To be sure, Port is a type of wine, structurally modified if you must but still every bit, wine.  Purists can protest by pointing out that the Port-making process involves adding of brandy at the end – hence described as fortified - so technically it is not wine per se; point taken.

Just like the production of Champagne starts with the making of white wine, the first step with Port is to make red wine.  Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Nacional, Tinto Cão and Tinta Amarela are grapes used in making Port.  Touriga Nacional makes world-class red wine that gives Rioja, Brunello and Malbec a run for their money.

Port weighs in at 20% alcohol strength (typically 12% from wine and 8% from brandy) compared to 12-14% for most dry wine.   When the fermentation reaches about 12% alcohol, potent grape spirit brandy is added to raise the wine’s strength to 20%, at the same time arresting the fermentation process.   This is where the course is altered and destiny is changed from Wine to Port.  That abrupt halt to the fermentation by the way also causes the wine to be sweet with no sugar added.  Let me explain.

We all know that fermentation is about converting sugar in sweet grape juice into alcohol.    When the alcohol level exceeds 14%, yeasts gets lazy and stop fermenting sugar into alcohol.  Arresting the fermentation causes a lot of unfermented natural sugar – called residual sugar - to be left in the wine.  

More on HOW PORT IS MADE

There is nothing esoteric about Port, probably because it managed to elude modern wine journalism.  For starters, we don’t have to talk about terroir, nor was there ever a Paris Challenge to settle an epic dispute of very little consequences.  Nobody will approach you with a glass of Port asking you to recognize its region and producer.  This might actually be one of the last remaining sanctuaries not contaminated by ratings. When I drink Port with family and friends, it seems like only two things matter: savoring the wine and wondering whether I can afford another bottle after it.

At the risk of oversimplification, Port is about vintage and honor; vintage because it is about the weather condition of each year and honor because it has a lot to do with each winemaker’s preservation of his/her goodwill (more on this in a minute).  Port has a very old rules and goodwill can’t be established overnight with RP ratings and clever tricks like mailing lists.   I’ll leave it at that lest this develops into something more polemic than I bargained for.  But I will discuss vintage and honor shortly.

Port is not a simple wine.  In fact, it is rather complex, arguably more so than red wine, yet deceivingly easy to enjoy.  There are several styles of port; each serves a different purpose, addresses a different market segment, and fits snugly into Port lovers’ myriad whims, desires and budgets.   The top of the line is a rare and inevitably expensive Vintage Port.

Vintage port is like vintage wine, meant to improve with age inside the bottle over many years.  It is made from grapes of a single harvest. The vintage (year) appears on the label.  These are very rare, expensive and not meant to be drunk young.  I opened a 1970 Diez just the other evening and it was vigorous and robust, redolent of chocolate and black fruit flavors.  At 40 years of age it was a class act of power, elegance and style all contained in one neat silky package.  When I had the same wine about 15 years ago its tannic structure was a little abrasive.  We’ll come back to talk about Vintage Port at length a bit later but first let’s run through a few other (more budget-friendly) styles of port.

Late-Bottled Vintage or LBV Port is also a kind of vintage port except that it is softened up by several more years of maturation in a barrel before bottling.  The whole idea is to make LBV ready to drink upon release which is usually 5-7 years after the harvest. While the best wine goes to making Vintage Port, runner ups make it to this format but quality is still of the highest standards. LBVs wear a friendlier price tag of around Php 1,200 to 2,400; they are excellent values for Port lovers. 

Another similar style is the Colheita Port which is a softer and more ready-to-drink version of LBV.  For unknown reasons Colheitas are seldom seen in the market these days.  These are a bit like Bordeaux’s practice of offering a “second wine” made from quality grapes that can’t go into the Grand Vin main label.  They often are excellent value for money.  

