Fortified wines get forgotten in the summer. As temperatures rise, we instinctively reach for crisp whites, rosé, or beer, while bottles of Port, Sherry, and Madeira remain firmly associated with winter indulgence.

Yet this broad and diverse category extends far beyond rich, sweet after-dinner wines.

Many of its finest expressions are dry, savoury, and refreshingly high in acidity, making them ideal aperitifs and remarkably versatile partners at the table.

Unsurprisingly, most originate in some of Europe's hottest wine-growing regions, where locals have long enjoyed them alongside simple seasonal dishes.

Here's where to start.

White Port, Portugal

Cocktail lovers would do well to rediscover White Port. Produced in Portugal's Douro Valley from indigenous grape varieties such as Gouveio and Malvasia Fina, fermentation is stopped by the addition of aguardente, a neutral grape spirit, preserving natural grape sugar and raising the alcohol to around 20%.

The result is a wine with ripe stone fruit flavours, dried herbs, and subtle nutty complexity from barrel ageing.

Served chilled, it makes an excellent aperitif in its own right.

Better still, try the Porto Tónico, Portugal's favourite summer serve.

Mix one part White Port with two parts tonic water over plenty of ice, then garnish with a wedge of citrus, a slice of peach, and a sprig of mint.

Refreshing, aromatic, and effortlessly elegant.

Sercial Madeira, Portugal

Madeira deserves serious attention in the warmer months.

Produced on the subtropical Atlantic island of the same name, these fortified wines are renowned for their complex, oxidative character and remarkable acidity.

Sercial is the driest of Madeira's styles and is particularly refreshing in warm weather. Served cold, it offers flavours of lemon peel, toasted nuts, and dried herbs, balanced by a searing acidity that keeps you coming back.

Pair it with salted pistachios, charcuterie, and tangy goat's cheese, and it becomes the ultimate sundowner.

Fino & Manzanilla Sherry, Spain

Head to Jerez in southern Spain and you'll find Fino and Manzanilla, summer drinking at its finest.

Made from Palomino and aged beneath a layer of living yeast known as flor, they develop wonderfully savoury flavours of bread dough, almonds, sea spray, and a briny quality reminiscent of a dirty martini.

At just 15% ABV, Fino is among the lightest fortified wines available. Serve it ice cold and drink it fresh, as this is not a wine to keep in the cellar.

Lay your table with olives, anchovies, salty crisps, and a free-poured Fino, and you'll be transported straight to a balmy evening in Andalucia.

Marsala Vergine, Sicily

Sicily's famous fortified wine is too often dismissed as a cooking ingredient. In reality, the wines are incredibly complex and age-worthy.

The finest dry examples, such as Marsala Vergine, are serious yet refreshing wines. Serve chilled alongside bottarga pasta or grilled fish with spiced couscous.

The combination of nutty depth, bright acidity, and savoury character makes it an unexpected and sophisticated dinner companion.

The golden rule for summer fortified: go dry, serve cold, pair with something salty, and drink in the sun.

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Redbreast’s latest release in its Iberian Series is the Moscatel Wine Cask Edition. It’s the most recent in a long list of Irish pot-still whiskeys finished in a sweet, fortified-wine cask. And it’s not just pot-still. In 2025, Jameson blended whiskey released its Triple Triple Marsala Cask Edition, and Bushmills replaced its 10 Year Old malt with a Marsala-finished 12 Year Old, so that its entire single-malt range is now sweet fortified-finished.

Far more than Scotch, which tends to stick to Sherry, Irish whiskey in its various forms has been finished with success in an array of fortified wine casks. Why the affinity?

A little bit of history repeating

Dave McCabe, Irish Distillers’ Master Blender, responsible for Redbreast, says: ‘Our master cooper, Ger Buckley, told me that bourbon casks didn‘t arrive at our Midleton distillery until the 1960s – before that it was all Sherry and other wine casks.‘

In the 1800s, there was a lot of sea trade between Ireland and the Mediterranean. Whiskey bonders (who bought new-make spirits from distilleries, aged them and blended them) were wine merchants too, so it was logical what they would use. And fortified wine was best suited for ship transport.

Michael Cowman, co-founder of independent bottler Redacted, points to older connections. ‘There’s a straight line from northern Spain to the west coast of Ireland. It’s been a smuggling route, a fishing ground for Spanish ships. And there are the Catholic alliances – a lot of Spanish settled on the west coast after the Armada was wrecked off the coast.’

McCabe says: ‘You can take it even further back, with the Irish involved in setting up monasteries around Europe, where they produced wines.’

That explains the tradition. But why does it work so well?

The right spirit

Pot-still whiskey, claims McCabe, is ideal for a dessert- or fortified-wine finish. ‘The inclusion of unmalted barley adds a mouth-coating, creamy texture. When you age that in a PX or Moscatel wine cask, which has a sugar content of between 200g/L and 400g/L, I think there’s a level of decadence. When it comes to dessert wines in Spain, they mightn’t even drink them – they’ll pour it over ice cream as a syrup.’

Irish single malt does not have the Robinson’s Barley Water element of pot still at the raw spirit stage, as Bushmills brand ambassador Janice Snowden points out, but that doesn’t seem to be a hurdle. ‘The 12 Year Old Marsala finish has texture but the tears on the glass are from the finish... We’re not about making a really gooey new-make spirit – it’s more medium-bodied than oily.’

Arguably one of the most contentious finishes in Scotch is Port (particularly ruby Port), which can taste like someone spilt blackcurrant jam in the bottle. But the Ribena note on Port-finished Irish single malt is not as jarring.

‘Even before I worked for Bushmills,’ says Snowden, ‘the 16 Year Old was my favourite Irish whiskey. And I have yet to find a Scotch whisky with a Port-cask finish that comes close to it. It’s not overwhelming; it just complements the spirit character – especially those red and green apple notes of the new-make.’

Make it a triple

What Irish single malt and pot still share is triple distillation. Alex Huskinson, WSET Educator for The Whisky Exchange explains: ‘Triple distillation in Irish whiskey isn‘t the same as for vodka – they’re not aiming for a neutral spirit. But it does result in a brighter, more fruity spirit.’

He adds: ‘If it’s a single malt, it concentrates the malt character... nuts, honey, citrus. For pot still, the unmalted barley will give you green notes and fresh spice. Triple distillation hones in on flavours which will be enhanced by sweet wine influence.’

Some Scotch malts will work with these wines, but often whiskies that are umami-rich or smoky, for example, clash instead.

Cowman, who bottled a Sauternes-finished Dingle whiskey in 2023 adds: ‘I think triple distillation gives you a really good canvas to paint on, as long as you select really good casks to finish in.’

Quality casks

And that is key. Like all matters in wine and spirits, the modern level of detail, sophistication and quality control is a world away from 19th-century traditions of trading casks at the quayside.

‘If we just bought old casks a bodega was trying to offload, we would get all the sweetness from the wine, but without that nicely balanced tannin from the oak,’ says McCabe. ‘That‘s why we work directly with bodegas to produce bespoke casks seasoned with the fortified wine.’

For Redbreast‘s Moscatel edition, he worked with Bodegas Quitapenas in Málaga, which took toasted European oak hogsheads and seasoned them for two years with a wine chosen from a selection of 30, before they were shipped to the distillery in Cork.

Variety is the spice

The sheer range of different fortified and naturally sweet wines – even from individual winemakers – is exciting for whiskey makers. Both Snowden and McCabe get animated when talking about the estufagem heating process in Madeira (leaning towards stewed apricots) or Marsala‘s addition of mosto cotto (cooked grape must, giving whiskey extra nuttiness and tobacco).

Cowman is a champion of the less global Irish whiskey makers. He has tasted limited editions finished in Vin Santo, ice wine and Rivesaltes casks. At the moment, he is searching for a good Hungarian Tokaji cask to finish a whiskey in. ‘There are lots of possibilities if people are prepared to push the envelope on what’s possible,’ he concludes.

Six sweet fortified-wine cask Irish whiskeys to try

Boann Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey Madeira Cask

Boann distillery in Meath is an envelope-pusher extraordinaire. Its core pot-still range is all fortified-wine-aged (Madeira, PX and Marsala) and it’s tough to choose the best. Justino’s Madeira Wines has supplied casks from various vintages and colheitas, as well as the different Madeira styles – including boal and sercial – for an exquisite balance of peaches and cream, floral aromas, walnuts and fruit cake. Alcohol 47%

Bushmills 12 Year Old Single Malt

With only a six-month finish in Marsala casks, you might expect the first 12 years in oloroso and bourbon to have more influence here. But the fresh apple notes are caramelised, there are candied nuts, honey and spices... It’s a remarkable step up from the old 10 Year Old. Alc 40%

Jameson Triple Triple Marsala Cask Edition

Jameson is a blended whiskey, combining pot still and grain whiskey – the latter is also a good canvas for flavour. The triples refer to the distillation of course, and three woods: bourbon, Sherry and American oak seasoned with Marsala from Cantine Florio in Sicily. It gives an exotic twist to the original Jameson, with banana, kiwi and ginger notes. The Marsala Cask Edition is exclusive to travel retail. Alc 40%

Redbreast Moscatel Wine Cask Edition

For this non-age-statement whiskey (believed to be at least nine years old), Master Blender Dave McCabe took liquids aged in ex-American whiskey and ex-oloroso casks and finished them for a chunky 16 months in Moscatel casks. It takes you on a citrus journey, with lime juice and bitter orange peel, plus creamy vanilla fudge and floral honey, with some pepper and allspice. Alc 46%

Red Spot 1991

Normally, Master Blender Dave McCabe would blend casks to balance distillery character, wood influence and the wine finish. But this rare single Marsala cask was all perfectly balanced and matured for 31 years, rich and fresh in equal measure. Expect apricots and peaches, tobacco and cocoa, prunes and raisins, with a scattering of herbs and spices. Exclusive to The Whisky Exchange. Alc 55.9%

Two Stacks 9 Year Old Single Pot Still Cab Franc Ice Wine Finish

Two Stacks is one of the new era of Irish whiskey bonders, a movement revived by JJ Corry a decade ago. For this release, they gave a pot-still whiskey (understood to be from Great Northern Distillery) a long, 18-month rest in barrels that previously held Cabernet Franc ice wine from Canada. Name a red berry or plum variety and it’s in here, but with great tannic structure and wood notes to avoid excessive jamminess. Alc 54%

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History fills your eyes at Seppeltsfield. Barrels storing 147 continuous vintages of Seppeltsfield Para tawny fill the Centenary Cellar. It’s a collection that’s unrivalled in the world of wine, all housed under one old tin roof in the Barossa, Australia.

History fills your nose, too. An incredibly rich melange of heady aromas permeates the cellar, leaching slowly from the oak barrels as an estimated 3% of their contents evaporate into the atmosphere each year.

But history’s most delicious secrets are revealed once you taste the unctuous, concentrated nectar that remains within these old casks. The wines show impossible layers of complexity, compressed within interlocking and sometimes contradictory sweet and tart flavours that unfurl and adhere to your palate.

They are truly unique.

Tasting a legacy

To celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Seppelt family establishing Seppeltsfield in the western Barossa ranges, Decanter was invited with selected media and winemakers to taste all of the Para Centenary tawnies – a continuous line of 48 wines, stretching from 1878 to this year’s new release, the 1926 vintage.

It’s a remarkable legacy handed down by Oscar ‘Benno’ Seppelt, who had the foresight to lay down a single 500-litre puncheon of his finest fortified from the 1878 vintage, with instructions that it not be issued for 100 years.

This gesture marked the launch of the magnificent Seppeltsfield bluestone cellar in 1878, a sturdy three-level monument designed and built in 1866 by Benno’s father, Joseph Seppelt, who had brought the family from Silesia in 1849 and established the vineyards in 1851.

Vintage snapshots

Highlights within the historic tawny collection are extraordinary – none more dazzling than the inaugural 1878 Para. This is the rarest of vinous marvels, retaining freshness and vitality but with extraordinary layered complexity in subtle flavours and bewitching nuances.

Also sitting within the top tier of Para Centenary examples is the new release – 1926 Para – showing such vibrancy and intensity with its high, sweet perfume yet deepest baritone notes in the flavour profile.

Rather than provide a narrative about an evolution of a style, the historical tasting highlighted significant outliers – such as the impossibly thick and viscous 1918 Para as almost a parody of the super-concentrated style, or the 1907 Para with especially sharp acidity, and the outrageously dense 1894 Para.

It proved that ancient fortified wines do not settle into a homogenised sameness, but instead show distinctive historical vintage snapshots.

Old vines & historic homestead

History is writ large at Seppeltsfield. It speaks through the estate’s original buildings – from the three-bedroom Seppelt family homestead around which the winery was constructed, to the gravity-fed cellar constructed in 1888.

This was decommissioned in the 1980s but reinstated for winemaking from the 2010 vintage.

It is also evident in the vineyards – especially the Grenache bush vines. First planted in 1855, these were replanted in 1958 as contoured rows that hug the western side of Seppeltsfield estate.

They form the backbone of Seppeltsfield fortified wine production, along with old Shiraz and Mourvèdre vines, although precise percentages of each variety in Para tawny was not recorded until the 1980s.

The creation of Seppeltsfield Para in 1878 is also tied to the historical foundation of Australian wine, which thrived on the success of fortified wine production from the colony’s earliest years.

When Joseph Seppelt arrived in the Barossa, he planned to continue farming tobacco, which had made him prosperous in Silesia, but instead he found growing grapes more favourable and soon set about ambitious expansion that made Seppeltsfield a key Barossa producer.

Legacy of success

Seppeltsfield Para was produced as a statement of the family’s success, a gesture continued on an annual basis through successive winemakers – and eventually different owners.

The Seppelt family sold their shares in 1984 and the winery passed through several corporate ownerships until the Randall Wine Group took control of the estate and its cellars in 2009.

Para Centenary tawny is still nurtured by many hands. Three Seppeltsfield winemakers were present at the tasting – including original family descendent Charlie Seppelt – yet modestly play down their role.

‘These are not my wines,’ says James Godfrey, who joined Seppeltsfield in 1978 and became chief fortified winemaker until Foster’s Group sold Seppeltsfield in 2007. ‘I was fortunate enough to watch them develop and protect them – and for that, I feel enormously privileged.’

For Godfrey, a key to the consistency of Para tawny quality is the spirit chosen to fortify the wine – a grape spirit produced from Seppeltsfield’s own still from 1878 to 1978, when Godfrey closed down its production.

He then oversaw the selection of a complementary spirit from Barossa distillery Tarac, which continues to provide the same spirit to Seppeltsfield.

Preserving the past

The need for consistency and honouring traditional methods is not lost on Seppeltsfield chief winemaker Fiona Donald.

‘We are only custodians.’ she says. ‘Every vintage tells its own significant story, and it’s our duty to ensure that this is preserved – and that the historic Para Centennial Collection will remain relevant to fine wine collectors of the future.’

Most Para Centenary tawnies comprise a single puncheon, and many now contain only about 150 litres of highly concentrated wine.

Donald examines their condition during annual inventories, and decants some into 300-litre hogshead casks to help preserve their freshness.

However, this brings its own set of challenges, with key older vintages at such tiny volumes they can no longer be preserved safely in large-format oak barrels.

Several of the most popular old releases – some down to 40 litres or less, including the Para vintages from 1885, 1884, 1881, 1880, 1879 and 1878 – are now stored in glass air-tight vessels, which has fundamentally changed the wines.

While they still show remarkable agility and focused clarity, much of the dense viscosity and deepest flavour layers have been removed with the complex molecules that drop and settle in a dark sediment layer at the bottom of each barrel.

The absence of continued interaction with oxygen from the oak barrel also affects colour and texture.

‘Tawnies are aerobic beasts, and if they don’t interact with oxygen, they change,’ explains Godfrey.

Fortifying the future

Examining these glass-stored wines raised important discussion points for the Seppeltsfield winemaking team about how best to preserve Para wines beyond 100 years.

One thought is to contain the remaining volumes in small oak casks and store them in a temperature-controlled space, which would prevent further heat evaporation but not remove complex flavour compounds from the solution.

No decision has yet been made.

The previous complete comparative tasting of Para was led by Godfrey in 2003, to mark the 25th anniversary of the first Para Centenary release.

The recent tasting went further, also providing a rare view of future Para centenary releases in progress, showing decade-by-decade development from the 1926 vintage through to the juvenile 2016 vintage.

It reinforced Benno Seppelt’s genius decision to hold this wine in barrel for 100 years, to achieve perfect balance between concentration, complexity and vitality that cannot be contrived in younger fortified wines.

175th anniversary tasting: top wines

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For many, the Douro’s fortified wines are synonymous with red grapes. The region’s viticulture, however, has a more complex history, with field blends dotted with white varieties.

Mostly harvested together, they played a balancing role in red Port and contributed to its complexity and ageworthiness. White grapes-only vineyards, and hence white grapes-only Port, accounted for a minimal share of production.

Beyond viticulture and tradition, another factor was at play: with many Port shippers also trading in Sherry, the latter made up the ‘white’ share of their portfolio. Focusing on red Port meant a clear commercial message and a neat split.

Houses with a historical specialism in white Port – notably Kopke – remained curious outliers. Then, the turn of the third millennium brought a new generation of winemakers and blenders to the fore.

Both Tiago Alves de Sousa, the fifth generation at the helm of his family’s winery, and Carlos Alves, director of viticulture and oenology at Kopke, agree that this influx of new blood was a decisive factor in white Port’s recent rise.

For Alves, the white category’s rapid evolution is woven into the similarly impressive development of Douro still wines. ‘It meant a greater understanding of the potential of different varieties and of how they perform in specific terroirs. And a major realisation has been that the Douro is a region of great whites,’ he says.

Alves de Sousa agrees: ‘This exploration, through the lens of Douro [still, unfortified] wines, meant greater awareness of the potential of each variety, some being more aromatic, others more structured, and so on.’

‘The incredible evolution of the white category is the best thing that happened in Port in the 21st century’

Tiago Alves de Sousa

Necessary changes

Technical precision, stylistic focus, curiosity about the potential of old, often overlooked, stocks of white Port and a desire to experiment and test Port’s limits have all seen white Port grow in both quality and diversity.

The IVDP (Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto), which regulates wine production in the region, took notice and, in 2007, introduced a much-needed update to the regulations by creating age-indication categories for white Port (similar to those for red tawny).

‘It was a necessary change that also created more interest, among both producers and consumers,’ Alves says. ‘The incredible evolution of the white category is the best thing that happened [in Port] in the 21st century,’ says Alves de Sousa, whose family also has a long, maverick tradition of producing the style.

