Info about Port

This Page contains information about the different types of port.

Vintage

LBV

Colheita

Vintage Port

No port is rarer or more sought-after than Vintage Port. At most, it constitutes a mere 2% of production. Vintage Port comes from a single harvest of recognized quality with exceptional characteristics, displays superb color, full body, and very fine aroma and flavor. In order to obtain the necessary approval of the Port Wine Institute to "declare" a vintage, the producer must submit a sample bottle for evaluation by the Institute no sooner than January 1 and no later than September 30 of the second year from the harvest. If the port is approved the wine must be bottled no sooner than July 1 of the second year, and no later than June 1 of the third year from the harvest. The approval is given only if an expert panel, tasting blind, agrees that the port is fantastic and superb.

For a 1991 port, for example, it should be harvested in 1991 and bottled between July 1, 1993 and June 30, 1994. The wine should then spend many years of maturing in the bottle, where it is transformed from a diamond in the rough, with intense color, fruit and tannins, to a polished and smooth wine displaying many facets of depth, complexity and balance. It normally takes a Vintages from 15 to 25 years to reach their full potential but some Vintages mature slower and reaches its peak when over 50 years old. Of course the maturing depends on many things, not only related to the quality of the wine, but also on the storing and handling of te bottle. It is impossible to tell exactly which year the first Vintage was declared but it was somewhere around 1750. Then certain harvests were left in cask unblended to age. These cask aged wines were drunk soon after the cask was opened until the bottle and cork came into existence later in the century. Wine from the vintage of 1765 was auctioned by the pipe at Christie's in 1773. From 1775 onwards Vintage Port was sold in bottles that could be laid on their sides with cork stoppers. This was the beginning of the tradition of long-aged bottled wines which was then imitated in other countries. By the 1820s it was usual to leave Vintage Ports in cask for about four years and then age them 15 years or more in bottle. Eventually, it was recognized that the wines had more aging potential if they were bottled earlier, and between two and three years became the norm, and is now a legal requirement. To maintain richness and power they are neither fined nor filtered This results in a large amount of sediment as they mature. Since 1975 all Vintage Port must be bottled in Portugal with the word Vintage, the name of the producer, and year of harvest and bottling stated on the front label. Vintage Port is one of the world's great wines, but its slow maturation, heavy sediment (which requires decanting), and high cost, makes it suitable for special occasions.

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Late Bottled Vintage

Late Bottled Vintage, LBV, is the name given to a type of Port that is ready to drink earlier, costs less and only has little sediment in bottle. It is left in cask for four to six years, fined and filtered to cut down or eliminate the sediment and the bottles are closed with a stopper-type cork. It is ready to drink on release. In order to obtain the necessary approval of the Port Wine Institute to "declare" a Late Bottled Vintage, the producer must submit a sample bottle for evaluation by the Institute no sooner than March 1 and no later than September 30 of the fourth year after the harvest. If the port is approved the wine must be bottled no sooner than July 1 of the fourth year, and no later than December 31 of the sixth year from the harvest. For the 1989 harvest, this would mean bottling between July 1, 1993 and December 31,1995. The producer must state the year of both harvest and bottling on the main label. LBVs must be from a single harvest of good quality, having good characteristics, good color and body, with fine aroma and taste. Usually they are less rich and concentrated than Vintage Port. But there are several companies that make a traditional type of LBV, harking back to the early 1950s when the category originated, using minimal fining and no filtering. This develops slowly in bottle, throws a heavy sediment and can be recognized by the use of a driven cork.

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Colheita Ports

This is essentially a single harvest Tawny, and is sometimes referred to as a "Port of the Vintage" or a "Reserve" with year of harvest designated. In order to "declare" a Colheita Port, two bottles of the wine must be sent to the Port Wine Institute between July 1 and December 31 of the 3rd year following the harvest. It must remain in cask for at least 7 years and may be released only when new samples are approved after January 1 of the following year. There is, however, no limit to the number of years, beyond seven, that a Colheita can be kept in cask. It is not unusual to find recently released Colheitas that are 10, 15, and even 50 years old. At each such "release" a new sample of the wine must be submitted to the Port Wine Institute before approved. The label must always state that the wine has been aged in cask or matured in wood, and also the year of bottling on either the front or back label. A Colheita should not be regarded as a second-rate Vintage, but rather as a first-rate Tawny with date. This is the Port of all sorts that is produced in the smallest amount, less than 1% of all Port made. Prices of Colheita can be almost as high as for Vintage Port, or even higher for the rarest and best Colheitas.