Single Quinta Vintage Port is probably the nearest thing to a genuine Vintage Port.  Vintage Ports are made from wines from several vineyards called quintas.   The very best grapes are selected from each site to create complex alchemy of their distinctive characters.  Single Quinta Vintage Port breaks that tradition by using grapes from a specific (single) quinta.  This approach delivers what wine lovers call “terroir” or site personality on top of distinctive qualities of the climate and harvest conditions of the vintage year alone.  Prices, and to a certain extent quality also, approach those of Vintage Ports. p2,500 to p4,500 for a young bottle is not unreasonable.

Tawny Port is akin to Non-Vintage Champagne.  There is no year on the label and it is completely ready to drink upon release.  Tawny Port comprises of wine from more than one year.  It undergoes extensive ageing in barrels and then filtered (to get rid of sediments) before bottling.  Oxidation causes the once-dark color of Port to lighten and acquire a tawny hue (hence the name).   Entry-level Tawny Port can be purchased at around p600 a bottle.  When you see words like Ten-Year-Old or Twenty-Year-Old on the label of a Tawny Port, you are looking at pretty fancy stuff; so expect to pay a fancy but fair price of p1,200 to 3,600.   The least expensive port is called Ruby Port.  Despite starting at just p300/bottle, it is not good value for money; hardly even worthy of being called Port in most cases.

More on Styles of Port Wine

The Douro valley was the first wine producing region to be controlled, anywhere in the world, when in 1756 the Marquis de Pombal by act of the Portuguese Government specified the area and production methods that were approved for Port production.  More on PORT Casa do Douro CLASSIFICATION

 

Now back to Vintage Port again, particularly the subject of honor.

Declaring A Vintage – an honor system

Vintage Port is produced only about 3-4 times in a decade.  No, it is not because of Government regulations or event acts of God.  It is an honor system, self regulated and one that has governed more effectively, and most say more fairly, than any set of laws known to the wine trade.  The system is called declaration and it is quite simple; perhaps that’s why it works.  Producers have a year after the harvest to ponder over a decision to declare a vintage or to abstain, a decision that hinges on their confidence about the quality of the wine of that year.

Although reputation (and pride of course) factors heavily into the making of world-class wines like Petrus, La Tache and Sassicaia, money is nevertheless very much a part of the equation.   That’s not so in the case of Vintage Port.  The quantity of Vintage Port is so small that it makes up an insignificant percentage of the producer’s annual revenue.  Declassifying a whole vintage of Petrus is almost unthinkable but all Port-houses do so routinely 6-7 times a decade.  Money is not at stake here, but reputation is; perhaps ego too.  There is no bad vintage port.  Unfortunately, this also means that there isn’t any cheap Vintage Port either.  Expect to pay at least p4,000 for a young bottle that demands 5-10 years of waiting in the cellars, p12,000 for 20-year-old and the moon for rare old bottles.

The longevity of Port wine is legendary second perhaps only to Madeira.  In fact, Port ages much better than most dry wine.  Its high alcohol content protects its well against excessive oxidation which turns wine eventually into vinegar.  Excellent 50-year bottles of Port - still fresh and vibrant - are living testament to Port’s longevity.  Some of the best vintages are 1945, 1955, 1963, 1977, 1994 and 1997.  1985 is probably the only noteworthy vintage in the disappointing decade of the 80s that is drinking nicely now.

So how does one enjoy a good bottle of Port?  With a great deal of respect.  Other than the fact that it is sweet, everything else is the same as wine.  A Vintage Port is expected to achieve excellent balance between its natural sweetness, fresh acidity and a firm structure of tannins.  It has to have plenty of flesh to cover the bones, a good long and steady finish (aftertaste) to extend the experience beyond the swallow.  With age, we can expect a new kind of charm, distinction if you will, emergence of elegance, complexity and depth of flavors from its maturity to a point where one would not even attempt to describe it in words anymore.

If I were given one dying wish for a bottle of Port, hands down without a doubt, it would be the legendary 1963 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port specially qualified as “Touriga Nacional”; literally to die for.  Other great bottles include 63 and 77 Dow, 55 Graham and the 45 Taylor.  Bottles to lay down for your sons and daughters include 94, 97 and 2000 vintage port.  For current drinking at a reasonably affordable price, I opt for a Barros 95 and Feist 87 and 85.  These are not stellar vintages but they are good value for money.