It reflects, he says, an overall increase in quality and a reconnection with the region’s traditions – while also revealing a fresher side of Port.

Indeed, white Port has developed along two parallel paths: expressively aromatic, fruit-driven styles, with little to no maceration, produced as ideal ingredients for Port & Tonic, Portugal’s favourite aperitif; and more structured, complex iterations, often with some skin-contact during fermentation, designed as components for age-indicated blends or, less frequently, colheita (single-harvest) bottlings.

The following selection showcases this exciting diversity. For those of us for whom a bottle of white Port is a fridge-door staple, it’s exciting to see the category truly coming to life.

18 delicious white Ports:

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The Port industry is experiencing a quick and exciting transformation. While many producers are producing ever-more characterful and balanced wines, they remain fearlessly committed to history and tradition – in the cellar as well as on the table.

Nothing is more evocative of the endurance of traditions than Christmas celebrations. And the festive season is the time of year when Port is allowed to shine brightly on the dinner table – and under the Christmas tree. Port makes for such a stylish and thoughtful gift – mostly as a companion to the season’s luscious cheese spreads.

However, making the most out of this flagship coupling is not as straightforward as it may seem.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Port wine is its complex diversity; the multiple styles, the intricate terroirs along the meandering banks of the Douro and the identity of each Port house which is translated into an incredible array of wines.

This in turn means that there isn’t a glass of Port suitable for all cheeses – if you want to enjoy the full gamut of flavours and textures in both or either, you’ll need to embark on a pairing journey.

In other cheese and wine pairing articles we’ve explained why one of the main enemies of milk-based foods is tannins (hence why we suggest that a full-bodied, aged white, in lieu of red, is a much better go-to pairing for cheese platters). It follows that a Vintage Port, with its luscious fruit and assertive tannins, will easily overpower the delicate aromatics of a brie or the creaminess of a Camembert.

So does one need to forego that special bottle of Port saved for Christmas dinner? Absolutely not. It’s all about embracing complexity and enjoying the fun of exploring both Ports and cheeses. Use it as an excuse to open more bottles and expand your festive cheese spread!

Happy endings, better beginnings

The first myth worth debunking is that you need to save your Port for the end of the meal. Some Port styles are best suited for other parts of your festive meals. Not least as a stage setting aperitif; nothing more refreshing and delicious than a white Port & Tonic. Experiment with different white Ports, mixers and toppings served alongside canapés.

Substantial starters can also benefit from a Port companion. A starter of foie gras with pickled walnuts paired with an old Vintage Port is the stuff of dreams. It cuts right through the fatty richness of the dish while joining in an harmonious dialogue of earthy flavours.

And onto the pièce de résistance: the acidity and subtle nuttiness of slightly aged Tawny (ten or 20 years old) will enhance your goose and turkey, especially if served with a rich gravy or cranberry sauce.

Further aged Tawnys and aged Whites, on the other hand, are perfect alongside chocolate or caramel-based desserts.

Decanter Premium is the ideal last-minute gift for wine lovers

Battle of equals

Festive moments are often punctuated by Vintage Ports from meaningful years. However, as mentioned above, when it comes to food pairing you’ll need to tread carefully due to the aromatic and tannic power of these wines.

Creamy, soft, mild cheeses will see its fat bind unpleasantly with the tannins. What you need is a powerful cheese to match. Aged, hard and spicy cheeses – such as aged pecorino, aged Cheddar, Lincolnshire Poacher, aged Comté or Parmigiano-Reggiano – will offer the perfect counterpoint in both flavour and texture. ‘[Vintage] is a favourite style, and one that people often resolve for special occasions,’ says Filipe Wang, sommelier of the JNcQUOI group (multiple locations in Portugal). ‘What we’re considering here is matching strengths.’

Intense – non-creamy – blue cheeses, such as thievery Christmassy, much-loved Stilton or matured Roquefort, will also have a great match in the deep juicy fruit and balsamic nuances of Vintage Port.

The key, common denominator in all these cheeses is salt, ‘I would favour young Vintages which have really strong tannins – strong, salty cheeses will balance them perfectly,’ Says Wang. ‘The saltiness [of the cheeses] is important; it’s the perfect counterpoint to the tannins.’

Add some dried cranberries, glazed orange peel, prunes or walnuts to the mix to take the pairing to the next level.

Here comes the White

One of the most exciting and fast-evolving styles of Port comes in multiple hues of amber. White Port (of which we explored an exciting selection in our December 2025 issue) can deliver both the fruity allure and zesty twist needed for a perfect Port & Tonic as well as – in the aged categories – incredible complexity, luscious nuttiness, intense orchard fruit (both fresh and dried) and a long finish with lingering honey and spice.

White Ports make for perfect companions for softer, creamier cheeses. ‘A young Extra Dry with goat’s cheeses – which tend to have more acidity and a fresher, sometimes citric, finish – will be a really good combination,’ says Wang. ‘The wine’s acidity and fruity profile will match the delicate profile of the cheese.’ Brie, Camembert, Wigmore or young Crotin will also have a good match in a young White Port. More intense counterparts – such as St Jude, Reblochon or St Marcellin – will be best alongside a White Colheita.

Tawny – the sweet spot

One of Port’s finest styles, Tawny, covers a quite wide array of profiles depending on how long the wines have aged in barrel. ‘I personally like to match cheeses, especially those with a nutty, slightly sweet finish – 18-month Gryere for example – with ten and 20 year old Tawnys,’ says Wang. ‘30 [year olds] and above are too concentrated. I wouldn’t recommend having them with cheese at all – I think they’re best enjoyed with a dessert or, better even, a cigar.’

Some fresh grapes, membrillo (quince paste) and roasted winter nuts are perfect add-ons to a Tawny and cheese combination.

Creative versatility

If you’re on a budget (aren’t we all!?) and/or don’t want to open more than one bottle of Port there are reliable all-rounders you can rely on. The absence of tannins and fine acidity of a White Port and the filigree nuttiness of a 20 year old Tawny makes them the best bets for ideal all-rounders, that will cope with the different palate tension of cheeses (fat, salt, acidity, umami).

The ultimate rule is, however, that you drink your favourite Port, surrounded by your favourite people. And you might want to make Port a source of comfort and a welcome treat all year round – Port surely deserves a place at the table beyond the festive period.

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Fortified wines may be largely associated with Christmas in the UK, but with a myriad of styles, there’s no reason why this category can’t be enjoyed year round.

A chilled manzanilla on a balmy day, a contemplative oloroso and a good book, a tawny Port with a shard of dark chocolate by the fireside…

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 11 great-value fortified wines

Offering great versatility, fortified is also a category that lends itself well to cocktails. Anyone for a Bloody Sherry, whereby you replace the gin or vodka with fino? Or perhaps a refreshing white Port and tonic, garnished with a slice of orange.

We’ve picked out 11 great-value fortified wines all available in the UK and priced at £20 or less per 75cl.

Starting with Sherry, Marks & Spencer’s Extra Dry & Light Manzanilla offers up classic apple, blossom and yeast flavours and would make a great tapas all-rounder. Sánchez Romate’s Don José Oloroso is rich, powerful and nutty with a streak of salinity and a long finish. Or if you’re after something sweeter, Morrisons’ Pedro Ximenez is bursting with toffee, currants and spices.

Port lovers will also find plenty to celebrate here. Quinta do Vale Meão’s Reserve Port for The Wine Society’s Generation Series is balanced and elegant with great ageing potential. Co-op’s Irresistible 10 Year-Old Tawny Port oozes berries and black cherry while Graham’s Fine White Port is perfect for summer drinking.

Outside of these two classic regions, seek out Samos Vin Doux from UWC Samos – a fully sweet fortified Muscat with honeysuckle and fruit salad aromas. Martinez’s 5 Year Old Dolce Superiore Riserva Marsala offers a great alternative to cream Sherry, with its notes of nutty toffee, dried figs and vanilla oak spice.

Great-value fortified wine: 11 to try

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The world’s longest continuing library of vintage fortified wine has issued its latest chapter, with Australia’s Seppeltsfield launching a 1925 Para Vintage Tawny.

Following a tradition established by pioneer Barossa Valley winemaker Oscar ‘Benno’ Seppelt, who first laid down a barrel of vintage fortified in 1878 with instructions not to issue it for 100 years, the 1925 Para Vintage Tawny is released on 20 February 2025.

The 48th consecutive annual release of Seppeltsfield’s 100-year-old vintage tawny coincides with the anniversary of the Seppelt family taking residence in their western Barossa homestead at Seppeltsfield in 1851, having migrated from Silesia earlier that year.

Seppeltsfield remains the home of the Seppeltsfield Centennial Collection – the world’s only unbroken lineage of single vintage tawny. Each wine has spent a minimum of 100 years in oak barrels, within the Centennial Cellar at Seppeltsfield,

before being released to the market.

Historic wines

The first Para Tawny laid down by Benno Seppelt in 1878 comprised a single 500-litre puncheon. In the late 1970s, Para Tawny stocks were increased to four puncheons for each vintage. Since Warren Randal took over as proprietor of Seppeltsfield in 2009, eight puncheons of tawny from each vintage are reserved.

However, the 1925 vintage comprised only a single puncheon, and about 150 litres of this wine remains, due to around 3% volume being lost each year to evaporation.

Seppeltsfield chief winemaker, Fiona Donald, examines many of these historic wines during annual inventories to check their condition. She often decants them into smaller 300-litre hogshead casks to help preserve their freshness. It was during this process 18 months ago that she was struck by the quality and arresting personality of the 1925 vintage.

The 1925 vintage

‘It’s a wow wine,’ she said. ‘When I first started working with Para Vintage Tawny 16 years ago, I assumed that all wines of such profound age would look the same – and this is completely incorrect. The personality of each wine is framed by each different vintage, which is very accurately captured in this incredible fortified time capsule.’

The 1925 vintage is powerfully defined, with an assertive, confident personality: opening with bold notes of coffee and molasses, drizzled with a film of wild honey. The palate entry is electric – surprisingly sharp and alert for a 100-year-old wine, filling the palate with technicolour complexity that is uplifted and propelled by an undercurrent of acidity. Its richness is measured and tempered by clean, sweet notes – but it’s the deep strata of layers that intrigue.

An expansive mid-palate has dense fruitcake intensity, showing brandied raisin character over a bed of dark nutty notes: walnut, roasted hazelnut and scorched almond. A bite of Seville orange peel adds tension, introducing a hint of tight bitterness at counterpoint to the generosity of the wine’s ample, sweet belly and lively pinch of nutmeg.

The seamless meld of luscious Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre components (percentages of each grape variety used in the blend were not recorded at vintage) have darkened with age, showing a rich mahogany tone in the glass, framed by a vibrant amber rim.

Vintage variation

This new release stands in stark difference to recent Para Vintage Tawny releases. The 1922 vintage shows darker, savoury flavour tones with sharp green hazelnut liqueur framed by the bite of dried wild herbs. While the 1923 vintage had ample fruitiness that mirrored the comforting generosity of luscious Christmas pudding.

Such striking contrasts confirm Donald’s belief that vintage variation plays a significant role in each 100-year-old fortified wine.

‘Every vintage tells its own significant story, and it’s our duty to ensure that this is preserved – and that the historic Centennial Collection will remain relevant to fine wine collectors of the future,’ she explained.

The scarcity of Para Vintage Tawny amplifies the value of the treasure contained within each 100ml glass flask, which looks more like an exotic perfume vessel than a wine bottle. Each flask is hand-filled to order, then numbered and authenticated for collectors, bearing the signatures of Seppeltsfield proprietor and MD Randall and friend of the winery Bill Seppelt, the great-great-grandson of winery founders Joseph and Johanna Seppelt.

The wine is packaged in a latched black timber box that’s lined with black velvet and has information printed inside the lid that includes its bottling date. Its specific bottle number is attached to a neck tag on the bottle, while a QR code provides a link to tasting notes.

Seppeltsfield 1925 100-Year-Old Para Vintage Tawny is also available online from seppeltsfield.com.au for AU$1,800, with shipping possible worldwide. In the US it is available via Legend Australian Wine Imports ($1,800).

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When, in mid-July 2022, the highest temperature ever recorded in Portugal (47ºC) was measured in Pinhāo, in the heart of the Douro Valley, few thought the year would yield wines of note. However, the harvest brought in healthy, small berries, showing remarkable flavour definition and a surprising freshness.

After two years in the cellar, some of the Douro’s leading Port houses acknowledged the singularity of their best plots by announcing the release of several Vintage single-quinta and special vineyard selections from the troubled year.

Although not a classic, widely-declared Vintage, the 2022 bottlings show an incredible sense of place, notable aromatic nuance and refined tannic frameworks.

With insights from head winemakers and master blenders, the extended overview of the growing season and its intriguing, perhaps surprising, outcome raises interesting questions about the ongoing shifts within the Port trade, the challenges of climate change and the sometimes competing priorities behind Vintage declarations.

Above all, it delves into the remarkable wines produced in the scorching year. Quinta do Noval’s Nacional confidently stands out; the storied plot produced a beautiful wine, with depth and concentration offset by mineral precision. Its drinkability upon release is outstanding but the wine will surely improve in decades to come.

Other wines of note include the fifth edition of Capela do Vesúvio – hailing from three small plots within the Vesúvio estate and truly evocative of schist soils, wild herbs and summer rains – and the inaugural release of Taylor’s Sentinels.

For those sceptical about the dynamism of the Port industry, the 2022 Vintage is a good rebuttal.

Producers were able to assert the singularity of their best vineyards and celebrate the resilience of both vines and men through wines that despite – or rather, while – swerving the paradigm of a ‘classic’ Vintage display the specific allure of their parent micro-terroirs.

Read the full overview, scores and tasting notes for Vintage Port 2022 – now on Decanter Premium

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It’s now a worn cliché to say that good winemakers are those able to produce a good wine from a bad vintage.

Perhaps it could be added that a superior vineyard is able to withstand severe climatic conditions and still deliver outstanding fruit.

Both statements seem validated by the Vintage Ports from the troubled 2022 growing season; few but characterful, with some outstanding examples showing off some of the Douro Valley’s best sites.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for the key Vintage Port 2022 releases

Delicious imperfection

Although overall lacking the concentration and robust structure of a so-called classic vintage, there is an aromatic nuance and vibrancy to the 2022 releases that make them particularly expressive.

‘Imperfect [Vintage] Ports make perfect Tawnys,’ said David Guimaraens, technical director and head winemaker at The Fladgate Partnership (Taylor’s, Fonseca and Croft) at the London tasting that marked the release of the 2022 Vargellas, Sentinels and Guimaraens.

Imperfect growing seasons, on the other hand, can yield seductively quirky Vintage expressions that speak vividly of their place. It’s therefore good to see that albeit not a ‘classic’ vintage, producers allowed some 2022 offspring to become Vintage rather than future Tawny elements.

If blending a Tawny is the art of correcting complementary imperfections, the decision to release a Vintage is the acknowledgement of a potential that deserves not to be interfered with.

This potential is usually measured as a function of cellaring longevity; perhaps early-drinking pleasure should also be part of the equation. The hallmark of the best wines tasted below is their energy and approachability, with stand outs showing equal amounts of depth and structure, filigree aromas and concentration, muscle and elegance.

Future considerations

Declarations always involve complex decisions not only about the potential quality and longevity of the wines but also on market conditions and stock management – the role of the Port blender is as much about ‘management of futures’ as it is about technical expertise and alchemic intuition.

So I wonder if the limited declaration was not a product of caution and long-term planning, as much as of the admittedly challenging cards dealt by the 2022 growing season.

Especially in the face of increasing demand for old Tawny (for context, according to Guimaraens Taylor’s sold 20,000 litres of 20 Year Old Tawny in 1990; last October 2024 figures were already at 160,000 litres) and the wholesome Vintage offering following back-to-back declarations from 2015-2018.

Challenging conditions

The hot, dry year had growers and winemakers on the edge of their seats until harvest.

‘The 2022 growth cycle was one of the most challenging in the Douro,’ reads the report of Symington Family Estates (SFE), ‘with the three months before the harvest being among the hottest and driest ever recorded.’

Christian Seely, managing director of Quinta do Noval, also reported on the testing conditions: ‘2022 was a year of extremes, both very hot and very dry. Rainfall was only 364 mm during the growing season, 27 mm below the 1970-2000 average.

‘We experienced recurrent heatwaves, in early July and in early August, with prolonged periods of temperatures over 40°C, with a peak of 45,5°C in mid-July.’

Fighting fit

On the other hand, record temperatures and drought meant that disease pressure was virtually absent. Although smaller and fewer, the berries were healthy and, added Seely, ‘remarkably, the vines remained surprisingly green and free from water stress’.

Likewise, the team at SFE, ‘were astonished by how well the vines performed under such unprecedented conditions. While the grape bunches and berries were smaller than usual, they delivered concentrated wines with lifted aromas and remarkable purity of fruit.’

The challenging season allowed the best sites to show their greater resilience and consistent ability to deliver quality and complexity. Virtually all the releases are therefore either single quintas or exclusive vineyard selections – not least of Noval’s Nacional plot and Vesúvio’s Capela.

The freshness and aromatic profile delivered by these vineyards in such a hot vintage is indeed remarkable. Whether the plants will struggle in the subsequent vintages remains to be seen – the 2024 harvest seems to indicate they are successfully coping, with Guimaraens anticipating a possible wide declaration in 2026.

Sculpted by terroir

Sense of place and purity were the common denominators across Vintage 2022 declarations.

‘At harvest, the red wines had a very clean aroma and very bright, rich colours,’ explained Carlos Alves, head winemaker and master blender at Sogevinus (Kopke, Burmester, Barros and Cálem).

‘After gaining further vividness in the cellar, the group declared ‘a vintage for all four of these single Quintas [Sāo Luis, Arnozelo, Cálem and Barros], each exhibiting individual differences and representing a sense of place.’

This is indeed a Vintage collection where the uniqueness and resilience of specific terroirs really came into focus.

Taylor’s Vargellas displays its trademark florality with vividness and allure; Burmester’s Arnozelo has a perfectly outlined herbaceous savouriness; Dow’s Senhora da Ribeira displays a distinct powdery minerality with its tannins covered in graphite; Sandeman’s Seixo is easily spotted for the elegant smoky veil cloaking the dark fruit.

Vintage Port 2022 at a glance

Growing season: Extremely dry with a succession of heatwaves in July and August. Throughout June, July, and August, 58% of the days saw temperatures exceed 35ºC, with 23 days recording temperatures above 39ºC. A record temperature of 47ºC was measured in Pinhāo on 15 July.

