonetheless, there's no reason to segment stylistic preference to just include age.

What I am trying to get at here, is specific qualities that you prefer ... whether you like them powerful and tannic, smooth and elegant, texturally pleasing, aromatically profound ... well, you get the picture.

So please describe what is your personal preference re: VINTAGE PORT.

That is indeed a difficult question!

I have two main preferences. One is easy to describe, the other much more difficult.

At one extreme, I like extremely young, boistrous, fruity, and "lodgey" Vintage Ports. At this stage of their life it almost doesn't matter which brand because house style, such as it is, tends to be subtle and overpowered by the young fruits and tannins. I avoid the hugely tannic beasts, though, because I just can't get past the tannins. Still, there's something about a brand new Vintage Port that's been bottled for ~3 years or less that I really like. The 2003s were fantastic through the summer of 2007 and into the fall, but started to lose something I can't quite pinpoint as we moved into 2008. I'm already starting to see some of that essence slipping away in the 2007s.

At the other end, I like really old Vintage Ports too. But that's too simple... I don't like all really old VPs. Some VPs start to get hot as they age and I don't like that. Others get too elegant and I don't like that either. They have to still have fruit in them for me, and everything has to be nicely balanced. Good (but not strong) tannins, good acidity, richly sweet, round fruits, and some warmth from the alcohol but not "hot."

Most of the time I'm not that fond of middle-aged Vintage Ports with one very notable exception - the 1985 Graham, which fits all of my criteria for the older end of the Port spectrum except for its actual age. It's not that it seems old - not at all - but that everything is so perfectly balanced that it seems wise far beyond its years. I look forward to seeing how it develops over the next couple of decades!

I'm still figuring out my preferences at this stage, but I have a definite like for drier styles where the tannins keep the sweetness in check. I do like a powerful tannic port, as long as there is balance there as well. I also enjoy the upfront fruitiness of a young vp as well. There isn't too much I don't like really!

I am solidly on the side of aged VPs, as much age as I can get without losing the fruit. My goal is Balance! I love the great body/great balance that the best producers provide but am solidly in favor of diversifying my producer experiences. I tend to dislike the ones that show too much alcohol. I kind of like the "toffee" character that shows up in older VPs. I can enjoy a young one but, to me, it seems wasteful (no offense to those who like and consume them young).

Port is ready to drink when I see the silvery-white flakes at 100+ years of age.

In all seriousness, I’m not sure I have a specific style I prefer. I am not much for very young vintage port, I can tell you that.

I don't ahve enought "experience" with aged VPs to really have an opinion. However. one of the best VPs I ever tasted was a 1976 Guimaraens which felt and tasted like it was bottled the day before. It was massive... amazing fruit, yet a balanced complexity and body.

I enjoy most ports... but to say i like older or younger would be unfair at this point in my sampling life.

Well interestingly, there is no specific preference that seems to fall into a pattern here. Lots of diverse ideas of what people like. A fun read, for sure.

When young, I like a Vintage Port that is a fruit filled, delicious and aromatically powerful and filled with ripe tannins along with the promise for longevity.

For an older Vintage Port, the hallmarks that I look for are deep saturation of color, secondary or tertiary nuanced notes, harmony and softness texturally, acidity and tannins in synch with the fruit and an overall freshness and elegance along with a long lasting finish.

Roy Hersh wrote:For an older Vintage Port, the hallmarks that I look for are deep saturation of color, secondary or tertiary nuanced notes, harmony and softness texturally, acidity and tannins in synch with the fruit and an overall freshness and elegance along with a long lasting finish.

Agreed, Croft 1945 it is

Agreed. I do prefer the 1931 regular bottling of Noval, but the Croft 1945 is my 2nd favorite (not including a recent 1896 which I'll likely never see again).