The classic pairing for Vintage Port is the king of blue cheeses - English Blue Stilton - served over water biscuits accompanied by lightly salted roasted almonds.  For younger and more tannic ports a piece of dark chocolate (65+% cocoa) matches well with the chocolate flavors indigenous to the Port.  Matured Port goes very well with braised meat in rich reduction sauces.

If you have a cellar at home I would argue that the best candidate for space in that precious piece of real estate is Vintage Port.  Value appreciation in Vintage Port out-performs dry wine mainly because prices on release of dry wine tend to be too high.  Upside in investment in dry wine is not lucrative and fatality rates of dry wine rise exponentially beyond 30 or 40 years of age.  The risks of Vintage Port going bad inside the bottle are much lower.  Port’s high alcohol strength protects it well against oxidation. 

 

 


 

PORT Casa do Douro CLASSIFICATION

The Douro valley was the first wine producing region to be controlled, anywhere in the world, when in 1756 the Marquis de Pombal by act of the Portuguese Government specified the area and production methods that were approved for Port production.

Firstly the region regarded as the Douro, where Port grapes are produced, is geographically demarcated, and is further split into 3 regions :
- the Baixo Corgo, which is nearest to the coast and has the lowest temperatures, produces bigger crops of lighter wines.
- the Cima Corgo, further inland, is the mainstay of grape production, producing over half of the required crop. The Cima Corgo is where you will find most of the famous quintas.
- the Douro Superiore, which almost reaches the border with Spain, is extremely arid and endures very high temperatures producing small quantities (only contributing around 5% of the total grape requirements) of extremely concentrated grapes.

Port like all other wine regions is tightly controlled by the Casa do Douro, who classify the vineyards into six grades, A to F, with A being the highest rated.

The Casa do Douro monitors and classifies vineyards into six grades, A to F, with A being the top grade. In order to achieve this grading the Casa do Douro has nine criteria that it assesses and awards points for.

 

Criteria judged Max. Points 
•           Geographical Position within the Douro valley 600 
•           Position relative to climatic conditions (aspect, protection from the elements) 210 
•           Soil type and quality 190 
•           Grape quality 150 
•           Altitude 150 
•           Production methods and controls 120 
•           Gradient of the vineyard 100 
•           Maintenance of the vineyard 100 
•           Age of the Vines 70 

 

This makes a total of 1,680 points available.

Depending on how many points the vineyard is actually awarded it is classified as A to F, and classification of the vineyard regulates how much Port it is allowed to produce (in litres per 1,000 vines).

 

Points scored                   Grading   Litres of Port allowed 
1,200+                        A                     700 
1,001 to 1,199           B         700 
801 to 1,000              C         500 
601 to 800                 D         400 
401 to 600                 E         300 
upto 400                    F          Table wine only 

F-graded vineyards are not allowed to produce Port but they are allowed to produce normal un-fortified table wine.


 

HOW PORT IS MADE

 

Rapid extraction of color and tannins is the root of the various winemaking methods used to make port wines. Because the fermentation process is arrested in port winemaking, the grape juice spends less time in contact with the skins than in red table wine production. Therefore, the maceration process is critical and very vigorous.

At harvest time, fruit is delivered to winemaking facilities in the Douro. The grapes are crushed and foot treading or pump over begins immediately (even before fermentation) to start the all-important process of color, flavor and tannin extraction. The fermentation is spontaneous, relying on yeast found naturally in the vineyard and winery. Cockburn’s vintage ports are still made by foot treading in traditional open lagars as well as in modern, computer-controlled stainless steel vats with temperature control. Foot treading is ideal for pressing grapes because it breaks up the fruit without breaking the seeds, which would release bitter compounds into the wine.

When the sugar level falls roughly by half, grape spirit is added to kill the yeast and stop fermentation. The exact moment to stop the fermentation is one of the most critical aspects of port making. The fortification "window" is open for just a few hours. Cockburn’s ferments its must slightly longer than other port houses, using up more sugar and creating a less sweet style which is characteristic of all its ports. This style finishes with less sweetness, allowing more fruit flavor on the palate. The tannins also show through a little more, giving Cockburn’s ports their characteristic "grip."