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Garrafeira Port

These rarely seen Ports are from a single harvest year and are aged in cask and then kept in bottle for many years before being released. Often they are aged in large bottles first, then decanted to standard-sized bottles for further aging. Garrafeira Ports are subject to re-approval before release by the Port Wine Institute from the standpoint of quality, presentation and labeling. Stylistically they fall between the intense fruitiness of Vintage Port and the delicate nuttiness of Colheita Port.

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Tawny with Indication of Age

Many Ports are blends of several years, and therefore do not bear a date. There is a special category, however, that indicates an average age. These are the prestigious Tawnies with average age of 10, 20, 30 and 40 years. The front label must state the age of the wine and an indication that it was aged in cask, while the year of bottling must be stated on either the front or back label. Each cuvée of wine in this category is made up of numerous lotes of varying age. There is younger wine for vigor and freshness, and older wine for complexity and breed. The aroma and flavor characteristics are in the hands of a master blender who strives to create a wine with a unique personality that is maintained year after year. Refinement and strength, complexity and freshness, maturity and vigor; all are hallmarks of a fine aged Tawny. A great Vintage is in the hands of God, but a great Tawny is created by a master blender. Some bottles are labeled "more than 40 years" and others, only in the United States, simply as "40 years". There is no difference. American authorities find the first term imprecise and this semantic concession has been made for them.

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Vintage Character

Vintage Character Ports have been on the market for about 70 years and have a long tradition of good quality. Perhaps the terms super-ruby or premium-ruby would better characterize this category. A Vintage Character Port, like Tawny, is blended, but the emphasis is on the fruit and richness rather then lightness and delicacy. True Vintage Port must be considered a "moving" target that passes from a powerful, rich, raw infancy to a balanced, complex adulthood to a dignified, fascinating but fragile old age. The producer of a Vintage Character must make a decision as to which stage of life he is going to emulate. The majority have elements from four to six years old and emphasize ripeness, vigor and roundness, but some incorporate higher proportions of older wines for depth, smoothness and complexity, while others are gentle, evolved and soft, but with enough fruit and fire to show they are part of the family. The grapes for these Vintage Character Ports come from the best properties in the Douro. The top-ranked properties account for about 18% of Port production and Vintage, LBV, Colheita, and Age-Indicated Tawnies absorb only about 6% of this. Most of the remaining 12% is used for Vintage Character, making it the largest of the elite categories. Some of the best do not use the term on the label, including: Fonseca Bin 27, Graham Six Grapes, Sandeman Founder's Reserve, Noval LB, Cockburn Special Reserve, Ramos-Pinto's Quinta da Urtiga, Warre's Warrior, Quinta do Infantado Estate Reserve, Dow's A.J.S. and Taylor's First Estate. Among those who use the term on the label are: Calem's Vintage Character, Churchill's Finest Vintage Character, Niepoort's Vintage Character, Krohn's Vintage Character, and others.

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Ruby Porto

Ruby Port is young, fruity port generally grown in the west end of the Douro where rainfall is plentiful and production bountiful. It is usually aged no more than three years and should be consumed when quite young, for the essence of its charm is its spicy, fresh vibrancy. The style is very unlike Vintage Port.

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Tawny Port

Tawny Port without age indication is generally also from the west end of the Douro and although it is less intensely colored than Ruby Port it is rarely more than three years old. It derives it's lightness and elegance from having less color extraction due to shorter skin/juice contact at the time of fermentation, or by blending in a certain amount of white Port. The French are so enamored of this category, which they regard as a perfect apéritif, that they drink several million cases a year.

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White Port

White Port is made the same way as other Port but is made from white, rather than red grapes, and little juice/skin contact is allowed so as to produce a bright, clear wine. The principal grapes are: Viosinho, Malvasia Fina, Gouveio, Códega and Rabigato. These wines range from quite dry, to off-dry, to very sweet. This last is always designated as a "Lagrima" ("Teardrop Port"). Dry White Ports often include the word "dry" or "apéritif" on the label. The remainder are off-dry. The dry and off-dry types can be drunk straight up, on the rocks, or with soda water garnished with a lemon slice. There is also a separate category of White Port called "Light Dry", (Leve Seco) which is not only quite dry but has only 16.5% alcohol rather than the usual 20%.