Overall character of the wines: Great aromatic nuance and sense of plaice, with the wines reflecting the characters that make their parent vineyards distinct. Refined tannic frameworks, purity of fruit and floral/herbal details. Recurring sense of freshness, both as a product of the fruit definition and lively acid.

Stand-out releases: Quinta do Noval Nacional; Capela da Quinta do Vesúvio; Taylor’s Sentinels.

Drinking window: The Vintage 2022 Ports will benefit from some years in bottle and will surely be at their best 10 to 20 years from now. The best expressions, however, show an incredible vividness and aromatic nuance that deserve to be appreciated immediately.

Pick of the bunch

Among the Vintage 2022 releases, Quinta do Noval’s Nacional confidently stands out. The unique, dramatic plot produced a remarkable wine, with depth and concentration offset by mineral precision.

It shows an alluring freshness and drinkability while also having the power and concentration to improve in decades to come – a great accomplishment that reflects the singular, and somewhat mystifying, character of the ungrafted vineyard.

But there is no shortage of intriguing, limited-production labels for Port collectors to seek out.

A collector’s bounty

SFE released the fifth edition of Capela do Vesúvio (following 2007, 2011, 2016 and 2017), hailing from three small plots within the Vesúvio estate: Capela, Escola and Vale da Teja. A truly beautiful wine that couldn’t be more evocative of schist soils, wild herbs and summer rains.

From The Fladgate Partnership, the inaugural bottling of Taylor’s Sentinels did not disappoint. It’s produced with fruit from selected vineyards in the Pinhāo Valley, planted across four estates (Terra Feita, Junco, Casa Nova, and Eira Velha).

Located within the original 1756 demarcation, its name references the granite pillars (‘marcos de feitoria‘) once used to delineate the perimeter of ‘highest-quality Port’ areas.

The shipper plans to release Sentinels in non-classical Vintages, allowing those best-performing sites to stand out, very much like a single quinta.

Meanwhile, as SFE is yet to release half of its 2022 single quintas; the vintage will surely unveil other pleasant surprises. With Capela da Quinta do Vesúvio, Quinta do Vesúvio, Dow’s Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira (all tasted and scored below) and Graham’s Quinta do Tua Vinhas Velhas (exclusive for the brand’s Matriarca club members and at the Graham’s Lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia) already on the market, SFE have held back four other bottlings.

Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos, Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim, Warre’s Quinta da Cavadinha and Cockburn’s Quinta dos Canais will remain in their respective cellars for future release.

For those sceptical about the dynamism of the Port industry, the 2022 Vintage is a good rebuttal.

As the Douro region goes through important challenges – both climatic and socioeconomic – and significant shifts in the structure of the wine trade, it’s encouraging to see producers asserting the singularity of vineyards and celebrating the resilience of both vines and men.

Vintage Port 2022 – key releases scored and tasted:

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Starting one’s journey in the world of Port can be as daunting as it quickly becomes captivating. The variety of styles across producers and categories, as well as the identity of each vintage and estate – reflecting the nuances of the Douro river meanders and valley slopes – places it among the world’s most fascinating wine appellations.

But it can be difficult to decide where to start one’s discovery – or how to properly explore the diversity of producers without breaking the bank.

It’s often recommended that Port neophytes and explorers seek out the 20 Year Old Tawny category…

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 18 delectable 20 Year Old Tawny Ports

Blended from different lots aged in cask for an average of two decades, 20 Year Olds capture the quality of the underlying fruit and the ageing conditions in a particular cellar, as well as the decisions of winemakers and blenders.

‘If Vintage Port is the ultimate expression of a particular year, the 20 Year Old Tawny is the skill of the blender in marrying components from different years to produce a perfectly balanced aged tawny,’ explains David Guimaraens, technical director of the Fladgate Partnership, overseeing the production for the Taylor’s, Fonseca and Croft labels.

Sweet spot

While 10 Year Old Tawny retain more primary fruit, and do not so vividly yet reflect style and development, it’s after two decades that the identity of the cellar comes into perfect focus.

‘During this period, the wine acquires the profile of the house, under unique conditions, in the cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia [across the river estuary from Porto] and/or Douro,’ says Carlos Alves, winemaker and master blender at Sogevinus (Kopke, Burmester, Barros and Cálem).

‘A 20 Year Old Port already reflects in its essence all the complexity of a tawny wine that has aged in wood – it has already entered the “adulthood” of an aged Port.’

Guimaraens adds: ‘The 20 Year Old is old enough to capture the expression of the location in which the Ports age, and the choices blenders make as to how they age and how they blend the component Ports.’ On the other hand, ‘it is also young enough to still express the origin of the Ports set aside for a particular house style’.

Planning ahead

Tawny Ports are also a testament to the blender’s ability to preserve stock for future blends, ensuring not just contemporary but also future quality and consistency. Achieving the balance, continuity and sustainability of a desired style relies on a complex set of complementary skills – logistical as much as oenological.

Crafting a 20 Year Old Tawny today requires the ability to create the conditions to carry on producing them in decades to come. ‘It is certainly quite stressful – but that’s the magic of being a Port winemaker,’ concludes Guimaraens.

‘We work with what others left us while being mindful of what we leave behind for others to carry on this beautiful craft.’

A democratic style

The selection below reflects the variety that 20 Year Old Tawny – and Port as a whole – offers, from mellower, honeyed examples to brighter iterations with citrus and spice at the forefront. (Don’t forget to chill them appropriately to enjoy their full complexity and vibrancy.)

These are wines that do not follow the logic or timescale of trends. Alves explains that the main goal is to ‘preserve the quality and [character of the] blend, as these are the elements that hold the house’s identity’, adding that ‘it is this identity that makes Port wines unique’.

There is, however, an interesting consistency of price and many excellent 20 Year Olds, as shown here, are available for less than £50. As the appetite for aged tawny increases – with 40- and 50 Year Old releases quickly snapped up in the collecting and investment markets – the 20 Year Old is an affordable way to enter the category, while exploring a particularly representative expression of a house’s production.

‘20 Year Old Tawny is the most democratic style of Port,’ concludes Guimaraens. ‘It offers an entry point to enjoy the finest Ports at approachable prices.’

The magic of 20 Year Old Tawny: Indulge the senses

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There is a Port for all seasons if you know where to look. Often thought of as an after-dinner, fireside drink, Port can be enjoyed in multiple ways depending on the character of the wine.

There is a pyramid of different Port styles, from vibrant youthful ruby to venerable aged-tawny and vintage. Port is often thought of as a heavy winter drink, but aged tawnies, colheitas and mature vintage Ports can be supremely elegant and refined.

White Port and tonic (also known as Portonic) and tawnies (served slightly chilled) are just as well-suited for warm summer days as a ruby or a full-bodied LBV is for the winter months. Such wines have never been more in demand.

This style guide climbs the Port pyramid, surveying the latest trends and points you to the right Port for any occasion, winter or summer.

Ruby

Named after its youthful colour, a ruby Port will be a blend of wines from more than one year. It is aged in bulk for up to three years and bottled young to capture its strong, fiery personality.

Reserve

A blend of premium-quality wines often aged for slightly longer than a basic ruby before bottling: giving a rich, satisfying Port. A reserve tawny is a blended wine that has spent about seven years in wood. It can be excellent value compared to wines bottled with an indication of age.

Crusted

So-called because of the deposit (or ‘crust’) that the wine throws in bottle. Crusted Ports are a blend of wines from two or three harvests aged in large oak vats for two to four years (though surprisingly there is nothing in the regulations on this). Like a vintage Port, they are bottled without any fining or filtration. The only significant date on the label is the year of bottling. Most crusted Ports are ready to drink with five or six years of bottle age and will last for another decade. The British houses make a speciality of this style. Excellent value: crusted is poor man’s vintage Port!

White

Made from white grapes. Most are bottled young but some whites are capable of wood age. Those wines may now be bottled with the same age indications as tawny Ports or as a colheita (see below). White Port and tonic is a revitalsing summer drink, served with a twist of lemon and a sprig of mint. If you use an older wood-aged wine, your Portonic takes on the bitter-sweet character of a Negroni.

Pink

This style of Port was pioneered by Croft and has been adopted, not without controversy, by most shippers. It is made by cooling fermenting grape must, which has had minimal skin contact. Serve pink Port over ice or use as a mixer.

Cheese and Port matching guide

Late Bottled Vintage (LBV)

Late Bottled Vintage means just what it says on the label: wwine from a single year that’s bottled between four and six years after the vintage. It’s produced in much larger volumes than either classic vintage or single-quinta vintage (see below). Two different styles of LBV Port have emerged.

The modern style of LBV was founded by Taylor’s in the mid-1960s and quickly became a commercial success. These wines are aged in large vats and are subject to fining and filtration prior to bottling. This prevents the formation of a crust or sediment in bottle, which removes the need to decant.

During the 1990s there was a counter-trend towards so-called ‘traditional’ or unfiltered LBV. These wines are aged in the same way but bottled without any filtration. Unfiltered wines are more structured and full-bodied than LBVs that have been filtered. They have the capacity to age for five to 10 years in bottle. They are bottled with a driven cork – as opposed to the stopper cork for LBVs that are bottled for immediate drinking.

An LBV may also be sold as ‘bottle matured’: aged in bottle for a minimum of three years before their release. Warre’s and Smith Woodhouse have made a specialty of this style. The wines share something of the depth and character and maturity of a true vintage Port at a fraction of the price.

Vintage Port

Seen by many as the pinnacle of the Port pyramid. Many shippers have built (and occasionally destroyed) their international reputation on the back of vintage Port. The skill in making a great vintage Port comes from the strict selection of small lotes (parcels) of wine from the very finest locations made from grapes picked at optimum ripeness after an outstanding growing season. These grapes need to be very well worked during vinification, either foot-trodden in traditional stone lagares or increasingly subject to careful piston extraction or robotic treading. Graham’s 2000 was the first classic vintage Port to be partially made by robotic feet.

After the harvest these wines are monitored for a potential vintage. The decision to ‘declare’ a vintage is made independently by the shipper and it is not one that is taken lightly. There is no law about the regularity of Port vintages but there are usually three or four a decade. However, over the past decade there has been a string of fully or partially declared years including 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Port vintage guide: 2000-2022

Port vintage guide: 1960-1999

Quantities are limited and a major shipper may declare anything from a few hundred cases to 15,000 cases depending on the year and circumstances. Sometimes the quantity declared is much less.

There is a recent trend towards declaring super-premium wines from a site-specific plot in a particular vineyard (often alongside a classic declaration). Quinta do Noval Nacional, from a tiny plot of ungrafted vines, is the historic prototype for this sub-category of wines. It now includes Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas Vinha Velha, Graham’s Stone Terraces and Quinta de la Rosa’s Vale do Inferno. The total quantity declared of each wine is usually no more than 250 cases, and prices are commensurate. These are the ultimate collector’s wines!

Before a Port can be bottled as a vintage it must be submitted to the IVDP (Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto) for approval. This can happen anytime between 1 January and 30 September in the second year after the harvest. Once the wine has been bottled it continues to evolve slowly over a period of at least 15 to 20 years or more, before it is considered ready to drink.

Rather like the seven ages of man, vintage Port enjoys a short, fragrant bloom of youth before it shuts down and goes through 10 to 20 years of surly adolescence. Then it slowly emerges as an adult gaining in gravitas until it reaches its peak, often between 20 and 40 years of age.

For the finest wines the peak becomes a long plateau and old age may not be reached for 80 years or more. Anyone born in one of the great post-war vintages of 1945, 1955, 1963, 1966 and 1970 has a wine to accompany them for life!

Since the early 2000s, a dramatic improvement in the quality of the fortifying spirit (which, it is easy to forget, makes up 20% of the wine) has altered the flavour profile of vintage Port. The spirit being used to fortify vintage and single-quinta vintage Port has a much more vinous character than in the past.

This means that it interferes much less with the fruit in a young wine than the coarse, rather oily spirit used previously. Certainly recent declared vintages such as 2007 and 2011 are notable for the purity and clear expression of fruit, even at this early stage. David Guimaraens, head winemaker for The Fladgate Partnership, maintains that the transition from youth to maturity will be much smoother in future, with less of that awkward adolescent stage. This should make vintage Port easier to broach at an earlier stage but the best wines should still age for a lifetime.

Vintage port 2000 and 2003: Panel tasting results

Single-Quinta Vintage Port

With huge improvements in winemaking from the 1980s onwards, the production of a good vintage Port is much less of a hit-and-miss affair. Unless the year is a total washout (eg 1993 and 2002), wines of potential vintage quality can be made every year. Consequently wines from good years (in between declared vintages) are bottled by the major shippers as single-quinta vintage Port (SQVP). The same rules apply as to vintage Ports, the only difference being that the wines come from a single quinta or estate with the recommendation that they may be drunk earlier, after 10 rather than 20 years.

Without the collector’s cachet of a vintage Port, these wines are excellent value and by building up a vertical collection you can follow a specific Douro terroir. A handful of independent quintas are now producing their own SQVP nearly every year, along the lines of a Bordeaux château. Although this is a relatively new category, look out for properties that already have a good track record: Quinta do Vesúvio, Quinta de la Rosa, Quinta de Roriz, Quinta do Crasto, Quinta do Passadouro and Quinta do Vale Meão.

Aged Tawny

Sharing the pinnacle with vintage Port, it has been said that whereas vintage is the ‘king’ of Ports, tawny is the ‘queen’. The ageing process is of vital importance. While a vintage Port will mature for a short time in large wooden vats and then in bottle; tawnies will age for much longer in small casks before bottling. These casks, known as lodge pipes, have 600- to 640-litre capacity.

The wines undergo a steady process of controlled oxidation and esterification as the colour fades from deep, opaque ruby to orange-amber-tawny. The tasting and blending of an aged tawny is a continual process. Wines set aside initially are often marked with the year of the harvest (‘colheita’). But as the shipper makes up new blends followed by blends of blends, the characteristics of individual wines gradually meld into the house style.

Tawnies may be bottled with an indication of age: 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years old. Even older wines may be designated ‘Very Very Old Tawny’. The age designations are obviously approximations and all wines have to be submitted for tasting by the IVDP for approval.

I adore the intricacy and delicacy of a well-aged tawny. A 20 Year Old is my preference, for its complexity offset by freshness. But there are some increasingly good 30, 40 and 50 year old wines as well, that don’t seem to have sacrificed their balance with age.

Port shippers often opt to drink a gently chilled tawny after lunch in the heat of the Douro. Think of aged tawny as a summer alternative to a fireside glass of vintage or LBV.

Colheita

Meaning ‘harvest’ in Portuguese, colheita is a wine from a single year, aged in wood for a minimum of seven years before bottling. By this time the wine begins to take on the characteristics of a tawny. Most colheitas are aged for much longer and, with careful nurture, may be bottled after 50 or 100 years.

Two dates appear on the label: the year of harvest and the year of bottling. The latter is significant as the wine won’t generally improve in bottle – although after prolonged ageing in wood it won’t deteriorate quickly either.

Once the preserve of a select group of so called ‘Portuguese shippers’ (Barros, Burmester Cálem, Kopke, Krohn) colheitas have been taken up enthusiastically by the British shippers, sometimes bottled under the name ‘single harvest’. Serve colheitas cellar-cool, like a tawny.

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It’s an iconic image straight out of a Hemingway novel: a sleepy bar on a Sunday afternoon, the floor littered with peanut shells; barrels with wooden spigots jostle for space above the bar. Short glasses – filled with ice, olives and an orange slice – hold one of Spain’s signature elixirs: vermouth, or as it’s known here, vermut.

Spain’s vermouth has evolved alongside the nation, tracing its journey from international pariah during the Franco era (1939-1975) to the hub of culinary innovation and effortless cool that it is today. Once dismissed as the drink of grandparents, symbol of an era of political turmoil and economic hardship, it has undergone a renaissance in recent years, becoming a mainstay of hipsters and pensioners alike. Now, vermut is synonymous with those outdoor-terraza, laid-back afternoons of the sort that everyone loves about Spain.

El vermut is more than just a drink, it’s a way of life. And there’s no better example of the Spanish approach to life than la hora del vermut (‘vermouth hour’).

A uniquely Spanish tradition

The Spanish love their bars, and la hora del vermut is a much-loved weekend tradition that offers an excuse to enjoy them. It’s a chance to slow down and spend time with family and friends over a glass of the good stuff before heading to lunch.

The concept of having a drink and a bite is not unique to Spain. The Italians are famous for aperitivo, and the French have their apéro. But unlike their European neighbours, who generally enjoy their aperitifs before the evening meal, Spaniards convene for la hora del vermut before lunch.

The earlier timing of Spain’s siesta is said to originate from the years immediately following the Spanish Civil War; many rural labourers worked two jobs to support their families, dividing their days between a morning shift from 9am-2pm and an afternoon shift from 4pm-8pm. A two-hour lunch break in the middle allowed workers to rest or travel between jobs.

When Spain experienced extensive migration from rural to urban areas in the 1950s, this midday break remained an important part of the culture. Before long, the newly formed urban middle class could afford a drink on Sundays between attending Mass and sitting down to lunch – and la hora del vermut was born.

Why vermouth?

It was in the 1860s that vermouth debuted in Spain, when Italian brands such as Martini & Rossi began exporting to Madrid and Barcelona. Then Spanish companies began making vermouths of their own and the government levied a tariff on the foreign imports. Seeing an opportunity to get ahead of the competition, Martini invested in Spain, opening a factory in Barcelona and hiring leading modernist architects Antoni Gaudí, Pedro Falqués and Josep Puig i Cadafalch to design Bar Torino, to make vermouth fashionable in Barcelona. The bar only traded for nine years, closing in 1911, but the vermouth craze spread from there to the rest of the country. By the 1950s, el vermut was Spain’s most popular aperitif.

Until it wasn’t… After Franco’s death in 1975, Spain began to modernise. Beer became popular among young people and vermut became unfashionable – the drink of a bygone era that everyone wanted to forget. Vermut was an endangered species. And then, the tide changed. Around 2010, young people started drinking vermut again. Some say vermut’s affordability made it a logical drink of choice during the global financial crisis. Others credit its resurgence to hipsters’ obsession with all things ‘vintage’. Whatever the reason, vermut was back on top.

Now, more and more producers are making artisanal expressions that showcase Spain’s diversity. From Albariño-based iterations in Galicia, in the northwest, to the Pedro Ximénez- based vermouth of Andalucía in the far south, there’s no end to the variety of vermut on offer in Spain – or the enthusiastic consumers eager to drink it.