 

After the wine is pressed, the majority of the wine is taken to the shipper’s lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia to begin its maturation. Young port wine matures in wood casks or vats until it is ready for blending and bottling. However, the wines destined for Fine Tawny and Ruby are aged "up river" at Santa Maria, taking advantage of the warmer climate for a faster maturation process.

Once at the lodges, the wines are tasted and classified. After initial blending, the wines begin a long maturation process, with additional blending along the way. Cockburn’s practice of blending the wines more frequently than other port houses is key to the both freshness and complexity of Cockburn’s style.

 

Final blending can result in more than 15 different wines in a finished product. The continuous blending of Cockburn’s Ports achieves a complexity and consistency similar to wines blended using the Spanish solera system. All these wines will be of varying age. Where there is an age indication on a brand (i.e. 10 years old), it refers to the average age of the blend.

 

Racking, or transferring wine from one cask to another to remove sediment, occurs three or four times in the first year, and then progressively fewer times each year thereafter. Before shipment, wood ports are fined for clarity and cooled to stabilize the wine. They do not need the ritual of decanting.

 

Vintage Ports are considered the pinnacle of all ports, and a company’s reputation is largely determined by the quality and style of its Vintage port. Cockburn’s has historically been more conservative than other port houses in declaring a vintage, choosing to declare only in those years which best suit its elegant, less sweet style. Before declaring, Cockburn’s blenders carefully taste, categorize and identify those wines that might ultimately become a vintage blend. Only after this rigorous two-year selection process is a final decision made. Vintage port is bottled unfiltered and requires careful decanting.

The vintage blend is always in very limited supply, amounting to only 1-3% of the entire production in a declared year.

 


Styles of Port Wine

White Port

White Port is made from White Grapes (commonly Arinto, Gouveio, Malvasia and Viosinho)
Made in both sweet and dry styles, they are intended to be drunk, slightly chilled, as an aperitif.

White Port is manufactured and fortified in exactly the same manner as Red, with the drier styles that are available being ageing in cask for up to 10 years.

They are perhaps not to everyone's taste, and in particular they are not favoured by the traditional British Port drinker who is more accustomed to Vintage or Late Bottled Vintage Ports.
 

Ruby Port

This is the Basic Red Port, which is a blend of several harvests that have been aged in wooden barrels for up to 3 years before being bottled, and is ready to drink on release.
A warmingly sweet wine with a bright Ruby colour they usually show an uncomplicated forthright spicy flavour, and are best quaffed uncritically.

My advice would be to choose a decent quality Ruby (often referred to as 'Premium') as the lesser quality wines can be rather harsh.

 

Tawny Port

There is some confusion nowadays about Tawny Ports (in my opinion caused by rather 'sharp practices' by the manufacturers).
True Tawny Port is a basic blended port, like Ruby, which is given more ageing in the barrel before being bottled. The extra ageing, which can be anything from 3 to 40 years, causes the wine to take on a Red-Brown colour and develops a dry nutty flavour with raisin overtones.

However most of the basic Tawny that you buy in the shops has been made by adding a little White Port to a basic paler Red, which although cheaper to produce does NOT give the same result.

If you want to ensure that you get a real Tawny Port then my advice would be to buy one which is marked with it's age - usually 10, 20 or 40 years.
Because Tawny Port is a blend of several harvests the stated age is the average age of the base harvests, but at least you know you are buying real wood aged Tawny.

 

Crusted Port

Crusted Port is a very small category, named because of the 'crust' of sediment that it forms in the bottle.
Invented by the British-owned Port houses predominantly for the British Port drinker, it is intended to be a more economical alternative to Vintage or Late Bottled Vintage.

Crusted is a blend of several harvests, which are bottled without being filtered and laid down to mature like Vintage wines. Using this approach allows the manufacturer to use some of the lesser harvests but still produce a good rich full bodied wine at an economical price.

