For The Love Of Port

This is my wedding year ! My wife and I love the Quinta do Vesuvio. I have 18 or so bottles of this. I have bought a few of the '94T and '94F to try before I purchase more or not. Which do you like the most and why if your willing? Also which would you recommend for now versus longer term. I hope to buy heavy from this vintage as I'm getting older (almost 46) and expect this to be the most in my wheelhouse for my lifetime. Thanks for input in advance.

Along with Vesuvio, Graham is my stand-out favourite of the vintage based on current QPR and approachability within the next 15 years (the Taylor may have a slight edge in terms of pure quality, though seems to go for nearly double the price in the UK and requires, i think, a LOT more time - that said it is still an essential part of your cellar if you are collecting 94s!).

Otherwise, Noval is rated very highly by a lot of people, but i find it so closed at the moment that it is very hard to evaluate. This caveat applies to pretty much all the other big names i have - i haven't had an awful lot of pleasure out of drinking Fonseca/Dow/Warre 94s over the last year and find it very hard to make an evaluation of relative greatness. But i'm sure you wouldn't be sorry to have all of them in your cellar in 15-20 yrs!

Ramos Pinto, if you can find it, is beautiful and is in a great early-drinking phase now.

In terms of value for money options, Martinez is very nice and can be picked up cheaply now and again.

I have had a couple of fantastic bottles of Niepoort, but equally a couple ruined by VA - i haven't heard of this being a widespread problem in the way that it is with the 97 vintage (and am not desperate to sell the case i have in long term storage just yet), but caveat emptor.

- Also, do not turn your nose up as Smith Woodhouse LBV and Warre LBV - both of these are great QPR (though increasingly difficult to find)

Boy a year that turned out some fantastic VP's and you really can't go too wrong from most of the major houses. Not a complete list by any means, here are some favorites....All these did really well IMO, Fonseca, Taylors, Graham's, Dow, Warre, Vesuvio, Smith Woodhouse, ones that will hold the test of time. While Ramos Pinto, Delaforce, Crasto, Ferreira all made very nice Ports that drink nicely now and will last for some time to come as well.

What they all said. I have more 1994 than any other VP year because I think it is a great year and one that you can still find at very good prices. Checking my inventory, the one label I should probably have more of is Smith Woodhouse, as it was one of my favorites at the first FTLOP gala. Like you, I love the Vesuvio, and it was my top pick at that time. Some day I hope to get a bottle of the Noval Nacional ...

Thanks so far for everyone's input. I'm going to add Grahams and Smith Woodhouse to my try soon list. I will look for the Ramos Pinto as well.

I'd say the Dow's is highly underrated. It's definitely still a baby but a real beauty of a VP that goes for a song compared to the Taylor or Fonseca. I'm a big fan of the Warre's as well. It has the structure to age long term but is drinking beautifully in its youth as well. Croft is another one that seems to be overlooked. I've only had it once but thought it was excellent - big wine with layers and layers of fruit. Crasto is delicious and affordable too.

Cockburn & Dealforce are two that really stepped up their game on this vintage and can be found for a good price still. Best Sandeman vintage since 1980.

Sounds like I need to keep trying many. If you could only buy 5 without cost restraints which would you buy? If $50-$60 dollars was your limit what then would be your choice?

Mike L. wrote:Sounds like I need to keep trying many. If you could only buy 5 without cost restraints which would you buy? If $50-$60 dollars was your limit what then would be your choice?

Without Cost Restraints - Nacional, Fonseca, Taylor, Dow, and Vesuvio

$50-60 - I don't know of a crappy brand that I would be not buy in this vintage; so whatever you can find at that price point

Moses Botbol wrote:

Mike L. wrote:Sounds like I need to keep trying many. If you could only buy 5 without cost restraints which would you buy? If $50-$60 dollars was your limit what then would be your choice?

Without Cost Restraints - Nacional, Fonseca, Taylor, Dow, and Vesuvio

+1
as for the $50-60 range, these ones you can probably find in that range. Though I haven't exactly been on top current pricing for a couple.

While Ramos Pinto, Delaforce, Crasto, Ferreira all made very nice Ports that drink nicely now and will last for some time to come as well.

Money no object: Noval Nacional, Vesuvio, Graham, Taylor, Fonseca

Cheap and cheerful: Smith Woodhouse, Ramos Pinto, Sandeman, Warre, Martinez, Morgan (if you can find it these days)

Al B. wrote:Money no object: Noval Nacional, Vesuvio, Graham, Taylor, Fonseca

Cheap and cheerful: Smith Woodhouse, Ramos Pinto, Sandeman, Warre, Martinez, Morgan (if you can find it these days)

+1. I prefer the Graham over the Dow so my list echos Alex's instead of Moses'.

Smith Woodhouse is also superb, but I don't know if you can still find it for $60 or less. The secret is out.

Glenn E. wrote:

Al B. wrote:Money no object: Noval Nacional, Vesuvio, Graham, Taylor, Fonseca

Cheap and cheerful: Smith Woodhouse, Ramos Pinto, Sandeman, Warre, Martinez, Morgan (if you can find it these days)

+1. I prefer the Graham over the Dow so my list echos Alex's instead of Moses'.

The Graham is fine and dandy, but is more backwards than the Vesuvio and Dow. I did not want to make my list "Anything from TFP, Symingtons, or Noval".

The bigger question to me is whether 1994 will be better than 1970? Will the 1994's be better in 2034 than the the 1970's are today?

Moses Botbol wrote:The Graham is fine and dandy, but is more backwards than the Vesuvio and Dow. I did not want to make my list "Anything from TFP, Symingtons, or Noval".

Graham, Vesuvio, and Dow are all Symington labels.

Good question about 1994 vs 1970, but one I'm not well equipped to answer. I know I like the 1970s now, but I have no idea what they were like 24 years ago to make a comparison to the 1994s today.

Thanks guys, I've located a bottle of Ramos Pinto and Crasto so will give those a try. I don't know if I will ever get to the Nacional but can aspire!

I am not a big fan of the Ramos Pinto or the Crasto. To me, they are average at best.

For underrated, I agree with Moses on the Sandeman. It is really under the radar and damn good. One nobody mentioned that I had recently and was showing beautifully was the Gould Campbell. There are lots of beautiful bottlings though, but those two would be better and likely not much different in price from the two you did buy Mark.

People who were unable to produce solid 1994 VP's should stick to Douro wines!

I am not normally a big fan of Crasto's VP's, but the 1994 has proven its pretty good. Here's my latest posted note on it, though I've it since with similar results.

1994 Quinta do Crasto Vintage Port
My last note then shows it had no signs of fading, some good evolution on the nose, but still a very tannic Port with plenty of fruit and a long finish to hold it for many more years to come. I was at 93-94 points then. I've recently bought some at auction, but won't take delivery of them until later this year when the weather cools, and I look forward to again trying it. Tasted October 2007
93-94 Points
94 Points (2010-07-26)