How to ‘do a vermut’

The vermut rules are simple: serve very cold, with or without ice. Add a couple of olives and an orange slice for red vermouth, or a slice of lemon for white vermouth. You can dilute the alcohol by adding a splash of soda water, or fortify it with a splash of gin. Spanish vermouth is typically sweeter than its French or Italian cousins, so pair it with something fatty or salty.

It’s common for potato chips or olives to appear. If you’re lucky, your vermutería of choice will give you a free tapa with your drink – perhaps a slice of tortilla or a gilda, the Basque pintxo of pickled guindilla peppers, anchovies and olives on a skewer that’s practically made to pair with a cold glass of vermut rojo (‘red’). Or there are boquerones (fresh anchovies marinated in vinegar), tinned fish, the iconic jamón Ibérico… the possibilities are endless.

If vermouth isn’t your thing, don’t worry. Hacer el vermut (or fer el vermut in Catalán) – ‘to do a vermouth’ – has become Spanish shorthand for an afternoon get-together. Though the Spaniards call it ‘vermouth hour’ you wouldn’t be out of place at la hora del vermut with beer, wine, or even a coffee.

Spain’s iconic vermuterías

In Spain, you don’t have to go far to find good vermut. Most bars serve international brands alongside local examples. All you have to do is sit down and order ‘un vermut, por favor’. That said, there are definitely some bars worth seeking out.

Quimet & Quimet, Barcelona

Carrer del Poeta Cabanyes, 25

In Barcelona, the original epicentre of vermut culture, there’s no place better – if you can secure a spot. The tiny bar only fits about 20 people, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in food and drink, with more than 500 options for wine, craft beer and vermut accompanied by montaditos, its famous open sandwiches.

Bar Roberto Berri, San Sebastián

General Artetxe Kalea, 2

About a 15-minute walk from San Sebastián’s famous Playa de la Concha, Bar Roberto Berri is this city’s vermouth hub. Here, you’ll find locals enjoying a vermut on the street before heading out for an afternoon of pintxo-hopping. Try one of the ever- changing vermouths on tap.

La Guapa Vermutería, Alicante

Calle San Ildefonso, 7

Drink vermut with an Italian twist in Alicante at La Guapa Vermutería, which has a second site in the city’s Mercado Central on Avenida Alfonso de Sabio. As well as international vermouths, La Guapa offers vermut from Alicante that goes well with the house-made porchetta.

Casa Vizcaíno, Sevilla

Calle Feria, 27

A go-to filming location for movies and TV shows wanting to recreate old Sevilla (think Sky TV series Falcón), Casa Vizcaíno has been scribbling patrons’ tabs in chalk on the bar since 1935. It serves up no-frills vermut and beers seven days a week. casavizcaino.es

La Ardosa, Madrid

Calle de Colón, 13

Those looking for an authentic experience in Spain’s capital can step back in time at La Ardosa (pictured, p63). The tortilla here is said to be one of the best in Madrid. Virtually unchanged since 1892, this bar serves wine and vermut to Madrileños and tourists mingling around the wooden barrels.

La Hora del Vermut, Madrid

Mercado de San Miguel, Puestos 22-25

Contrast the classics with new-wave vermouth at this aptly named specialist bar in Madrid’s central market on Plaza de San Miguel. Opened around the beginning of the vermut renaissance in 2009, the bar offers 80 vermouths from all over Spain plus four on tap, paired with gildas and some 20 different types of olives.

Discover vermouth: Six Spanish examples to try

Casa Mariol Vermut Negro

Catalonia

Darker in colour than most (hence negro, or ‘black’), the colour coming from green walnuts, macerated in a base wine of white Macabeo with up to 150 botanicals including rosemary, thyme, orange peel, wormwood and cardamom. It’s barrel-aged for six months in a solera system prior to bottling. The nose is very herbaceous, with Mediterranean herbs, sweet cinnamon and clove. It’s light-bodied, with a lasting bitterness to the finish. Alcohol 15%

Destilerías Acha Atxa Vermouth

Rojo, Basque Country

One of the oldest businesses in Basque Country, Destilerías Acha has been making vermouth for over a century. The rojo (‘red’) Atxa is made from a neutral base wine, macerated with more than 30 botanicals including wormwood, gentian, cardamom, clove, hibiscus, camomile, cinnamon and fennel. It has more bitterness than other Spanish vermouths, with aromas of alpine herbs and dried orange peel. Alc 15%

Lustau Vermut Rojo

Andalucía

Reus and Barcelona were the first places in Spain to make vermouth, but Jerez down in Andalucía wasn’t far behind; Sherry houses made vermouth up until the 1970s. With the vermut boom of the 2010s, houses such as Lustau returned to making it. Produced from a blend of 10 year-old amontillado and Pedro Ximénez Sherries with botanicals like sage, gentian, coriander, wormwood and orange peel, this has notes of dried fig on the palate with a slightly bitter finish. Alc 15%

Martinez Lacuesta Vermut Rojo

Rioja

This Rioja winery has been making vermouth by the same secret recipe since 1937. In true old-school Rioja fashion, the botanicals and the base wine are macerated and aged for two to three years in American oak barrels. It has a classic nose of cinnamon, dried herbs and orange peel. The palate is sweet but not syrupy, balanced by a lasting bitterness. Alc 15%

St Petroni Vermú Vermello

Galicia

This Galician red vermouth (vermello is Galego for ‘red’) is an example of a newer style, in which the base wine is just as important as the botanicals. White Albariño from the Rías Baixas sub-zone of Ribeira do Ulla is the protagonist, alongside 29 botanicals such as bay leaf, rosemary, lemon verbena, orange peel and lemon. Much like Galician licor de hierbas liqueur, the nose has slightly medicinal notes, with bittersweet marmalade on the palate and a long finish. Alc 15%

Yzaguirre Vermouth Rojo

Catalonia

Founded in 1884 in El Morell, just inland from Tarragona, Yzaguirre is one of Spain’s oldest and best-known vermouth producers. Its rojo is a classic example of the less-bitter Spanish style of vermouth, in which the character of the botanicals is elevated above that of the base wine. Its slightly sweet palate and ripe red fruit nose with distinct cinnamon notes make it the perfect entry point for beginners. Alc 15%

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Port producers only declare a vintage in the best years, when wines hailing from the best plots are deemed of good enough quality and market conditions are considered favourable. As such, Vintage Port accounts for between 1 and 2% of overall Port production and vintage declarations are always eagerly anticipated.

Challenging growing season

The 2022 vintage did not look particularly promising amid a very dry and hot growing season, with rainfall well below average. The region entered severe drought at the end of June. According to Christian Seely, MD at Quinta do Noval, temperatures hit 45.5°C in mid-July and stayed above 40°C for prolonged periods in August.

However, there was moderate rainfall in early September, creating better picking conditions at harvest and offsetting some of the effects of the drought and high temperatures. Overall, the year’s challenging conditions produced small berries, with a good juice to skin ratio contributing directly to the quality of the wines.

Seely described it as ‘a year of extremes’, but suggested that 2022 could follow in the footsteps of some highly-rated vintages.

‘Such extremes are not entirely unprecedented: similar conditions were experienced in the great vintages of 2017 and 1945,’ he said. ‘As in these years, 2022 demonstrated the remarkable resilience of our terroir and of our Douro grape varieties.’

Quinta do Noval has declared three Vintage Ports: Quinta do Noval 2022, Quinta do Noval Nacional 2022 and Quinta do Passadouro 2022.

Seely added: ‘We knew from the start that the Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port 2022 was exceptional, and the wine has continued to develop wonderfully since the harvest, displaying the multi-layered complexity and depth that are typical of a great Nacional. Powerful and pure, it combines opulent richness, intensity and concentration with astonishing freshness.’

Meanwhile, the Sogevinus Group declared four 2022 Vintage Ports from across its multiple estates: Kopke Quinta de São Luiz 2022, Burmester Quinta do Arnozelo 2022, Cálem 2022 and Barros 2022.

Carlos Alves, master blender and winemaker, said: ‘At harvest, the red wines had a very clean aroma and very bright and rich colours. These characteristics improved with two years of ageing, and so we decided to declare a vintage for all four Quintas, which each exhibit individual differences and represent a sense of place.’

Vintage Ports are declared two years after the harvest. The announcements traditionally take place on St. George’s Day (April 23), or at some point during the following few weeks.

The Fladgate Partnership marked St George’s Day by announcing the release of two Vintage Ports from 2022 – limited bottlings of Fonseca Guimaraens and Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas.

Head winemaker David Guimaraens said: ‘The crop at Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas estate was one of the healthiest we have seen for years, and the Ports made on the Fonseca estates were outstanding, allowing us to produce a very fine Guimaraens vintage blend, full bodied and packed with dense berry fruit flavour. A true time capsule of the year.’

Earlier in April, Sogrape announced the declaration of Vintage 2022 for its three Port houses: Porto Ferreira, Sandeman and Offley. Luís de Sottomayor, who oversees Douro and Port wine production at Sogrape, highlighted the good acidity and sense of place that underpins the character of the three Vintage Ports – Sandeman Quinta do Seixo Vintage 2022, Porto Ferreira Quinta do Porto Vintage 2022, and Offley Vintage 2022 – to be released in September.

Previous iterations of Sandeman Quinta do Seixo (Vintage 2017) and Porto Ferreira (Vintage 2018) are among the best scoring wines in Sogrape’s history, creating great anticipation for the potential of the newly declared Vintage.

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It was a moment which barely seemed possible. Port Ellen, the now mythical Islay single malt whisky distillery has risen from the rubble and is once again making its distinctly smoky spirit – more than 40 years after it closed down.

The distillery was founded in 1825, but mothballed in 1930. Reopened for a brief period between 1967 and 1983, it became a powerhouse on the island of Islay, with much of its stock used predominantly for blended whiskies.

Due to a difficult economic climate, the distillery was then shuttered – seemingly for good – in April 1983. Its last casks were laid to rest in nearby warehousing, while the stills and other distilling equipment were dismantled and removed.

Remarkably the handful of remaining, almost forgotten stock of Port Ellen blossomed into truly extraordinary single malt. It became highly coveted by whisky connoisseurs and collectors alike during the early 2000s, prized for its distinctive chamois leather, gentle smoke and citrus fruit aroma and flavour – as well as its increasing rarity.

Prices for Port Ellen on the secondary market rose considerably and the brand’s owner, Diageo, released a yearly batch bottling, from the last casks dating back to either 1978 or 1979. These were quickly snapped up by those in the know.

Back to life

As a result of its reversal in fortunes, in 2017 Diageo announced that Port Ellen would become part of a £185 million investment scheme to breathe life into a handful of closed distilleries. This scheme also included Highland distillery Brora, which was fully renovated and reopened in 2021.

Work was finally completed on the site of Port Ellen in early 2024. The brand new, state-of-the-art distillery complex was formally opened in an emotional ceremony on 19 March.

Descendants of the distillery’s founding father, John Ramsay, were in attendance, along with former distillery worker Iain McArthur. This was a remarkable moment, as McArthur had filled the very last Port Ellen cask back in 1983.

To exactly recreate the original distillery – and the spirit which ran from its stills – was an enormous task. But it was a challenge relished by the entire team involved. ‘We’re very lucky that we have the Diageo archive team, who had documents and blueprints for the original stills,’ explained Master Distiller Alexander McDonald (above). ‘Everything from the shape and fill size has been accurately recreated to the original specifications,’ he added.

Innovations and new experiences

The re-envisioned distillery building is housed completely in glass (see below) and now incorporates a number of innovative additions, alongside the more traditional features. A unique 10-part spirit safe allows the distilling process to be broken down to a granular level for the very first time, so McDonald and his team can accurately recreate the classic Port Ellen spirit style of the past.

‘The thing which makes Port Ellen for me is the unique fruitiness of the spirit,’ he explained. ‘Using these “Phoenix” stills [named in homage to their resurrection] we can accurately recreate the character of the spirit from the golden period between 1967 and 1983.’

In addition to the main Phoenix stills, the distillery is also equipped with a pair of Experimental stills that are exact one-third scale replicas of the originals. They can be used to produce spirit in a number of other styles, giving a huge variety of scope for future innovation.

Alongside the distillery building is a visitor centre experience, its minimalist Scandinavian design inspired by the natural beauty of Islay. This will be open from June and has been designed to make the most of stunning views of Islay’s coastline and across the bay to the Carraig Fhada Lighthouse. The new visitor centre is furnished with artwork by renowned Scottish artist Lucy May Schofield, inspired by the elemental landscape.

A taste of Port Ellen

The new site also includes a bespoke Kiln Room tasting space, where visitors can really get under the skin of the legendary spirit. ‘The kiln room was the only building left from the original site [due to its previous demolition],’ explained Ewan Gunn, senior global brand ambassador for Diageo malts. ‘The tasting experience is designed to be a crucible of ideas, to explore and map out flavour from every stage.’

To coincide with the reopening, the distillery has also unveiled a new release: Port Ellen Gemini. This 44-year-old release features twin decanters of original whisky first distilled in 1978 and filled into two contrasting European oak casks – an Original Cask and Remnant Cask, the latter being additionally seasoned with oloroso Sherry – to demonstrate the original distillery’s distinctive character.

Tasted at the distillery, Port Ellen Gemini Original Cask (Alc 54.9%) boasts baked apple, tropical fruit and maritime coastal aromas, with light aromatic smoke, plus sherbet lemon and lime aromas. The palate is filled with more delicate smoke, manuka honey and cracked black pepper.

Only 274 individual sets of Port Ellen Gemini are available in selected markets, priced at £45,000.

For more information on Port Ellen Gemini or visiting the distillery later this year, visit portellen.com 

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Seppeltsfield, established in the Barossa in 1851 and with an unbroken lineage of cellared single vintage tawny from 1878, has made no secret of its aim to position its 100-year-old wines as being desirable for the new-generation luxury market. The Riedel partnership marks the latest in a series of steps to draw fresh attention to its rare annual wine offering.

The Seppeltsfield winemakers and marketing team conducted a tasting masterclass with Riedel Australia staff during 2023 to test 12 different glasses from the existing Riedel range with the aim of finding the ideal drinking vessel for such old, concentrated wine – and sent a bottle of the 1924 Para Vintage Tawny to company CEO Maximilian Riedel in Europe for consideration. They reached a unanimous decision that the Riedel Vinum Cognac Hennessy Glassware presented the wine in the best possible manner.

‘For such a highly concentrated fortified wine, we found this glassware best delivered the complex mix of aromas and flavours to the taster. A new design wasn’t required because the Vinum Cognac Hennessy glass worked perfectly. We were surprised how much it lifted the best attributes of this wine,’ said Lauren Mudge, Seppeltsfield’s head of sales and marketing.

The pairing of tested stemware with Seppeltsfield Para Vintage Tawny builds on steps taken in 2023 to modernise and refine packaging of the 100-year-old wine in elegantly shaped 100ml glass vessels. The success of this transformation prompted Seppeltsfield to go further by positioning itself alongside other luxury brands such as Riedel.

Such a partnership is designed to help draw attention to the 1924 wine that continues the Seppeltsfield Centennial Collection. The world’s only unbroken lineage of single vintage Tawny dates back to 1878, with each of the vintage wines having seen a minimum of 100 years in oak barrels within the Centenary Cellar at Seppeltsfield before being released to the market.

The 1924 vintage is surprisingly deceptive, being fresher than expected for a 100-year-old wine. The aroma is especially powerful, yet its richness is measured and tempered by clean, sweet notes, with concentrated coffee essence and an undertone of dark molasses framed by a whiff of green walnut liqueur, cedar cigar box shavings and vanilla pod.

Coloured the deepest walnut brown, with glowing amber ember at the rim, the wine shows a sweet meld of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre components (although percentages of each grape variety used in the blend were not recorded at vintage). On the palate, it’s an intriguing long flavour ride, with a more explosive initial impact than recent Para Centenary releases. After a smooth entry, it bites sharply as slightly bitter herbal notes and a spicy nutmeg tingle interrupt a rich, rolling chocolate and coffee tide that fills the mid palate, with acid keeping the structure taut and the flavours clean and clearly defined. The concluding note of concentrated coffee and cocoa sticks to the walls of your cheeks long, long after the last drop has drained down your throat.

Seppeltsfield chief winemaker Fiona Donald expressed surprise at the wine’s vitality. ‘The 1924 vintage shows incredible intensity, volume and mouthfeel, remarkable freshness and length driven with a type of blood orange acidity,’ she said.

Mudge said that the Seppeltsfield cellar door tasting room is now transitioning to use only Riedel stemware for presenting tasting samples of 100-year-old Para Vintage Tawny. Customers purchasing the 2024 Para Vintage Tawny can also have a pair of Riedel Vinum Cognac Hennessy glasses included with the boxed wine bottle for an additional A$110.

* Seppeltsfield 1924 100-Year-Old Para Vintage Tawny is available in the UK via Bancroft Wines (RRP £1,250, including sales tax), and in the US via LEGEND imports (US RRP $1,750). It is also available from Seppeltsfield Cellar Door or via Seppeltsfield.com.au with shipping possible worldwide.

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In 30 years of contributing to Decanter, this is without doubt the most self-indulgent article I have ever had the good fortune to write.

I want my case of 12 Ports to last longer than the 12 days of Christmas and into the better part of the next year, or longer if I’m thinking about cellaring something special for the future. As well as fireside drinking this winter, I’m already thinking ahead to the lazy days of summer, when I want to bide my time with a glass of cool tawny in the garden. Then there’s that most wonderful of aperitifs: white Port and tonic or Portonic.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Richard Mayson’s perfect Port picks

Port, so often associated with the winter months, is very much a drink for all seasons.

The following is a personal selection of some of the best and most innovative Ports I’ve had the pleasure to taste over the past year or so. My choice covers the entire style spectrum (and most of the price spectrum), though I do admit to a penchant for suave, aged colheitas and tawnies. One of the great advantages of these wood-aged styles is you can keep a bottle open to the air and help yourself to a glass over weeks, even months.

All the wines in my perfect case are available to buy now, and there’s a great wine here for nearly every occasion – that’s the beauty of Port.

White Port

I used to be down on white Port, but it all changed when more cask-aged wines came on the market about 20 years ago. Churchill was one of the first to bottle this style of wine and since a change in the legislation there are also white Ports bottled with an indication of age, and as colheitas [single-harvest wines aged long in casks until ready for consumption]. It might seem a bit taboo, but in summer I rather like mixing an older white Port with tonic: this style of Portonic has the bittersweet zest of a Negroni cocktail but is considerably more refreshing – and you can drink more of it.

