For The Love Of Port

I know many people and producers tend to give either very short or very long windows of how well Port will stay fresh and enjoyable once opened. I'm curious as to what you have found to be the optimal drinking window for the Ports you enjoy. This can be as broad as a general category of Port (VP, LBV, Basic Tawny, etc) or one particular brand (Sandeman Founder's Reserve, Bin 27, Six Grapes, etc).

i usually begin tasting my 94 rozes lbv about a week after i open them. Pop, taste to see if corked, place stopper on decanter and ignore for 1 week.

i've found the dow 2007 showing some nicer and more balanced red fruits after 3 days of being opened.

I tend to think of a 1 day to 3 day window. I've gone longer, but will then stopper the bottle/decanter and put in fridge. I've certainly had port that was opened a week (and in restaurants a couple times--who knows how long those were opened); often they are worse off. Most of my parameters are from what I've picked up here--and it seems to work.

I drink more tawnies than anything else, and for me they seem freshest for a little less than a week. I just stopper them and leave them on the kitchen counter.

They'll last over a month and still be good, but they lose a little something after that first 3-5 days. It varies quite a bit by producer, though - the Quinta do Portal 20-yr old doesn't seem to reach its peak for about a week, and then is excellent for a couple of weeks before starting to taper off. (I had a bottle open that I forgot about, otherwise it never would have survived that long.)

2005 Dow LBV can go a couple of weeks once opened.

Thanks to those who've replied so far. For anyone else, there is no correct answer here so please post your own experiences.

My last bottle was a Burmester 30 y old tawny that lasted about 6 weeks, kept in the fridge.

I drank in the first 3 weekends and then in the last one.

First sips very nice, quality more or less unchanged for the first 2 weeks.

In the end was still enjoyable, but had lost some "edge".

Andy Velebil wrote:How long do feel Port lasts once opened?

About three hours?

Derek T. wrote:

Andy Velebil wrote:How long do feel Port lasts once opened?

About three hours?

Drinking alone are we?

Eric Menchen wrote:

Derek T. wrote:

Andy Velebil wrote:How long do feel Port lasts once opened?

About three hours?

Drinking alone are we?

Not necessarily, provided the minimum standard of one bottle per person applies

Been thinking abut this question for a few days, and have concluded as follows:
Vintage I have tried several times to drink them over several days, but I don't think I have ever experienced that a VP is better in day two than on the opening day. I find that they are losing the greatness and moving from very nice to quite nice.
For LBV it is a little bit better, but max two days.
For VP and LBV I do not keep them open in the decanter, but put them back into the bottle and cork them.

Tawnies / colheitas they can last easily for two weeks. Recently we been using Burmester 20 yrs tawny as aperitif, and that works well for such period.

Whites is possible to have them in the fridge for easily two-three weeks. Tried longer, but then they may get slightly bitter.

You mean Port lasts longer than a day? who knew?

In seriousness, as many have indictaed already, I really do think it depends upon producer and in the case of Vintage Port, the age. It also really depends on what you prefer, as the Port will evolve over those days that it is open and show different characteristics, some that I may like, some that I may not.

For younger VPs (I know Derek, sorry, we still drink some of 'em young even though I'd love to afford more age) they have tremendous power up front, but are often a wee bit disjointed. For that reason, day two is almost always better. In the few cases where I have allowed a VP to sit open for >1 week, I find after day three or four, it just simply loses something magical. Sometimes still very good, but most often, less magical than late in day 1 or in day 2.

For older VPs, after a few hours of decant, day one is typically where I find the majority of the sweet spot. If I get the chance to try it early in day two, it is usually great. Nearing the end of day two though, things sometimes tend to drop off a bit.

In LBVs, if they are unfiltered and around 10 yrs old (which is what I aim for when i open them) they typically are still showing string in days 3-4 with some taper after that. Younger LBVs that are unfiltered usually can go almost a week while still holding their own.

Unfiltered LBVs seem to be a mixed bunch - some I can't even touch for 4-5 days... so longer is better with them. Others seem to be great pop-n-pour.

Agree with most that it depends on producer and vintage ... but obviously the category of Port even comes before those parameters. Great topic!

When it's about a young VP I drink them within a week time, but prefer day 2, 3 and 4. After that the "wow" is fading away. When it's about an old(er) VP I prefer day 1 and 2 after proper decanting. But then again I must admid never have tried to drink it after a week or so.
An unfilterred LBV like Warre or Niepoort I easily drink over 2 weeks. I do keep my open bottles in the fridge, never in the decanter, always in the bottle.

Some frail old VP's really do go off the boil quite quickly once decanted, but more robust wines generally last much longer than is often supposed.

There are two tips though, I would give for preserving a decanter of VP

1) Don't let it get warm. Keep it cellar cool.

2) When re-visiting a decanter after a day or so, take a clean damp cloth and wipe clean the stopper and neck, both inside and out. The drip residues from your last visit will be very oxidised, and this can add a stale note to the nose when you pour again.

Tom

Tom Archer wrote: 2) When re-visiting a decanter after a day or so, take a clean damp cloth and wipe clean the stopper and neck, both inside and out. The drip residues from your last visit will be very oxidised, and this can add a stale note to the nose when you pour again.

Tom

That's good one! Never thought of that

Young ruby port that hasn't been in the bottle long seems to last very well when stored in the fridge or at cellar temperature. I will happily drink a bottle over a week or even two, enjoying the changes I experience in the wine over that time. I will sometimes even write tasting notes on the same wine at different times so that I can compare flavour profiles once the wine has been finished.

Ruby port that has been in the bottle for longer, say up to 40 years, I will try to drink in 3-4 days at most as I find that after 3-4 days the wine starts to taste a little stewed and the alcohol can often stand out strongly.

Really old port I like to drink in one, possibly two evenings. It rarely lasts more than one evening since these are the bottles which tend to get opened and shared with fellow port lovers!

And as for colheita or tawny port - I have no idea since I so rarely drink them. I only own two bottles of colheita port and one is due to be opened next week.