Usually a year is stated on the label which, because the wine was made from a blend of harvests, is the year in which the wine was bottled.

 

Vintage Character

Another category of Port, like Tawny, which is mis-leading :
Vintage Character is a blend of several basic rubies that are given longer ageing (around 4 to 5 years) which is theoretically supposed to impart something of the flavour and character of Vintage Port.

In reality it never actually works, and the extra 'premium' price that you pay isn't worth it.

If you want my advice : spend the same money on a Premium quality Ruby or a Late Bottled Vintage.

Late Bottled Vintage (LBV)

Late Bottled Vintage Port is wine from a single specific harvest, the year being stated on the label, which has been aged in the barrel for between 4 and 6 years.
LBV's are more complex than a Premium Ruby but are softer and more readily approachable than the Full Vintage. Late Bottled Vintage is intended to be drunk earlier, and does not have the ageing potential of a Full Vintage.

There are two styles that are offered :
- those that are filtered when bottled, which do not subsequently require decanting before consuming,
- and those which are bottled un-filtered, throwing a sediment as they age and develop in bottle.

It is a matter of choice as to which style you prefer but the un-filtered style is more in keeping with a Full Vintage and has I think much better, rounded, more complex flavours as a result. The only disadvantage to the un-filtered style is that they require decanting before drinking which, contrary perhaps to popular belief, is not a difficult or time consuming process.

Single Quinta Port

Port made from a single specific harvest, and coming from a single specific estate or Quinta.
If the harvest is poor in quality the resulting wines will usually be blended to make Ruby or Tawny Ports. When very good quality harvests occur but which don't quite make it to the standards required for Full Vintage, the harvest is used to make LBV's and Single Quinta wines.

So Single Quinta Port is probably the next best thing to a Full Vintage ! (and usually at a considerably lower price)

Aged and bottled as a Full Vintage Port the wines are ready to drink on release but will age further in bottle, throwing the classic sediment.

 

Colheita's

Colheita's are essentially a Tawny Port made from a single specific harvest, unlike the Tawny which is a blend of several different years harvests. The year of harvest will be stated on the label along with the year of bottling and a statement that the wine has been given extended ageing in wood.
Colheita's are aged in the barrel for a minimum of seven years so that their colour fades and they take on a nutty flavour, which should finish with lingering rich dried fruit overtones.

If you can find them at a reasonable price, I would strongly recommend you buy them

 

Vintage Port

The most famous of all Port categories, sitting at the top of the tree, the King of all Ports, is the Full Vintage.
The product of a single harvest the wine is aged in barrel for between 2 and 3 years and is bottled un-filtered, and needs to be laid down for a considerable number of years so that it can age in bottle.

After ageing in bottle Vintage Port develops into a very big wine, exhibiting a range of flavours depending on the maker, the year, the climate etc. Complex layers upon layers of flavours of plums, liquorice, pepper, blackcurrants, spices and much more.

Vintage Port is only made when the harvest is exceptional which, since WW1, has been about 3 times a decade.

Only about 1% or 2% of all Port produced is worthy of being called Vintage, and the reputations of the makers can be made or broken on the quality of their Vintage offerings.

There are strict controls on when a Port can be called Vintage, or 'declared' as it is known :
- the wine must be from a single harvest,
- bottled between 1st July of the second year following harvest, and before the 30th June of the third.
- the maker must submit samples of the wine to the Instituto do Vinho do Porto, together with details of the quantity of wine to be released, the yield of wine from the grapes, and the proposed release date of the wine.

If the Instituto is convinced that the wine is of sufficient quality they grant their approval and the maker can 'declare' the Vintage.

Not all makers declare a specific year. It is a brave maker that does not follow the lead of other houses, but it is a far braver maker that declares a Vintage year when few others do. This results in much debate about the merits of one vintage over another, and the merits of one makers vintage over that of another makers.

This is what makes Vintage Port the greatest drink in the world !

A word of warning though - don't try drinking a Vintage Port in under 15 years ! It certainly needs time to mellow.