• Ferreira, Dona Antónia Reserva Branco

Ruby

A good ruby, bottled young with minimal wood-ageing captures the vibrant fruit of the Douro like no other wine. Only a young Douro red comes close, but there you have to stomach the tannins without any of the natural sweetness. Not all ruby comes up to the mark; some bargainbasement wines are raw and uninteresting. By contrast, Cockburn’s Fine Ruby (widely available at £12-£16) is a bestseller and was awarded a Gold medal in this year’s DWWA. The wine I’ve chosen is just a cut above, delicious on its own as a winter warmer, or even in a long serve, reviving the reimagined pub classic Port & Lemon.

• Cockburn’s, Tails of the Unexpected Ruby Soho

LBV

Late Bottled Vintage means just what it says: a wine from a single year or vintage that’s bottled after spending four to six years in large wooden vats or casks. It’s a style that has captured the hearts of British drinkers and has been responsible for the growth in consumption over my professional lifetime. LBV has been very price-sensitive and there are still some real bargains to be had. Supermarket Marks & Spencer won a Gold for its own-label LBV 2017 (£16 Ocado) at this year’s DWWA. I have chosen a couple of wines with real substance: one (Graham’s) filtered before bottling so that you don’t have to decant, the other unfiltered that will continue to develop in bottle should you wish.

• Graham’s, Late Bottled Vintage 2018
• Sandeman, Late Bottled Vintage 2018

Tawny

‘Tawny’ covers a continuum of colours, styles and prices of Port from relatively young reserva, through 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years old. Remember these are ‘indications of age’ rather than an exact statement as these are blends – and, for me, aged tawny is more about house style. I admit to a preference for a paler, more refined style of tawny than a fuller-flavoured wine. I love aged tawnies from Burmester, Ferreira, Niepoort, Poças and Sandeman, as well as the wines listed here. My preference is for 20- and 30-year old as the perfect place on that continuum, where youth and maturity seem to meet. The combination of one of these wines with a Portuguese tarte de amendoa (almond tart) a crème brûlée or even a pastel de nata (the popular custard tart) is simply heavenly.

• Ramos Pinto, Quinta de Ervamoira 10 Year Old Tawny
• Taylor’s, 30 Year Old Tawny

Colheita

It may be a coincidence but, like aged tawny, I feel that colheita (effectively vintage-dated tawny) needs 20 years or so for the tannins to soften and the melding process to be complete. However, some older colheitas suffer from elevated volatile acidity, sometimes described in my tasting notes as vinagrinho (‘little vinegar’) or ‘balsamic’. The two wines below were bottled at their peak.

• Quinta do Noval, Colheita 2005
• Barros, Colheita 1974

Single quinta vintage

The 2010s have been a golden decade for vintage Port, with classic declarations of full vintages in 2011 and from 2015 to 2020. The weakest years were 2012 and 2013, but this is only relative and a cause for celebration when single-estate Ports (quinta means simply ‘estate’) then come onto the market and provide the opportunity to drink a vintage Port, early on and at a reasonable price.

• Taylor’s, Quinta de Vargellas 2013
• Quinta do Noval, Vintage Port 2012
• Vintage

Vintage Port needs little introduction, but suffice to say it represents the cream of the crop from the best of years. I am spoilt for choice here, but older vintages (pre-1994) are now getting harder to find other than through the auction houses. Provided they have been cared for, I could happily fill my whole case with these. The 1994 vintage heralded a return to form after something of a dip in the 1970s and 1980s (though that’s not so say that these decades didn’t produce some magnificent individual wines). Here are two wines from the ‘modern’ era (of differing age and maturity) that really impressed me in the past year.

• Warre’s, Vinhas Velhas Vintage Port 2020
• Dow’s, Vintage Port 1994

Richard Mayson’s perfect Port picks:

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Port will be celebrated across the world on 10th September. National Port Day offers the perfect opportunity to explore the many styles of this famous fortified wine.

In his guide to Port styles Richard Mayson explains that there is a Port for all occasions, if you know what you’re looking for. ‘Often thought of as an after-dinner, fireside drink, Port can be enjoyed in multiple ways depending on the character of the wine,’ he says.

Scroll down to discover 12 top-scoring Ports reviewed by Decanter’s team of experts

Take a look at his ‘Know your Port styles – The Decanter guide’ for a formidable look at the Port pyramid, which explains each different style from white Port (often served with tonic water to make an alternative version of a gin & tonic) through to vintage Port and everything in between. It will point you to the right Port for any occasion, winter or summer.

All Port comes from Portugal’s Douro Valley, which is one of the oldest regulated wine regions in the world, with demarcation dating back to 1756. Given the myriad grape varieties native to Portugal more than 100 different varieties are permitted in port production, but in reality just a handful are used.

For red Ports Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Tinto Cão and Touriga Francesa are the key varieties, while for white Ports, Viosinho, Malvasia Fina, Códega and Rabigato are the most common.

Whatever style you prefer, make sure you enjoy a glass on National Port Day.

To get you in the mood, here’s a selection of recently reviewed Ports.

12 top Ports to try on National Port Day

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The Fladgate Partnership has launched its first table wine division after purchasing around 200 ha of vineyards in Vinho Verde, Dão and Bairrada.

The company, which produces Taylor’s, Croft, Fonseca and other Port brands, purchased the quintas from Ideal Drinks for an undisclosed sum.

They include the 53 ha Quinta da Pedra, one of the leading estates in Vinho Verde, located in the heart of the Monção and Melgaço sub-regions.

It has also taken on another Vinho Verde estate – the 24 ha Paço de Palmeira, which is famed for producing high-quality Loureiro in the Minho sub-region.

In the Dão region, The Fladgate Partnership has snapped up the 50 ha Quinta de Bella, whose wines include Dom Bella and Bella.

The company has also purchased two estates in the nearby Bairrada DOC: the 56 ha Collinas São Lourenço and the 14 ha Quinta da Curia.

Those estates grow native varietals such as Touriga Nacional, along with international varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir.

It means that The Fladgate Partnership now controls 197 ha of vineyards spread across three leading still wine regions in Portugal.

‘This strategic move is a testament to our persistent commitment to Portugal’s winemaking heritage and the exceptional quality of wines produced in Vinho Verde, Bairrada and Dão,’ said CEO Adrian Bridge.

‘With the integration of the talented teams, we are confident in our ability to further elevate the reputation of these outstanding Portuguese wine regions.’

The company exports 93% of its Ports to 105 different countries, and it has noticed a growing demand for Portuguese table wines in international markets.

That inspired it to purchase the quintet of quintas from Ideal Drinks, a company established by Portuguese businessman Carlos Dias in 2010. The Fladgate Partnership said that all staff will be retained at each estate, with no layoffs.

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Last summer, Portuguese entrepreneur Mário Ferreira travelled to an altitude of 107 kilometres (66 miles) above mean sea level.

He took a bottle of Taylor’s 2003 Vintage Port with him as a passenger on the mission run by Blue Origin, the aerospace company set up by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

In doing so, the tourism tycoon became the first Portuguese man in space, and he toasted his 10-minute suborbital journey with a glass of his favourite fortified wine.

Taylor’s has now capitalised on the momentous occasion by launching a limited-edition gift box featuring its 2003 Vintage Port.

The gift box has a galactic theme, so it should add extra sparkle to wine cellars, and it could also make an excellent birthday gift for anyone turning 21 next year.

Taylor’s CEO Adrian Bridge said the 2003 vintage was ‘an excellent choice and the perfect vintage with which to explore new frontiers’.

The wine was sourced from two of Taylor’s top vineyards in the Douro – Quinta de Vargellas and Quinta de Terra Feita.

As always, the grapes from these sites come together whenever the overall quality is high enough for Taylor’s to declare a vintage.

The 2003 vintage was blessed with warm weather at the end of May, supporting a successful flowering, followed by intense summer heat in early August.

Cooler temperatures arrived in late August, preceding a warm, dry picking season in September, so conditions were almost perfect, and the result is a balanced, complex wine, which has consistently secured high scores from leading wine critics.

‘The Taylor’s 2003 Vintage is one of the most highly acclaimed Port wines of recent decades – a monumental vintage which, to quote celebrated wine authority Robert Parker, will stand proudly shoulder to shoulder with the finest ever crafted by Taylor’s,’ said Bridge.

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Following a tradition established by pioneer Barossa winemaker Benno Seppelt – who laid down a barrel of vintage fortified with instructions not to issue it for 100 years – the 1923 Para Centenary Tawny was released on 16 February 2023 to coincide with the day the Seppelt family moved into its western Barossa homestead on the Seppeltsfield property in 1851.

While honouring and respecting history, Seppeltsfield has also broken with tradition this year by introducing new packaging it hopes is attuned to the tastes of a younger generation of wine collectors.

Each 100ml glass flask, looking more like an exotic perfume vessel than a wine bottle, is presented in a black wooden gift box emblazoned with the contemporary Seppeltsfield logo in blue, black and silver. The current owners first introduced this new branding to the Seppeltsfield still wine collection in 2018, taking inspiration from the Seppelt Estate’s crown and star trademark from 1877.

The 1923 Para Tawny is only available in 100ml vessels, each being hand-filled to order, numbered and authenticated for collectors, bearing the signatures of Seppeltsfield executive chairman and proprietor Warren Randall and friend of the winery Bill Seppelt, the great, great grandson of winery founders Joseph and Johanna Seppelt. It also features bottling dates, bottle numbers attached to the bottle via a neck tag and a QR code to link to tasting notes.

In previous years, 375ml bottles were available, but according to Seppeltsfield chief winemaker Fiona Donald, this has now stopped due to the scarcity of remaining stocks in Seppeltsfield’s Centenary Cellar. ‘Our intention is to ensure our historic Para Centennial Collection will remain relevant to fine wine collectors of the future,’ she said.

The first Para Centenary Tawny laid down by Benno Seppelt in 1878 comprised a single 500-litre puncheon. It was not until the late 1970s that Para Tawny stocks were increased to four puncheons for each vintage. Since Warren Randal took over Seppeltsfield, eight puncheons of each vintage are being reserved, but the 1923 vintage comprised only a single puncheon, and about 150 litres of this wine remains, due to about 3% volume lost each year to evaporation.

Its scarcity amplifies the value of the treasure contained within each bottle. The 1923 Tawny boasts extraordinary intensity, yet has surprising freshness on entry, showing a squeeze of mandarin and bright raisin before a gentle, cascading descent into much darker tones – interwoven layers of Seville orange, scorched grapefruit marmalade, panforte, dark cocoa, dark toffee, molasses. The extraordinary length and persistence of the final notes are what makes this wine mesmerising, enabled by beautifully balanced acidity that prevents cloying sweetness in such an intense flavour marriage.

This new release stands in stark difference to the 1922 Para Vintage Tawny, which exhibited much darker, savoury flavour tones, like hazelnut liqueur framed with the bite of dried wild herbs. The striking contrast underlines Donald’s believe that vintage variation plays a significant role in each 100-year-old fortified wine.

‘When I first started working with Para Centenary Tawny 13 years ago, I assumed that all wines of such profound age would look the same – and this is completely incorrect,’ she said. ‘The personality of each wine is framed by each different vintage, which is very accurately captured in this incredible fortified time capsule,’ she said.

Seppeltsfield 1923 100-Year-Old Para Vintage Tawny is available in the UK via Bancroft Wines (RRP £1,200, including sales tax), and in the US via LEGEND imports (US RRP $1,650). It is also available from Seppeltsfield Cellar Door or via seppeltsfield.com.au with shipping possible worldwide. 

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Starting his career in the British Cavalry Regiment the 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards, Bridge moved to Portugal in 1994 and is now CEO of The Fladgate Partnership, which produces Taylor, Fonseca, Fonseca-Guimaraens, Krohn and Croft Ports. Bridge has been a driving force behind wine tourism in Porto, opening The Yeatman Hotel in 2010 and developing the city’s new Cultural Quarter including the World of Wine in 2020. 

‘We can help to deseasonalise Port; try to encourage consumers to have Port at other times of the year, Port is not just for Christmas. People’s perception is well I’ll have a small glass of Port after Christmas lunch, because it’s traditional, to actually then giving people the confidence to enjoy Port and try it at different times of the year.’

‘Our White Port & Tonic and Pink Port & Tonic in a can are all about convenience. It’s also about different consumption moments. And it’s probably about a different consumer. We’re talking about more of a millennial than a traditional consumer. And that’s great. There’s a Port for everybody.’

‘I’m lucky because I get quite a large number of Ports to try. But at Christmas I think it is a special moment because you’ve got family around. So I want to open some good old vintage Ports, because those tend to be the special bottles you’re keeping for special occasions and I think Christmas with the family is a special occasion.’

‘What vintages are drinking well? The 70s are still wonderful – the 77s – and the 85s are great. Recently I’ve had some of the 92s and 94s and really enjoyed those.’

‘At 1828 steakhouse we serve young vintage Ports with the steak – and I find that a tremendously good combination. The latest young vintage is packed with fruit and lusciousness and actually the sweetness of that goes so well with the meat.’

‘On Christmas Eve we tend to do bacalhau which is Portuguese salted cod, done one way or another. But my favourite is probably bacalhau com natas, which is bacalhau with potato and cream, baked in the oven.’

‘I’ve had Christmases in all sorts of places: Antarctica was pretty interesting. When we arrived we had a white-out, which meant doing nothing for about a week, because you couldn’t see which way was up. I remember there was a major shortage of alcohol, because everything in Antarctica has to be flown in. So if you didn’t bring it with you: tough. We were with some South Africans who drank most of what they brought with them fairly swiftly – and prices of a bottle of whisky were $10,000.’

‘I’ve also done Christmas in St Lucia – I remember dressing up as Father Christmas on the beach.’

‘I’m a strong believer that there’s a wine for every occasion. And there are certain places in the world where people make fantastic wines. I love Champagne, but I’m particularly fond of Rieslings from Alsace.’

‘I think Riesling is a wonderful grape. The most recent one that I tried was from Portugal which tasted incredible. It had a very petroleum nose, very similar to an Alsacian, so I was quite surprised by that. It was from North Alentejo.’

‘I gave up coffee about 24 years ago. But the exception is Italy. I’ll have a cappuccino, if I’m on an Italian piazza in the morning, in Florence or somewhere, sitting with a nice cappuccino, thinking “Yes, I’m in Italy, living la dolce vita: me and my coffee”.’

‘I’m very privileged because it is difficult to tire of the Douro. But I also think I’m quite restless. I like to go and explore other places. I love mountains because I climb mountains, I feel solitude in mountains and I feel really in awe of nature – which I guess is what you get with the Douro as well. You look around you and can only be in awe of nature.’

‘This summer we were in Svalbard, looking at polar bears from a ship, well above the Arctic Circle. We spotted lots – it was great. I also went swimming, which was a bit chilly…’

‘I’m a bit of a history buff. I love history. I read a lot of history.’

‘I’ve had a very interesting career because I did six years in the British Army. Then I went into banking, which I loved, for six years. Then my father-in-law asked me to come over here and take on the challenge of this company. So I took over running the business in 98 and I formally took on the role on 1 January 2000.’

‘The latest reorganisation is to move the company out of the historic centre of Porto over the course of decades – that project started about 2010 – and moving it out so that we can convert that city centre to content that enriches the entire tourist offer of the city, and northern Portugal and Portugal itself.’

‘The Yeatman has helped to transform the city of Porto, has helped create an entire leisure destination which is booming, which has encouraged lots of other people to invest and as a result probably transformed lots of lives and to feel that I kind of had a part in that, at the beginning, that feels like a life well spent.’

‘Porto has this incredible history. It’s got amazing architecture. It’s got wonderful people, and it’s got lovely traditions of food. It’s obviously got a wine tradition – it’s one of the few places in the world that has a wine named after it. And yet, it never really had a hotel to do it justice. And that was what The Yeatman was about.’

‘In hospitality, you have to anticipate your customer’s needs and good service is normally when you have anticipated the customer’s needs before the customer knew what they needed.’

‘We want people to go away from The Yeatman thinking that they’ve had a really nice experience. And if you’ve had a nice experience, you’ll have a positive view of Porto. And then if we’ve given you a nice Port tasting, you have a positive view of Port, which is our core product. The advantage of all of that is we’ve got a little bit of your soul, a little bit of your attention. You’re saying: “Oh Port, yes, I remember when I went to Porto and that was a very special moment.” That, to me, is what wine tourism is about. If you can capture a little piece of people’s soul, so each time they see the product they’re reminded of something positive, then that’s so much more powerful than any marketing you could ever do.’

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Decanter contributors, staff and DWWA Regional Chairs nominated their top three stand-out bottles of 2022, which were then tasted blind and scored by an expert panel to determine the best and most exciting wines of 2022.

Here we present a quick and easy way to see tasting notes and scores for all six sweet and fortified wines that scored 95 points or above.

See also

Wines of the Year 2022: top-scoring bottles

The 11 sparkling wines were a highlight among the 125 global entries assessed over two days at Decanter’s Wines of the Year 2022 tasting.

After the initial judging, two Champagnes stood above the rest, each scoring 98 points. And they provoked much debate between Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, Vincenzo Arnese and Amanda Barnes as to which would be crowned Sparkling Wine of the Year.

Scroll down for the top sparklings, sweets and fortifieds from Decanter’s Wines of the Year 2022 tasting

‘We discussed these two a lot because they were quite different styles but both completely incredible,’ said Ballesteros Torres.

‘The eventual winner – and it was so close – was outstanding,’ said Arnese. ‘Elegant, rich and generous, with great integration and complexity, not just now but also for the future.’

Ballesteros Torres commended the entries from other regions for ‘being at an equal level to Champagne, with different and delicious expressions,’ but personally felt ‘it’s impossible for anyone to do it better.’

However Arnese was full of praise for English sparkling wine, including the two entries in this line up. ‘The style is more integrated and refined than ever,’ he said. ‘The prospect for England is looking more interesting – and competitive as well. Perhaps we will see this in future Wines of the Year?’

Impressive sweet and fortified wines

We don’t award a Sweet or Fortified Wine of the Year but, if we did, the judges were in agreement that it would be the Terrantez from Madeira in Portugal.

‘Devastatingly good,’ enthused Arnese. ‘The level of complexity, the layers of flavour, the balance between the sweetness and acidity… I could talk for hours about this wine!’

His fellow judges were equally effusive, although Barnes also highlighted the Fino from Jerez. ‘I just loved its sweaty funkiness, expressing real complexity and eccentricity,’ she said.

‘The five fortified nominations were all really sophisticated, which I don’t expect any less of from Decanter’s experts!’

