For The Love Of Port

Alan's thread on the sweetness of white Port got me wondering, so I looked around and couldn't find any good white Port in my area. I was looking specifically for the new(ish) "White Port with an Indication of Age" - the 10-, 20-, 30-, and 40-year olds that correspond to Tawnies with an Indication of Age.

So now we have WPWAIOA and TWAIOA. Sheesh, acronyms. Anyway...

Do you have WPWAIOA in your area? If so, which ones? Any that you would recommend?

None in my area, but in CA there is the Niepoort 10 year white tawny which I thought was pretty good. Wish more producers would make this style.

Here in Norway the following is available:
Andresen: 10 + 40 years old white port
Santa Eufemia: 10 + 20 years old white port
Rozes: 10 years old white port

I have purchased a few bottles of Andresen, but have not yet tasted them.

I've done a quick check on a few retailer websites that are local to me and it appears that the only white port currently available is the Ramos Pinto Lagrima.
I have bought Andresen 10 year old in the past, but I think that is it. I can't recall ever seeing another white port available, although I am sure that the Taylor's chip dry would have been in years gone by.

Churchill's white port has no indication of age but it is essentially a 10 year-old port. I think it is excellent and have enjoyed several bottles of it though the jury is still out about whether it is sweet or dry. The label says it is a dry aperitif and I concur - lovely.

Mahmoud.

I'd really like to find a 30- or 40-yr old White Port just to see what a blend is like. I've had the Dalva '52, '63, and '71, as well as the Eufemia '73 (aka Special Reserve White), and I liked them all. But a blend has the potential to be richer and more full and I'd like to see what the various producers have done with them.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:Churchill's white port has no indication of age but it is essentially a 10 year-old port. I think it is excellent and have enjoyed several bottles of it though the jury is still out about whether it is sweet or dry. The label says it is a dry aperitif and I concur - lovely.

Mahmoud.

i tend to find this slightly more on the sweet side than on the drier side.

Andy Velebil wrote:

Mahmoud Ali wrote:Churchill's white port has no indication of age but it is essentially a 10 year-old port. I think it is excellent and have enjoyed several bottles of it though the jury is still out about whether it is sweet or dry. The label says it is a dry aperitif and I concur - lovely.

i tend to find this slightly more on the sweet side than on the drier side.

Andy, I think you've made your point quite clear - perhaps it's time you wrote Churchill instead.

Cheers..............................Mahmoud

Mahmoud Ali wrote:

Andy Velebil wrote:
Andy, I think you've made your point quite clear - perhaps it's time you wrote Churchill instead.

Cheers..............................Mahmoud

And what shall I ask them?

I don't know, tell them to refrain from putting 'Dry Aperitif' on the label of their white port - and the description on their website that states:

"This Dry White Port is the deliciously different aperitif to enjoy before lunch or dinner and a perfect partner for smoked salmon, olives, roasted almonds and cheese biscuits.

That way you won't have to keep on "correcting" people when they want to recommend Churchill's White Port.

Cheers..............................Mahmoud.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:I don't know, tell them to refrain from putting 'Dry Aperitif' on the label of their white port - and the description on their website that states:

"This Dry White Port is the deliciously different aperitif to enjoy before lunch or dinner and a perfect partner for smoked salmon, olives, roasted almonds and cheese biscuits.

That way you won't have to keep on "correcting" people when they want to recommend Churchill's White Port.

Cheers..............................Mahmoud.

LOL, I'll try but I'm not sure I have that kinda pull

I suspect it comes down to tradition, as you either had a "dry white" or a "Lagrima" white Port. I suspect in more recent times that line has blurred quite a bit. Example, Dalva's white Ports with an indication of age are normally more on the drier side. While some others such as Andresen or Ferreira's are a bit more sweet.

In Saskatchewan, we have a kopke 30 year white tawny. While I haven't had it, some of my family members attended a tasting where it was the final wine tasted. They thought it was pretty special, very sweet, very smooth. Surprisingly dark, too, from what they mention. I think it has run its course here, though. It is on the "last call" shelf at the liquor store. I might pick up a few bottles to enjoy over the next three years, but at $70 for 375ml its a little steep.

Grant H wrote:In Saskatchewan, we have a kopke 30 year white tawny. While I haven't had it, some of my family members attended a tasting where it was the final wine tasted. They thought it was pretty special, very sweet, very smooth. Surprisingly dark, too, from what they mention. I think it has run its course here, though. It is on the "last call" shelf at the liquor store. I might pick up a few bottles to enjoy over the next three years, but at $70 for 375ml its a little steep.

That's pretty cheap for how rare old white Ports are, so....

As for the color...White Ports are the opposite of red Ports. White's will get darker the older they get and can actually be confused by sight with an old red tawny when they get old enough. So their comment on color is spot on

I have to say the 30 Year Old Burmester White Port I had Saturday was a revelation - didn't know it existed, and it was a real delight. And the colour was quite a golden red tawny, rather like cedar. I took a photo of the decanter to try to capture the colour, but there were too many sticky fingerprints on the decanter, made the wine look cloudy, which it certainly was not.

Another I have bought in the past is the Offley Cachucha. I spent a day with a friend systematically tasting every more-than-basic and not-dry White Port at every cellar in Gaia. In the end, because she was looking for value / price point (this was something for a tasting back in London) the choice came down between the Offley, which I believe was aged around 8 years, and the Ferreira 10 Year Old White. We decided the Cachucha had slightly more character and depth. Bad news for everyone here - we were told it is sold only in Portugal, Canada and Sweden (granted that was 3 years ago, perhaps that has changed!).

One other thing - the discussion above about sweet, dry, etc... When Nicola and I made this white port tour, we had a long talk with Gonçalo at Dalva about all that - he gave me a table of the IVDP standards - I can't seem to cut and paste it here, so you will have to click through to my blog - it's near the bottom of the article http://winewomantravel.wordpress.com/20 ... ite-ports/
You'll see even "extra-dry" has a leetle leetle bit of sugar still...

I've also had the Offley Cachucha and really liked it. A shame I can't get it here in the states (or at least last I checked couldn't). It's up there quality wise with Churchill's White Port, which is closer to a 8-9 year old white blend.

The Offley tasting room should be open after Easter if it isn't already - I will try to stop in and ask about distribution again.