Generalities About House Style

[Mike S a i]

Now that fall is in full swing, my wife and I have been drinking our fair share of ports. And now that I'm officially in the wine business, I have unprecedented access to many ports that were previously out of my price range.

So before I go on a buying spree, I was wondering if I could get some help with zeroing-in on what Houses that we are more like likely to enjoy. I have found that my preferences have been very black and white - love it or hate it with ports. The characteristic that is usually the big turn-off is cherry cough syrup/Robitussin notes on the nose. This is something that I usually just can't get past.

On the other hand - when I find a port that I like, I love it. Notes of hazelnuts, cocoa powder, dark chocolate, cinnimon, spices, etc. are all good. I recently had a 2000 Taylor that was amazing - and totally up my alley. In addition, I have really enjoyed the 2003 Taylor LBV. I'm sipping on a 1988 Graham's Malvedos right now that walks the edge for me. It has a nice nose of nuts and cinnamon, but the wine finishes with that cough syrup twinge.

So with those preferences in mind - are there any particular Houses that I should steer toward? Or maybe there are a few houses that I should stay away from?

Thanks for your help! I find myself not buying port lately because I'm afraid of opening an extra-large bottle of Nyquil.

[Eric Menchen]

I don't think any house strives for cherry Sucrets or cough syrup, and it isn't something I've noticed more than once in Dow, but I did get it in the 1977 we had at the first Gala.

[Mike Kerr]

I had the same sort of questions when I first started, Mike.

The best way to answer them, at least to get house styles, is to corral about 10 different house LBV's from a given year (might be tough with Warre), and host a small wine tasting party for some friends. I did this (with about 20 bottles) and it gave me an interesting perspective on how the house styles are different from each other. Some are light and flowery, some are broody, but the fun is experiencing it. From that you can get a top-5 list of the houses that fit your tastes and then can focus on those houses for your drinking pleasure.

I personally don't like really young Port...I prefer something pre-2000, even though the LBV's I used were from 2000. I find them too strong in most aspects for me, but knowing the house styles, I can then go find something older from that house and see how I like it.

I suspect your experience has been from really young Port, or perhaps you may want to try decanting a little longer before trying it?

Mike.

[Andy Velebil]

Mike,
It sounds like you prefer slightly more younger Ports vs older ones that take on more lighter cherry and strawberry notes. If that ends up being the case, I'd recommend staying with stuff from the mid-late 80's (1985 Fonseca, 1987 Graham's Malvedos) and newer. That gives you a wide range of stuff to chose from at very good prices. Of course being ITB helps on the pricing thing too.

For younger stuff, look at "off year" Quinta do Vesuvio vintages, Niepoort's VP's, Graham's VP, the 2003 Taylor LBV rocks, so does the 2003 Niepoort LBV.

I'd also recommend trying some 10 and 20 year old tawny's. Niepoort's 10 year has a lot of nice spices. The Ferreira and Sandeman 20 year are some favorites.

Please let us know what you find and how you like it!