There were only three sweet wine nominations but each from a different region and grape variety. ‘My personal favourite was the Tokaji for its punchy acidity that offset the sweetness,’ said Barnes. ‘But it was also wonderful to have a beautiful Chenin Blanc straw wine from South Africa – waxy and intense – as well as an exuberantly sweet Rieslaner from Pfalz in Germany, which offered a different expression completely.’

Full list of all sparkling, sweet and fortified wines

SPARKLING WINE OF THE YEAR – 99 points

Champagne Louis Roederer, Cristal Brut, Champagne, France 2013 (nominated by Peter Liem; Classic)

98 points

Billecart-Salmon, Louis Salmon Blanc de Blancs Brut, Champagne, France 2008 (Charlotte Hale; Classic)

96 points

Charles Heidsieck, Blanc des Millénaires Brut, Côte des Blancs, Champagne, France 2007 (Michael Hill Smith MW, Classic)

Henri Giraud, Blanc de Craie Brut, Champagne, France NV (Charlotte Hale; Classic)

Marguet, Sapience 1er Cru Brut Nature, Champagne, France 2010 (Yohan Castaing; Classic)

95 points

Fleur de Miraval, ER2 Exclusivement Rosé, Côte des Blancs, Champagne, France NV (Elizabeth Gabay MW; Classic)

Gusbourne Estate, Blanc de Blancs Brut, Kent/West Sussex, England 2016 (Charlotte Hale; Classic)

94 points

Roederer Estate, Quartet Brut, Anderson Valley, California, USA NV (Brooke Herron; Value)

93 points

Balnaves of Coonawarra, Sparkling Cabernet, Coonawarra, South Australia NV (David Sly; Offbeat)

Hattingley Valley, Kings Cuvée, Hampshire, England 2015 (Anthony Rose; Classic)

90 points

No1 Family Estate, No1 Rosé, Marlborough, New Zealand NV (Cameron Douglas MS, Classic)

SWEET WINE

96 points

Balassa, Villő Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos, Tokaj, Hungary 2017 (Caroline Gilby MW; Classic)

95 points

Mullineux, Olerasay 3 Chenin Blanc, Swartland, South Africa NV (Malu Lambert; Offbeat)

93 points

Müller-Catoir, Herzog Rieslaner TBA VDP Erste Lage, Pfalz, Germany 2017 (Darrel Joseph; Classic)

FORTIFIED WINE

98 points

Henriques & Henriques, 20 Year Old Terrantez, Madeira, Portugal (Richard Mayson; Classic)

97 points

San Francisco Javier, Viña Corrales Fino Bottled 2021, Jerez, Spain (Paz Levinson; Classic)

96 points

Blandy’s, 20 Year Old Malmsey, Madeira, Portugal (Demetri Walters MW; Classic)

95 points

Bodegas de Alberto, Dorado, Rueda, Spain (Gabriela Colotto; Classic)

93 points

Sopla Poniente, Fino en Rama Cerro del Majuelo, Montilla-Moriles, Spain 2020 (Rod Smith MW; Offbeat)

Wines of the Year 2022: the top sparkling, sweet and fortified

Related content

Wines of the Year 2022: the top whites

Wines of the Year 2022: the top reds

Buy tickets for Decanter Wines of the Year Tasting on Thursday 26 January

Pour yourself a glass of Sherry ahead of tackling this week’s fortified wine crossword…

Crossword Puzzle Maker

Instructions:

• Click a cell on the crossword grid, or click a clue
• Click twice on a cell to toggle between across and down
• The active cell is highlighted in blue
• Start typing in the word
• Hit enter when you are done typing in the word
• The word will turn green or red if you got it right or wrong
• You can use the tab and shift-tab keys to move around the crossword, and the arrow keys

Want to learn more?

• Try more wine crosswords here

• Try our wine quizzes

• Or download our learning app

If ever there was a bottle of wine to take to a desert island, Madeira has to be the one.

The Portuguese island of Madeira, situated in the Atlantic, 700km off the coast of north Africa, is far from being a desert (or deserted) island itself, despite being on the same latitude as the northern Sahara. Because of its topography (rising to nearly 1,900m above sea level), the vegetation is lush and sub-tropical. Bananas and sugar cane flourish alongside grape varieties that curiously retain naturally high levels of acidity. The fertile volcanic soils, naturally high yields and mesoclimatic factors all contribute to this.

Scroll down for a selection of 18 Madeiras to try

All Madeira wine is fortified to between 17% and 22% alcohol with grape spirit that is 96% in strength.

The pale red Tinta Negra is the catch-all grape responsible for volume Madeira, much of which is artificially heated (a process called estufagem) to create that singular maderised taste. But there’s really no substitute for age, and the best Madeiras often spend decades in wooden casks (vinhos do canteiro), benefiting from the island’s warm temperatures. The resulting wines can be truly ethereal – heaven scent, if you pardon the pun!

Lasting pleasure

Sercial, Verdelho, Boal (Bual) and Malvasia (Malmsey) – all white grapes – are the names to know, their styles generally increasing in levels of sweetness from ‘dry’ (less than 50g/L residual sugar) to ‘rich’ or ‘sweet’ (more than 100g/L). But there are other grapes: Tinta Negra has been permitted as a variety on labels since 2015 and produces soft, easygoing wines in all style categories. Terrantez and Bastardo are rarities but worth seeking out for their individual character.

When it comes to age (and price) there is a clear hierarchy, from basic corrente (bottled at about three years old) through reserva (about five years old) to 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50-year-old blends. These blends are usually greater than the sum of their parts, benefiting from the expert fine-tuning that goes on in the tasting room, the nerve centre for each of the seven shippers that make up Madeira’s wine industry.

Understanding the different Madeira styles

But if you’re seeking a date on your label there’s nothing better than colheita and frasqueira. Sometimes bottled as ‘single harvest’, the former is effectively an early bottled vintage, which must have aged for at least five years in wood. Frasqueira wines (often termed ‘vintage’) must have aged for at least 20 years in wood and are often kept for considerably longer. They start life in the warmest wine stores (called armazéns) where evaporation is highest and are gradually moved to cooler stores, often ending their pre-bottled life in large glass demijohns.

For example, the remaining stock of Blandy’s Bual 1920 has only recently been transferred from cask to demijohn after spending a century in wood. The inherent streak of acidity and controlled exposure to the warm atmosphere gives these wines unshakeable stability, combining freshness with profound depth and complexity. It is by no means uncommon to find Madeiras well over a century old that still have the vibrancy of the day they were made.

And so back to that desert island. If you uncork a bottle of well-aged Madeira you can come back to it again and again for months, even years without it deteriorating. It is the world’s most thrillingly resilient wine.

NB: no drink dates have been given for the wines that follow, as they are all ready to drink at bottling and, unopened, can last for decades or even centuries…

Tasting notes and scores for 18 Madeiras to try

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The £25,000 collection, of which only 30 will be produced, includes six classic Graham’s Vintage Ports and six Single Harvest Tawny Ports, with the first edition due to be auctioned by Christie’s in December.

Founded in 1820, Graham’s marked its bicentennial in 2020, but the launch of the cabinet was delayed until now because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Graham’s said the collection included wines that had been ‘hailed as some of the greatest declarations of the last two centuries’, including classic vintage Ports from 1963, 1994 and 2011.

Each wine was selected by a different member of the third, fourth and fifth generations of the Symington family, who have been involved in Port since 1882, and who have owned Graham’s since 1970.

The classic vintage Ports have been ageing in Graham’s cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia since bottling, while the single harvest tawnies were bottled specifically for the Graham’s Bicentenary Collection.

‘The release of the Bicentenary Collection has huge significance for us as a family business, marking not only the illustrious history of Graham’s and the unparalleled excellence of the wines, but our commitment to continuing to build on these foundations for many years to come,’ said Johnny Symington, chairman of Symington Family Estates.

‘Each wine in the cabinet bears personal significance to a member of the third, fourth or fifth generation of our family, representing as they do the past, present and future of our business.’

The cabinets are made from rare santos rosewood – sourced from sustainably managed forests – by Portuguese master joiners Wewood.

They also contain a decanter and set of wine glasses created by Jancis Robinson MW in partnership with British designer Richard Brendon, a two-part Durand corkscrew designed to remove corks from mature and valuable fine wines, and a decanting funnel made by Porto-based silversmith Ourivesaria Coutinho.

The first collection will be auctioned by Christie’s in December, with all proceeds to be split between charities Scottish Wildlife Trust and Santa Casa da Misericordia de Carrazeda.

The remaining 29 cabinets will be made to order for delivery from January 2023. Expressions of interest should be emailed to: bicentenarycollection@grahams-port.com.

The Graham’s Bicentenary Collection:

Graham’s Single Harvest Tawny Ports: 1961, 1976, 1982, 1995, 2000 and 2006.

Graham’s Vintage Ports: 1963, 1970, 1985, 1994, 1997 and 2011.

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Prima & Ultima – meaning ‘first and last’ – showcases whiskies that are exactly that: either the first or the last of their kind. The eight single malts in this year’s line-up were chosen by Diageo master blender Dr Craig Wilson, following in the footsteps of previous Prima & Ultima creators Maureen Robinson and Dr Jim Beveridge OBE.

The whiskies include the final Brora bottling from 1981, and spirit from the last two casks of Port Ellen filled in 1980, as well as single malts from Royal Lochnagar, Cragganmore, Mannochmore, The Singleton of Glen Ord, Lagavulin and Talisker.

‘I have personally selected each whisky with great care, each an exceptional spirit marking a special time in the distilleries’ history and whiskies that I’ve had the privilege to watch mature,’ said Dr Wilson.

The theme of this year’s collection is ‘A Moment in Time’, linked to the natural preservation of fossils and specimens, with each whisky allocated a precious artefact that reflects its story.

Priced at £36,500 in the UK, there are 317 full sets of Prima & Ultima Third Release available through appointed agents, and for the first time whiskies are also available for individual purchase. Online registration of interest is open now, until 30 June, at www.theprimaandultimacollection.com.

Tasting notes

Royal Lochnagar 1981, 40-Year-Old

The result of a mysterious experiment designed to reduce the angels’ share (evaporation) as whisky matures, this is a delicate, fragrant, beautifully expressive single malt from one of Diageo’s smallest and most photogenic distilleries. Highly floral, with lavender and jasmine on the nose and ginger, honey and light oak tannin on the palate.

Alc 52.5%

Cragganmore 1973, 48-Year-Old

The oldest release of Cragganmore to date, this was distilled soon after steam replaced coal in heating the stills. It’s as smooth as a velvet smoking jacket and unctuously fruity – cassis, then peach and nectarine. The assertive oak brings a drying, nutty dimension alongside toffee, with always the tang of dark marmalade lurking in the background.

Alc 44.8%

Mannochmore 1990, 31-Year-Old

The lesser-spotted, malty Mannochmore, made even rarer by its experimental maturation for almost three decades in highly active, virgin European oak. Charred bitter orange peel, spice rack flavours, coffee roaster and opulent aromas of well-polished antique bureau. A rich, deep single malt for fans of cask-driven whiskies.

Alc 45.1%

Brora 1981, 40-Year-Old

Brora is a chameleon, embracing everything from dark smoke to waxy, juicy fruit. This final release from 1981, combining American oak hogshead and European oak Sherry butt, displays a little of everything: honeyed fruit, snuffed candle, shaved nutmeg and a gentle wisp of peat smoke. The star of this year’s show.

Alc 44.1%

The Singleton of Glen Ord 1987, 34-Year-Old

A single malt to linger over when nosing – this is a massively fragrant, floral, fine whisky, with notes of ginger snap, bright fruit and an elusive wisp of smoke, possibly from the refill American oak. Remarkably lively, but also deep and broad, with a sweet finish. Add water for honeysuckle and gentle vanilla.

Alc 49.4%

Lagavulin 1993, 28-Year-Old

Showing Lagavulin’s darker side thanks to ageing in European and American oak, this is a richly fruited malt that will delight fans of Laga 16. Juicy blackcurrant and raspberry, then classic distillery notes of beach bonfire and iodine. Lapsang flavours are swiftly smothered by sweet black cherry and a compelling vinosity.

Alc 50.1%

Talisker 1984, 37-Year-Old

The finest Taliskers are a harmonious balancing act of salt, smoke and sweetness, with just a pinch of chilli heat. Here the chimney soot smoke is quite assertive, but always the distillery’s classic maritime salinity persists, with some alluringly sweet fruit in the background. A savoury, silky whisky redolent of warm summer days on a Skye beach.

Alc 51.9%

Port Ellen 1980, 41-Year-Old

Commemorating HM Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Port Ellen in 1980, this is the oldest release yet from the distillery. Remarkably high in alcohol for a 41-year-old whisky, it’s full-on, quintessential Port Ellen, with robust flavours of dying coal fire and a drying effect on the palate, elevated by beguiling flavours of honeydew melon. Beautifully textured, with a long, savoury finish of Iberico ham.

Alc 59.6%

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Cloaked in a network of terraced vineyards that stretch out from both banks of the river which gave the region its name, it is not hyperbole to call the Douro valley jaw-dropping in beauty and tranquil in mood.

A notable feature of this breathtaking region are the whitewashed buildings emblazoned with the name of the estate (quinta) which owns the surrounding land. Many of these belong to major Port houses and have become avidly followed brands in their own right – think Quinta dos Malvedos (Graham’s), Quinta de Vargellas (Taylor’s), Quinta do Bomfim (Dow’s), Quinta da Cavadinha (Warre’s) and Quinta da Roêda (Croft).

In the great years which are declared as a vintage, the grapes from these vineyards will go into the blend for the top wine: the classic vintage Port of the house.

However, huge improvements in winemaking from the 1980s onwards means the production of a good vintage Port is much less of a hit-and-miss affair, so, even in undeclared years, wines of potential vintage quality can be made and are bottled by the major shippers as ‘single quinta’ Ports.

However, the category is not merely the domain of Port’s heavyweights. There are a plethora of dynamic, independent single quintas whose vintage wine is released most, if not every, year whether or not a general declaration is made. These estates run the gamut in terms of size, ranging from properties which appear to be little more than small-scale start-ups to sprawling estates such as the 326ha Quinta do Vesuvio.

Other quintas to look out for include Vale Meão, de la Rosa, Passadouro, Roriz and Noval, which is owned by AXA Millésimes, proprietors of Château Pichon Baron in Pauillac.

As for vinification, single quinta is made in a manner which echoes that of vintage Port: matured in barrel for two to three years, before being bottled unfined and unfiltered (a decanter is still needed). The only other distinctions are that the wines are less expensive and can be ready to drink earlier – after 10, rather than 20 years, say.

As well as demanding less of both your patience and wallet, a further boon for the wine lover who likes to go granular is that, when following a quinta year after year, you are given an evolving snapshot of prime Douro terroir.

Single quinta vintage Ports: In the glass

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Taylor’s expects the 2020 vintage to show ‘elegance and structure’, while Quinta do Noval said the wines promise density, harmony and richness.

Port Houses only declare a vintage when at least one of their vineyard plots yields exceptional fruit. Taylor’s has decided that Quinta de Vargellas, located in the wild and hilly eastern reaches of the Douro Valley, fits the bill for 2020.

It is just the 15^th time since 1980 that Quinta de Vargellas has declared a vintage. It also declared in 2019, marking the Quinta’s first back-to-back declarations since 2001 and 2002.

Adrian Bridge, managing director at the Fladgate Partnership, which owns Taylor’s, Fonseca, Croft and Krohn, said: ‘We are delighted with the Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas Vintage 2020 which shows the elegance and structure that we associate with this excellent property.

‘This vintage will remain in our cellars and will be released at a later date, thus satisfying the future demand for Single Quinta Vintage Ports.’

Quinta do Noval reported an unusually short harvest in 2020, which witnessed a very hot summer, but it was suitably impressed with the quality of the grapes.

It has declared Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port 2020 and Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 2020.

Managing director Christian Seely said: ‘We were aware from the beginning that the Nacional was outstanding, and the wine has developed wonderfully since the harvest. There are years when we know straight after the treading in lagar that we will be declaring a Nacional Vintage Port, and 2020 was one of these.

‘The wine displays the complexity and many-layered profundity that are typical of a great Nacional.’

Sogevinus Group, which owns the Kopke, Burmester, Cálem and Barros brands, declared 2020 to be a classic vintage. The extreme weather and constraints caused by the Covid-19 pandemic led to a challenging harvest, and yields are low across the region, but Sogevinus reported a strong skin-to-pulp and a high sugar content, which allows for longer fermentations and exemplary extraction of colour and tannins.

‘The harvest was marked by a series of adversities that made this one of the most challenging years in my career,’ said master blender Carlos Alves. ‘Despite the adversity, this was a vintage that exceeded all expectations, and from which we believe we have produced wines of excellent quality, with very refined tannins, displaying a certain elegance in the wines.’

David Guimaraens, Taylor’s head winemaker, echoed those sentiments. He said there is ‘no living memory’ of such a hot July and that the extreme conditions repeatedly led to the unwanted phenomenon of scorching. However, August was cooler than usual in 2020, which accelerated the ripening of the grapes. 

He said the 2020 season will be characterised for its extremely low yields, resulting directly from the climatic conditions of the year. The conditions were similar to the 2009 and 1820 harvests, where the sugar levels reached extraordinarily high levels.

‘The variability of locations in the mountain viticulture of the Douro Valley plays a key role in extreme years like this, allowing the production of excellent Port wines as is the case of this Quinta de Vargellas 2020,’ added Guimaraens.

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In the late 19th century, Eduard Karel Jacob van der Niepoort, the second generation of the Niepoort family of Port winemakers, had the novel idea of buying 4,000 old apothecary demijohns. He wanted to use them for the maturation of the family’s wines.

These distinctive squat, dark-green glass bottles, between eight and 11 litres in volume, proved very effective. So effective that in 1931, his son (also an Eduard) decided they should be used for extended maturation of the best wines of the vintage.

Thus was created Porto Garrafeira. The Niepoort family felt this style would set a new benchmark of quality and refinement for the fortified wines of the Douro Valley.

Porto Garrafeira is a style that combines both oxidative and reductive ageing. Essentially it is a vintage dated tawny with subsequent minimum ageing in glass. First, the wine is aged oxidatively in wood for a minimum period of four to eight years. It is then aged for a minimum of 15 years in demijohns (Niepoort also refers to them as ‘bonbons’).

Official recognition

The Niepoort family may have minted this new style nearly a century ago, but Porto Garrafeira’s special status was only officially recognised as recently as late 2021. This is when the Institut do Vinos Porto y Douro (IVDP) introduced rules to enshrine the style in Port wine law.

