For The Love Of Port

The Quinta de la Rosa LBV thread got me thinking more about the increase use of clear glass bottles for Port. A number of companies are now using them for certain of their Ports, mostly in 750ml and 500ml sizes though I've seen large format in clear as well. Some use them only for aged tawny's, some for Ruby Reserves, and some for LBV's.

What are your thoughts on them? Do you like them or not? Why?

Most tend to be the shorter "squat" style bottle. Do you like or not like about them?

Do not like. Light is one huge opponent of proper aging.


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I have put a few beers in clear glass to show off the color, and I'm guessing that is the thinking behind some of these Ports. But yes, light is an enemy of proper aging. Of course my cellar is dark 99% of the time, so that shouldn't be a big deal for me personally. But that does lead the the second issue--those squat bottles that don't fit in my standard racking. What a pain those are.

I realy like the Grahams The Tawny bottles, and our customers also. I think they are a great marketing trick, making a differt shape and clear bottle.
When you see the color of the ages tawny port, it makes you want to drink it.

As long as they just use them on the basic rubies and tawnies is fine (either clear glass or squat bottle). But for anything nicer or that is meant to age, I do not like. Agree with Eric on squat bottle storage---not easy.

Jasper A. wrote:I realy like the Grahams The Tawny bottles, and our customers also. I think they are a great marketing trick, making a differt shape and clear bottle.
When you see the color of the ages tawny port, it makes you want to drink it.

Interesting to hear about the customer side of it. What is it that you think attracts the customers so much?

A dschus wrote:Do not like. Light is one huge opponent of proper aging.


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I'm with you on this one, which is why I was surprised that Quinta de la Rosa would use them on an Unfiltered LBV. Presumably one would be aging them for at least a little bit of time since they are unfiltered. So it seemed like an odd choice of glass to use.

Doesn't really matter to me, my cellar is pitch black except for the few minutes I might be in there.

Michael T wrote:Doesn't really matter to me, my cellar is pitch black except for the few minutes I might be in there.

But what about when it's sitting on a retailers shelf for 6 months or 3 years before you buy it?

Andy Velebil wrote:What are your thoughts on them? Do you like them or not? Why?

I think they're great for any Port that is intended to be consumed shortly after bottling. They show off the color of the Port and are a distinctive shape that attracts attention. Good stuff. For these Ports, light isn't a problem (even for 1-3 years on a store shelf) because you're supposed to buy them and drink them.

But for Ports that are intended to be aged, or even just kept for a while to be savored at the right moment, I don't think they're a good idea. As others have already said, light is an enemy of proper aging. My cellar may be dark and cool, but who knows how the bottle was kept before I got it? I think I'd shy away from these bottles for anything that I was planning to keep.

Andy Velebil wrote:

Michael T wrote:Doesn't really matter to me, my cellar is pitch black except for the few minutes I might be in there.

But what about when it's sitting on a retailers shelf for 6 months or 3 years before you buy it?

I hope that is not the case but you are right.

Andy Velebil wrote:

Michael T wrote:Doesn't really matter to me, my cellar is pitch black except for the few minutes I might be in there.

But what about when it's sitting on a retailers shelf for 6 months or 3 years before you buy it?

Retailer? I bought it in OWC, or from a Roy buy, or from ...

For whites and tawnies I've no issue, but it seems odd if not wrong to put rubies into clear glass.

However, one of my pet hates is vintage port in wholly opaque black glass, which makes it almost impossible to single out one's more ullaged bottles for early consumption, unless the bottle is visibly leaking.

Dark olive green is my favourite glass colour for all types of ruby, including VP, although mid green bottles are perfectly OK for low end products.

Andy Velebil wrote:

Jasper A. wrote:I realy like the Grahams The Tawny bottles, and our customers also. I think they are a great marketing trick, making a differt shape and clear bottle.
When you see the color of the ages tawny port, it makes you want to drink it.

Interesting to hear about the customer side of it. What is it that you think attracts the customers so much?

It is a nice bottle to put in your living room. It doesn't have to be put away.
I asume that tasting also has to do with the visual site of it. Like a chef preparing a plate nicely.

I do think they look nicer than your run of the mill green, especially with tawnies where the color can be impressive. Dark rubies probably don't look all that different unless they've aged a while, so a bit moot to have them in a clear bottle to show off color. Of course, anything is better than the nearly fully opaque bottles of old.

The retailer issue is one that always wears on my mind, but I wouldn't worry about buying a clear bottle from a crappy retailer any more than a green one. I'd be worried either way.

I like the squat bottles for ease of pouring, but those that have pointed out the fit issues are spot on. They're also often 500ml, but I feel are somewhat deceptively labeled or advertised, as that fact is usually only noted where it has to be, and the bottles aren't clearly smaller than 750ml.

The final issue with anything ageable in the squat bottles is they're all T-stoppered, which is less conducive to proper aging.


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