For a Porto Garrafeira to receive IVDP approval, the date of storage in demijohns and quantities made must be communicated to the IVDP. Sales of these Ports are then only permitted after the minimum ageing referred to above.

In the glass

So much for the regulation, but how does a rare bottling like Porto Garrafeira taste? Due to the combination of long oxidative and reductive ageing, these wines display an especially seductive mix of mature and fresh fruit character.

The ageing in demijohns, in particular, is thought by some to add a unique cheiro da garrafa (‘smell or savour of the bottle’) for which it’s hard to find a direct parallel in other Port styles.

For its part, the IVDP notes: ‘As we have very high quality and both oxidative and reductive ageing, a great combination of sensations, aromas and flavours can be present. The flavours are taken to a dimension where the wine is at once complex, fine and balanced. The aromas can be as diverse as fresh red fruits, spices and chocolate, combined with notes of dried fruit and cigar box.’

Singular style

Currently Niepoort is the only Port house that produces Porto Garrafeira Port. It is, after all, the only one with a collection of several thousand old apothecary demijohns. The latest Niepoort Garrafeira release is from 1987, though 1983 and 1977 vintages have also been bottled.

A few fortunate souls will also have had the privilege of tasting the oldest Garrafeira Port the family has ever made – from vintage 1863. (In 2018 a Lalique decanter of this particular vintage became the most expensive single bottle of Port ever sold.) In this case, a very rare wine indeed, and one perhaps deserving of its own special category.

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New 50-year-old Port category

What is white Port? Ask Decanter

Port is a delectable drink.

A Vintage’s nuanced complexity is worth investing years of cellar space for, a Tawny’s layered organoleptic profile is a surprisingly versatile food-pairing tool, and a White Port makes for a superlative summer beverage – ideally with a splash of dry tonic water, some ice, and a sprig of mint. Despite its qualities, Port has long been struggling to match its status and fascinating history with a comparable degree of enthusiasm among younger wine drinkers. Yet, Port might have found in a new generation of industry leaders its ace in the hole.

Zoe Graham entered her family business as Churchill’s sales and marketing director just before the pandemic broke out, after a decade spent working for Moët Hennessy in Paris and London and brand consultancy firm Flamingo, in São Paulo, Brazil. Since then, she’s been busy rejuvenating the image of Churchill’s Port, which her father Johnny founded in 1981.

‘One of the challenges we face today is how to re-introduce Port to a new generation of drinkers… It’s a category that people don’t really understand. It’s not just something that sits in a cabinet and that you serve after dinner. It’s a living, breathing, elegant wine… We want to let the wine do the talking,’ she says, hinting at the reasoning that led her to rebrand Churchill’s Port.

A two-year undertaking, the recently unveiled rebrand empathises with modern wine drinkers by integrating elements that symbolise care for the environment and a less stuffy, more social aspect of Port consumption into its logo. Churchill’s wine is also dressed in a slicker, more contemporary packaging. ‘What type of restaurants do people want to go to? What beauty products do they use? It’s always about top quality ingredients so… I wanted to elevate the look and feel [of the bottles] to fit that sort of profile,’ Graham says.

The redesign involved the introduction of minimalist, diamond-shaped labels too, elegantly monochrome for all Ruby expressions and somewhat chromatically diverse for the Tawnies (see below).

Combined with the liquid’s vibrant colour clearly visible through the bottle’s white glass, the Tawnies’ more colourful aesthetic is designed to tap into the growing appeal of aperitifs by presenting them as convivial pre-dinner drinks. ‘We’re playing on that sense of occasion, shifting the cultural perception that Port always comes at the end of the meal. We need to [understand] people’s lifestyle and drinking habits, and find a place for Port within their drinking repertoire,’ she says.

Pushing Port as a mixable beverage may help establish the freshest Port categories as pre-meal drinks, too. ‘It definitely took a while to persuade my father to drink White Port with tonic [Portonic]. This is not something that he did initially. But he has come around to the idea that if this is a way to introduce new people to Port, then we should definitely be open to that.’

While she welcomes Port & Tonic as a valuable drinking experience, Graham rejects the wider cocktail route as a means to attract new wine lovers. She is particularly suspicious about the potential of recently launched ready-to-drink canned Port & Tonic cocktails to really benefit the category in the long term.

‘Portonic in cans is definitely something that’s moved the Port category. Whether it’s going to cut through the big budgets behind drinks in cans though, I’m not sure. But it’s not for us, we are a boutique brand and don’t have a production that could sustain those volumes. We need to go beyond cocktails. I’m not saying that you can’t push the category forward by putting Port in cans or [suggesting] new serves, but people just want to enjoy port as a wine.’

Rather than presenting it as a mixing ingredient, Graham believes that Port can maintain its ‘integrity intact’ by maximising the potential of oenotourism, capitalising on the growing number of younger consumers appealed by Port’s fascinating heritage.

‘One of the really exciting things in Portugal is that in 2019 we saw the biggest numbers in tourism coming into Porto and in the Douro, ever. And even though we have experienced a pause during Covid, those are not going away,’ she argues. ‘We have young, interested consumers coming to our region, which never used to happen. People are just desperate to learn more about this amazing wine.’

To enhance her educational efforts, Graham is also establishing a closer connection with wine lovers. In full second-wave lockdown, Churchill launched Port.Club, an initiative targeting both Port lovers as well as ‘Port curious’ drinkers. Essentially a subscription service, the club entitles members to a quarterly pack containing three bottles of Port of a diverse stylistic range: an everyday Port, a special-occasion one, and a Club Port uniquely crafted for members. The box features tasting notes and, crucially, online education experiences including virtual tastings with Churchill’s own founder Johnny Graham himself.

‘We must establish the communications channel and educate as many people as possible explaining that you can serve Port on different occasions. Once you do that, Port suddenly gets out of that nebulous confusion and people are converted.’

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Decanter contributors, staff and DWWA Regional Chairs nominated their top three stand-out bottles of 2021, which were then tasted blind and scored by an expert panel to determine the best and most exciting wines of 2021.

Here we present a quick and easy way to see tasting notes and scores for the 17 sparkling wines (listed white, rosé then red), three sweet and two fortified wines from the tasting.

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Wines of the Year 2021: top-scoring bottles

In July this year the Douro and Port Wine Institute (IVDP) announced the creation of a new Port wine category: ’50-year-old’. This comes as an addition to the existing 10-, 20-, 30- and 40-year-old categories and applies to both red (ie tawny) and white Ports.

It’s fair to say that there hasn’t been a rush among the shippers to bottle 50-year-old Port (not many shippers have the wines to draw on). But Kopke, with its relatively large stocks of well-kept, aged tawnies is the first Port house to launch wines in the 50-year-old category. I was fortunate to taste both the white and tawny Ports prior to their launch at the end of vintage this year.

It should be emphasised that, like the other age categories, 50-year-old is an indication of age rather than a specific age. If you are looking for a wine from a single year head for colheita (tawny or white Port from a single harvest) or vintage.

The art of blending

Both Kopke 50-year-olds are expressions in the art of blending and fine tuning. As Carlos Alves, head winemaker at Kopke, pointed out at a blending workshop for the 50-year-old White Port, the youngest wine in the blend is about 48 years old and the oldest is 60. The youngest wine with its aromatic greengage freshness is complemented by the heady, honeyed richness and the quiemada (singed) character of the older wines in the blend. With a certain amount of alchemy, at the end of the blending process the final wine is considerably greater than the sum of its parts.

The wines that go into these 50-year-olds originate from an enviable portfolio of cask-aged wines that is unique to Kopke, especially the whites. Dating back to 1638, Kopke is the oldest of all the Port wine houses and has built up a fine reputation for its barrel-aged Ports.

Vinho dos anjos

The costs involved in keeping these wines in cask for such a long amount of time are significant. It’s not just the capital tied up in the wine itself but also the labour involved in racking and nurturing the wines in barrel – as well as the considerable amount of wine lost to evaporation. In the case of these 50-year-olds, Alves estimates that about two-thirds of the initial stock has been lost to the atmosphere (the so-called vinho dos anjos or angel’s share).

Prior to the final blending, it is this oxidative ageing process that shapes both of these wines. It is responsible for the amber-tawny to olive green hues, the concentration and subtlety of flavour, the mellifluous sweetness and sublime length.

These 50-year-old Ports are not cheap, but like other wines subject to prolonged oxidative ageing (a Madeira for example) you can revisit the bottle over quite a long period of time – happily for six weeks or more if you keep them in the fridge. There can be no finer way to celebrate Christmas and the New Year than with one of these new 50-year-olds. They are wines that will just keep on giving.

50-year-old Port: Tasted

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My top 10: single-quinta Ports

Great value Christmas Ports to try

Albino Jorge Sousa, owner of Port estate Quinta da Boeira, said his proposal for a new classification called ‘Full Body-Young Harvest’ Ports would inject cashflow earlier for Port producers.

Jorge Sousa urged the Port sector to ‘wake up’ to meet what he said was growing demand for younger Ports from wine buyers and importers over the past two years.

His proposal comes amid wider efforts to help reinvigorate the Port category.

This year, Portugal’s Port and Douro Wine Institute, the IVDP, approved Port Tonic drinks in cans and also the new classifications – ‘Very, very old Port’, ‘50 year Tawny Port’ and ‘50 year White Port’ – reflecting its willingness to adopt changes to the category.

The IVDP told Decanter that it was analysing details of Jorge Sousa’s proposal, which it received just over a week ago.

At harvest, Ports are capable of showing aromas and flavours of forest fruits and dark chocolate. There have also been suggestions that some Ports are now easier to drink when young than in the past.

‘The consensus is that Ports are now more approachable when young,’ said Rob Symington, director of Symington Family Estates.

He attributed the changing profile of Port at harvest to quality control throughout the Port making process, from vineyard maturation studies to bunch selection at the winery door, as well as fermentation techniques and control – and ‘possibly’ more refined grape spirit than was used prior to the 1980s.

‘We would certainly not rule out using this new classification if it wins approval,’ Symington said.

However, Adrian Bridge, CEO of Port producer the Fladgate Partnership, said he feared the new proposal would ‘damage’ sales of Vintage and LBV Ports.

Bridge described the classification proposal as ‘Port Nouveau’.

But Jorge Sousa said only the best grapes usually selected for Vintage and LBV Ports would be used in the new class of ‘Full Body- Young Harvest’ Ports.

He also said producers were now better able to assess vintage quality at harvest.

‘We select vineyard plots and the best quality grapes, and we spend more time during fermentation extracting the colour from the skin of the grapes,’ he said.

‘These styles of wines are more expensive to make, with much more work at the vineyards and at the winery,’ he added.

Jorge Sousa dismissed Port industry concerns that more ageing was required for Ports to enable the brandy used for their fortification to ‘marry’ or integrate with base wines and to ensure stabilisation. ‘After three months, our young Ports are ready,’ he said.

Under the proposal, ‘Full Body-Young Harvest’ Ports could be aged in chestnut, stainless steel or wooden vats, prior to their release in December.

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Sherry DO regulations to see major changes

Quinta do Noval declares 2019 Port vintage

Should you store Madeira on its side or upright?

Madeira is one of the easiest wines to store. Having been exposed to heat and oxygen during the winemaking process, Madeira is nowhere near as demanding as other wines. There is no need to lay down a bottle of Madeira in a cool cellar.

With the exception of colheita and frasqueira (vintage) Madeira, most wines are bottled with stopper corks and should be left standing upright. Vintage Madeiras are often bottled with short driven corks, which provide a fairly poor barrier between the wine and the outside world.

Should a cork ever be replaced on a very old bottle of Madeira?

Any wine being stored for any length of time should be stored upright and recorked from time to time. Blandy’s, for example, has a policy of checking on its vintage stock every 20 years and recorking if necessary.

A representative of IVBAM (the Instituto do Vinho, Bordado e Artesanato da Madeira) must be present when any bottles are recorked by a shipper on the island to ensure authenticity. The wines will be resealed with an IVBAM selo de origem seal. There is no such assurance when a bottle has been recorked by a private collector and consequently no way of ensuring provenance.

A conscientious collector will label the bottle with the date when it was recorked.

See also:

Understanding the different Madeira styles

What is a sommelier?

One of Portugal’s best-kept secrets, white Ports are fortified wines made from white grapes, such as Viosinho, Malvasia Fina, Códega and Rabigato.

‘Most are bottled young but some whites are capable of wood age and may now be bottled with the same age indications as tawny Ports or as a colheita,’ said Richard Mayson, in his guide to Port styles.

With a lighter style than red Ports, plus flavours of citrus fruit and peel, stone fruit and nuts, they make a refreshing option for summer drinking – particularly with tonic.

How to make a white Port and tonic

Although having a similar sweetness level to gin, a white Port and tonic – also called a Portonic or Porto Tonico – is a lower-alcohol option to your usual G&T. Most white Ports clock in at around 20% abv instead of gin’s 40% abv.

To mix up your own at home, fill a highball glass or wine glass with ice. Add 50ml of white Port, top up with 100ml of a quality tonic water and stir gently to mix. Garnish with a slice of orange or lemon.

If you’d prefer an easy life, several Port houses have recently launched ready-to-drink versions in cans. First came Taylor’s Chip Dry & Tonic (£2-£2.95, EW Wines, Harvey Nichols, Portugal Vineyards, The Champagne Company; Alc 5.5%) a crisp, dry and refreshing aperitif that’s lovely with salted almonds.

Other options include Offley Clink Portonic, Cockburn’s Portonic and Croft Pink & Tonic, made with rosé Port.

Clement Robert MS recommends fortified wines in wine cocktails because ‘they are lighter than liqueurs and spirits but they have the necessary strength to give the whole drink a delicious lift.’

Best gins for gin and tonic

Summer spritz cocktails: Recipes to try

‘I’m very ambitious with these red wines from the Douro,’ says Christian Seely, managing director of Quinta do Noval. ‘I believe that high quality reds and whites can give a new lease of life to the Douro and deliver to drinkers some really thrilling wines.’

Speaking at a tasting of the latest vintages of the quinta’s still wines, it’s clear that Seely has a vision for both the winery and the future of this region of Portugal – best known for its fortified wines – in the face of climate change and global warming.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for new release Quinta do Noval wines

Established in 1715, Quinta do Noval is famous for its vintage Ports – particularly its 1.6ha of ungrafted vines used to produce icon wine Nacional. It began making still wines in 2004.

Seely took charge of the estate when it was bought by AXA Millésimes in 1993. Since then much of the vineyard has been replanted, first under the supervision of technical director António Agrellos and since his retirement in 2017, under his nephew Carlos Agrellos.

In 2019 Quinta do Noval purchased the neighbouring Quinta do Passadouro estate, which has two main vineyard parcels in the Pinhão Valley and the Roncão Valley, totalling 36ha. The acquisition increased Noval’s total vineyard holdings in the Douro to 181ha.

Grape varieties

As well as plantings of traditional Douro varieties Touriga Franca, Tinta Cão and Tinta Roriz, Noval has focused on increasing its number of Touriga Nacional vines. Indeed Noval’s first single-varietal still wine was made by accident from overlooked barrels of Touriga Nacional in 2004.

‘Touriga Nacional has naturally low yields. I think of it as a delicate, floral, aromatic varietal and you have to vinify it accordingly to achieve that,’ says Seely. ‘It’s an important element in our vintage Ports. It seems to respond well to intense heat – you can make very interesting wines in hot years.’

The winery has also introduced French grapes to its vineyards. Alongside Touriga Nacional, its top range of still wines includes a Syrah and Petit Verdot. ‘We planted Syrah in 2000, it adapts very well to the Douro,’ notes Seely, who had access to cuttings – and considerable expertise – of these French varieties from AXA Millésimes stablemate Château Pichon Baron in Bordeaux and former stablemate Domaine Mas Belles Eaux in the Languedoc.

The tasting

Alongside these single varietal wines Noval makes its flagship Reserva. It also produces two other labels – Maria Mansa and Cedro do Noval, with a red and white of each – bringing its total range of Douro table wines to eight.

The new release tasting began with Cedro do Noval Branco 2020, the label named after the large cedar tree that grows on the terrace of the quinta. It’s a well-priced blend of 65% Viosinho and 35% Gouveio; the white varieties planted in a 6ha vineyard that used to be an olive grove. ‘If you want to make white wines in the Douro you have to plant your own vines,’ notes Seely.

‘I take white wines from the Douro very seriously,’ he continues. ‘The quality potential of these whites is almost limitless. Part of the thrill of these wines is their personality – they have individuality.’

That’s true of Cedro do Noval Tinto, a characterful red blend that varies from vintage to vintage. The 2017, from a hot, dry year comprised 55% Touriga Nacional, 25% Syrah, 15% Touriga Francesca and 5% Tinta Cão. While 2018, from a more temperate vintage, included less Touriga Nacional (50%) and more Touriga Francesca (20%).

The inclusion of Syrah here is indicative of the French sensibility that runs through the rest of Noval’s red wines, which are all aged in French oak.

‘Red wine is now a significant proportion of our production at Noval,’ explains Seely. ‘We don’t decide at the start of the year which grapes will be which. From the beginning of August we taste and make decisions about Port or red wine.’

Built to last

The quinta’s flagship Reserva is also a blend. While the 2017 combines 55% Touriga Nacional and 20% Touriga Francesca, the 2018 vintage includes 15% of old field-blend vines. Attention to detail is shown in fine-tuning of the oak regime: 12 months in 225-litre French oak, with 35% new for the 2017 and 50% new for the 2018.

Seely is confident that these Reservas have considerable ageing potential for the future. ‘Typically to show you have a great terroir, you need to prove the wines can age. But the reality of the market is that people are buying these wines young,’ he says.

‘I believe the Reserva 2017 and 2018 have maybe 10, 15, 20 years of ageing ahead of them,’ he adds. ‘Only since 2012 have we been making wines that will really age. We don’t have a back library of vintages to show the ageing potential yet – but we will.’

Quinta do Noval wines: new releases

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Quinta do Noval declares 2019 Port vintage

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Port vintage guide

Quinta do Noval said it had no hesitation in declaring the 2019 vintage of its highly prized Nacional Port. 

‘It was not a difficult decision to declare the Quinta do Noval 2019 Nacional, which from our very first tastings after the harvest revealed a grandeur and depth worthy of the Nacional name,’ said the group’s MD, Christian Seely. 

Produced from a small parcel of ungrafted vines at the heart of the Noval vineyard, only 200 to 250 cases of Nacional are generally made in any declared vintage. 

Quinta do Noval has also this week declared its namesake 2019 vintage Port and Quinta do Passadouro 2019 – the first vintage produced from the estate acquired by the group in that same year. 

‘I am thrilled by the quality of our first vintage from Passadouro, which shows great personality and clear terroir distinction, which I feel fully justifies our decision to acquire this vineyard,’ said Seely. 

Of the Quinta do Noval 2019, the group said the wine was drawn from 13 different vineyard parcels across its 145-hectare estate. The group has made 2,780 cases, representing around 14% of total production.

It remains to be seen how many Port houses will follow Noval’s lead with the 2019 vintage. Declarations traditionally take place on or around 23 April – St George’s day in England – and recent years have seen a lot of activity thanks to the well-regarded 2016, 2017 and 2018 vintages.

Symington Family Estates said last week that it was declaring 2019 vintage Ports from six different quintas, or estates.

Two of these will be released en primeur, the group said, naming them as Quinta do Vesúvio and Dow’s Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira. 

The other four 2019 vintage Ports will be aged in Symington cellars prior to release. They are:

• Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos;
• Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim;
• Warre’s Quinta da Cavadinha;
• Cockburn’s Quinta dos Canais.  

Charles Symington, fourth-generation head winemaker, said, ‘When reviewing the top wines from 2019, we felt that the best expression of our grape varieties came from our six principal quintas.

‘These estate wines are always the starting point from which we judge the year’s vintage Port potential and, from there, decide what to bottle. 

‘In 2019, the various plots of vineyards within each of these estates delivered small volumes of wine with fantastic depth and complexity.’

He added, ‘We believe these wines could not have been enhanced by blending across each of our port houses’ top quintas to produce a ‘classic’ vintage Port. Instead, we decided to blend the best performing components within each of our estates and bottle six Quinta Vintage Ports.’

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What is vermouth?

The unsung hero of many classic cocktails, vermouth is an aromatised fortified wine. It can be traced back to ancient Chinese, Indian and Greek civilisations, which commonly infused botanicals in their wines – often for medicinal purposes.

Wormwood was a popular ingredient in these infusions; an intensely bitter plant that was thought to cure stomach ailments. It was the German word for wormwood – wermut – that gave its name to vermouth.

Through the years vermouth transformed from a medicinal tonic into an enjoyable libation. Italy’s Piedmont and France’s Savoie regions became the heart of production, thanks to their Alpine terrain, rich in wormwood and other botanicals.

Recipes for vermouth can be found from the 16th and 17th centuries. However it wasn’t until the 18th century that the modern version of the drink appeared, in the Italian city of Turin. It soon became popular as a fashionable apéritif across Europe.

Vermouth’s star rose even higher in the late 19th century, when bartenders began to use it as a key ingredient in the popular new mixed drinks of the day: cocktails. Over time vermouth became a key ingredient in classics such as the Negroni, Manhattan, Americano and Martini.

The recent resurgence of cocktail culture – particularly the popularity of the Negroni – has introduced vermouth to a whole new generation of drinkers. Add in new products from Spain, the US and UK, as well as France and Italy; plus lighter serves that tap into modern drinking trends, and vermouth is a must-have for any home bar.

How is it made?

Vermouth is made from a base of neutral, low-alcohol wine or unfermented grape must, using varieties such as Piquepoul, Clairette Blanche, Trebbiano and Catarratto. Producers fortify this base with neutral spirit and flavour it with various botanicals.

A botanical is any plant-based substance, including herbs, spices, flowers, roots, bark and leaves. The list of vermouth botanicals will be familiar to gin lovers; including juniper, citrus peel, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, chamomile and ginger. Despite the origins of its name vermouth doesn’t have to include wormwood.

The particular mix of botanicals creates each vermouth’s signature taste and aroma. So producers keep their recipe a closely guarded secret. After the wine is fortified and infused with botanicals, the vermouth can be sweetened with sugar.

Different styles

Historically, there were two main types of vermouth: sweet red or dry white. Today the selection is more sophisticated and the range of styles includes extra-dry white, sweet white (bianco, blanc), red (rosso, rouge, roux), amber (ambrato, ambre) and rosé. Sweet vermouths generally contain 90-130g/l of sugar, while dry vermouths won’t exceed 50g/l and tend to have a lighter texture than sweet styles.

How to serve and store vermouth

Vermouth can be enjoyed on its own over ice as an apéritif or in a longer drink mixed with soda water or tonic. As the average abv of vermouth is 16%-18% it’s a low-alcohol alternative to serves such as a G&T or vodka and tonic. White, amber and rosé vermouths should be served chilled at 12°C-14°C, while red vermouth is best served at 16°C.

Vermouth is also used as a cocktail ingredient. Popular serves include the Negroni, a mix of equal parts sweet red vermouth, gin and Campari; though you can also make a lighter White Negroni (invented in 2001 by British bartender Wayne Collins) using gin, Lillet Blanc and Suze gentian liqueur.

The whisky-based Manhattan also calls for sweet red vermouth, as does the Boulevardier: a blend of bourbon, vermouth and Campari. Or try an Americano, a thirst quenching blend of Campari, vermouth and soda water.

Meanwhile Martinis are made with dry white vermouth. Confusingly a ‘dry’ Martini is made with less dry vermouth and a ‘wet’ Martini with more dry vermouth. While a ‘perfect’ Martini is made with equal parts dry and sweet white vermouths. Exactly which vermouth to use is down to personal taste and your style of Martini: Gin or Vodka, a Dirty Martini, Vesper or Gibson. See below for some suggestions…

Because it is a fortified wine, an open bottle will keep for much longer than regular wine. But unlike spirits, an opened bottle of vermouth will gradually oxidise and deteriorate over time. So pop your open bottle in the fridge and it will keep for up to three months.

Best vermouths to try

Antica Formula Carpano Vermouth

Antonio Benedetto Carpano created the recipe for Antica in 1786. It’s a traditional Vermouth di Torino, made using a base of Italian grapes from Romania, Puglia and Sicily with botanicals including saffron and vanilla. With its aromas of dark chocolate, vanilla, bitter cherries and orange peel, plus chocolate orange, spice and coffee on the palate, it partners perfectly with bourbon to make a cracking Manhattan. Antica Formula was also the original vermouth used to create the Martinez cocktail. Alc 16.5%

Azaline Vermouth Saffron Roux

This characterful French vermouth is infused with Persian saffron for a distinctive take on the dry red style. It’s made by Burgundy wine producer Gabriel Boudier, using Pinot Noir as a base wine. With botanicals including cardamom, juniper and tarragon, it’s a darkly spicy vermouth, dominated by saffron aromas and flavours, with raspberry and black cherry fruit. Crisp and dry, with a lingering finish laced that’s with oriental spice and bitter cherry. Enjoy it as a spritz with soda water and a slice of orange or use it in a Saffron Negroni. Alc 17%

Cocchi Storico Vermouth di Torino

The best-selling vermouth, according to Drinks International’s Brands Report 2020 – and deservedly so. First produced in 1891, Cocchi is made with a base of Moscato grapes from Asti and a botanical recipe that includes quinine, star anise and achillea. Amber coloured thanks to the addition of burnt sugar, there’s great intensity on the palate: rich and luscious with bitter orange, cocoa, spices and whiff of smoke. Equally happy in a Negroni or a Manhattan. Alc 16%

Cucielo Bianco Vermouth di Torino

One of the new generation of Vermouths di Torino, made with respect for the traditional style, but with a focus on using sustainably sourced botanicals and packaging. Alongside a clove-laced Rosso, this Bianco uses a base of Trebbiano, Grillo and Ansonica grapes, with botanicals including wormwood, green apple, cardamom, pink pepper and elderflower. Very herbaceous and floral, with a distinct note of dried thyme and ripe peachy fruit on the palate. Lovely with tonic or try a Cucielo Cinque 7, with Prosecco, Angostura bitters and soda water. Alc 16.8%

Dolin Vermouth de Chambéry Dry

Producing vermouth since 1821, Dolin is the only remaining independent vermouth producer left in Chambéry, which is the only French region that has a DOC for its vermouths. Made using Alpine botanicals including wormwood, brooklime, rose and verbena, the range also includes sweeter blanc and rouge styles. Dolin Dry boasts citrus freshness, grape and lychee sweetness, dry herbal notes and some lip-smakcing salinity. Use equal parts Dry and Blanc to create a Perfect Gin Martini. Alc 17.5%

El Bandarra Al Fresco

El Bandarra Spanish vermouths hail from Barcelona and are made using Spanish grapes Garnacha and Xarel-lo, plus Mediterranean botanicals. The cool typography bottle is inspired by the tradition of hand-painting the names of dishes onto the windows of tapas bars. The range includes a Blanco and Rojo but the vibrant Al Fresco, with its bright cherry and red berry fruit, grapefruit citrus freshness and herbal bitterness is our favourite. Pair it with tonic (one part vermouth and two parts tonic) for a refreshing summer cooler that will appeal to fans of the Aperol Spritz. Alc 14.5%

Martini Riserva Speciale Rubino

The Martini brand traces its roots back to 1847. Its Rosso and Bianco are dependable big sellers, but this top-of-the-range Riserva Speciale Rubino Vermouth di Torino was introduced in 2015 and makes a knock-out Negroni. Base wines from Piedmont and small parcels of Langhe DOC Nebbiolo, are selected by Martini’s master blender, Beppe Musso, and infused with exotic botanicals including African red sandalwood, holy thistle and three different types of wormwood. Alc 18%

Noilly Prat Original Dry

The classic dry French vermouth, produced in Marseillan since 1843. Made from two base wines (Picpoul de Pinet and Clairette) which are left to age separately in barrels in the open air for a year, imparting an amber colour to the final vermouth. The botanical recipe includes bitter orange peel, nutmeg, chamomile, cloves, coriander and yellow gentian. Very herbal and peppery on the palate, with piney freshness that lifts a Dry Martini beautifully. Noilly Prat Ambre is harder to find, but well worth seeking out. Alc 18%

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Best Gins for a Negroni

The rise in bitters and amari

We all know what to do with white, red, rosé and sparkling – but what about sweet and fortified wines? These unmatched, flavour-laden classics – because that is what they are – are often overlooked simply because we’re not sure how, when and with what to serve them. We have therefore consulted the experts to provide practical answers and some surprising food pairings. It turns out there are whole worlds to discover beyond the delicious but clichéd Port-Stilton and Sauternes-foie gras combos of yore.

Nobly sweet wines

Heidi Schröck, the Austrian doyenne of nobly sweet Ruster Ausbruch, as well as auslese, beerenauslese (BA) and trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) from Rust in Austria’s Burgenland region – prefers to serve her wines between 12°C-14°C. She loves ‘creative and unexpected’ flavour combinations and signals this clearly on her labels.

‘Ottolenghi recipes lend themselves excellently,’ she says, but also suggests prosciutto with spätlese, aged Gouda with BA, chili-cheese sausages or lamb tagine with Ausbruch. She notes that desserts should not be too sweet – apple tart with rosemary would be perfect.

Aline Baly, who runs Château Coutet in Barsac, Bordeaux, has perfected the art of serving sweet wines with every course. While her ‘absolute favourite’ pairing is lobster, she swears by shellfish starters, roast chicken for main and fresh strawberries for dessert. So don’t restrict yourself to aperitif or dessert for these intense, golden wines.

Baly avoids small dessert wine glasses and goes for white wine glasses instead. She recommends serving at 9°C-10°C, but suggests, ‘a cooler temperature when wines are served with a spicy dish or a sweet dessert. Cooler is also better for very young and much older vintages. Middle-age wines can be served a couple of degrees warmer to allow the warm baking spices to express themselves.’

Leftovers keep well when refrigerated. ‘These wines are resilient,’ Baly says. ‘That you can keep a bottle open for more than a week is a fact unknown to many.’ Schröck agrees: Auslesen last for 10 days, while concentrated Ausbruch can keep for up to three weeks.

Matching Sauternes and Barsac with food

Port

Anthony Symington, brand manager for Symington Family Estates (maker of the Port brands Graham’s, Warre’s, Dow’s and Cockburn’s), says that only vintage Ports need be decanted. He distinguishes between the ‘robust, youthful aromas of red fruits’ of bottle-aged ruby and reserve Ports and the ‘greater complexity, nut and raisin characteristics’ of barrel-aged tawny Ports.

Ruby and reserve ‘should be served at room temperature and are delicious with cheese or dark chocolate’. An open bottle will last three to four weeks. Tawny Ports, on the other hand, should ‘always be served slightly chilled from the fridge and are delicious with creamy desserts such as ice cream, crème brûlée, or a sneaky square of chocolate.’ But he also suggests pairing a 10-year-old tawny with foie gras: ‘The acidity cuts through the richness, and the sweetness complements it perfectly.’

Tawny will last up to six weeks in the fridge. If you are lucky enough to have mature vintage Port, Symington says: ‘Think creamy cheeses rather than Stilton, which can overpower these wonderful old wines. Fresh fruit is also an exceptional pairing.’ Vintage is the only style you have to drink up quickly – it fades within three days.

Cream & sweet Sherry

Tim Holt, Bodegas Barbadillo’s UK area director, lifts the lid on sweet Sherry styles – sweet oloroso and tooth-breakingly sweet Pedro Ximénez, or PX – and even resurrects the much-maligned cream Sherry. He says cream and oloroso should be served chilled and that any tulip-shaped wine glass will do. For PX, he counsels: ‘Pour it on ice cream or try it in a tumbler glass over crushed ice. It works extremely well that way.’

Bourbon vanilla ice cream is particularly delicious with PX. Holt says a classic PX pairing is the Asturian blue cheese Cabrales, but he has fond memories of raw Virginia Bay oysters, too. Hot Mexican habanero and Sichuan dishes are also recommended: ‘The high sugar level has a balsamic effect, so it works for these extremely hot dishes.’ Now you know what to do with that leftover turkey.

Holt stays in Asia for cream Sherry and sweet oloroso, too: ‘They go very well with some Chinese foods, specifically Peking duck and Shanghai cuisine generally.’ While sweet oloroso lasts in the fridge for up to three months, PX does not need chilling, and is so sweet ‘it can last from one year to the next.’

Sherry and chocolate pairing ideas

Madeira

Even Madeira labelled ‘dry’ has some rounding sweetness, so Chris Blandy of Blandy’s Madeira says: ‘We suggest that dry and medium-dry styles (ie, Sercial and Verdelho) be served at 12°C, and medium-rich and rich styles (Bual and Malmsey) be served at 15°C-16°C.’

None of the wines need decanting, and a tulip-shaped Port glass, or slender white wine glass is best. The good news is that ‘Madeira is pretty much indestructible,’ Blandy says, ‘so simply put a stopper back in, stand the bottle upright and store in a cool, dark cupboard.’

With these food combinations, however, it will be hard to resist these utterly complex and even otherworldly wines, especially when you have time to savour slowly. Blandy loves ‘Comté with Sercial, roast chicken with Verdelho, foie gras with Bual’. The sweetest style, Malmsey, is a match made in heaven with Madeiran honey cake or bolo de mel – a moist, dark, spiced molasses cake. But who’s to say that Christmas cake, Lebkuchen or mince pies won’t work almost as well?

Leftover lusciousness: use every drop

At Quinta do Noval in the Douro Valley, cook Maria João turns leftover late bottled vintage or vintage Port into a fruity, sweet sauce for pancakes.

For four people you need: ‘A generous pat of butter, two tablespoons of brown sugar and a full glass of Port. You melt the butter with the sugar in a pan, when it is bubbling you add the Port. Using a wooden spoon, never stop stirring. Let the alcohol evaporate until the sauce thickens, about four minutes.’ She adds that this is ‘not an exact science and needs a little intuition’.

Amontillado is a key ingredient in Bramdean pudding, a speciality passed down through generations at Davy’s London pub The Boot & Flogger in Southwark – but oloroso will also work. For each pudding you need a small ramekin dish. Into this you crumble a digestive biscuit, top it with a few sultanas, pour over 30ml of Sherry followed by a layer of fresh custard. Once set, top with a layer of double cream.

What can I do with leftover wine? Ask Decanter

Christmas tends to be the time of year fortified wines take the spotlight. Though these often deliciously complex wines are to enjoy all year round, the best examples can make for a very memorable experience during the festive season.

The expert judges at the 2020 Decanter World Wine Awards have done the “hard” work for us – blind tasting and evaluating more than 250 fortified wines to offer trusted, unbiased wine recommendations.

Below we’ve highlighted the competition’s top-scoring fortified wines – the Platinum and Best in Show medal winners – plus tasting notes, to help you find the perfect bottles for Christmas, or whenever else you’d like…

Search all DWWA 2020 award-winning fortified wines

Premium: Expert’s choice: Tawny Ports

Top DWWA 2020 fortified wines

Portugal

Cálem, Colheita, Port 1961

Best in Show, 97 points

This single-vintage tawny port is older than its 40 Year Old Best In Show sibling, but the fact that it is unblended (and has perhaps spent time in glass as well as barrel) gives it a very different character: lighter, more graceful and more fugitive, yet at the same time refined, long, graciously but not cloyingly sweet, and with a succulence and silkiness rarely rivalled by other fortified wines. You might choose to drink it because you were born in 1961 – but almost any other excuse would do just as well. A carefully guarded treasure.

Justino’s, Terrantez 50 Years Old, Madeira NV

Best in Show, 97 points

Fifty years is a long time… unless you’re a fine Madeira, in which case you are just getting into your stride. There’s almost no old-vine Terrantez left on Madeira, though it is being replanted, which makes this wine doubly historic – and Terrantez seems, too, to be an island native. It all adds up to a compelling glassful: walnut in colour, with scents of citrus peel, hessian, orris root and dried peach, and flavours which combine dried versions of most orchard fruits with a little tannin but above all the growing extracts which are the legacy of time itself. It’s not a hugely sweet wine, nor does it need to be when the other lineaments of flavour share this level of intensity. Every sip is a privilege.

Blandy’s, Sercial, Madeira 1980

Platinum, 97 points

Full yet lithe, showing very inviting aromas of pecan, pastry and burnt citrus peel with delicate mirabelle plum. A tangy dryness belies the sugar level, and there’s a lovely saline finale to the fig and dried apricot palate.

Vista Alegre, 40 Year Old Tawny, Port NV

Best in Show, 97 points

Time lightens some wines – but old tawny ports have long since passed that point, and time has darkened this 40 year old to a glinting, clear walnut. The aromas are richly brocaded with scent: the memory of the red fruits the wine once possessed, but also caramel, hessian, antique furniture, vellum, dried flowers and a twist of barley sugar. On the palate, this is a wine of compelling concentration, drive and depth, and its sugars are easily balanced by the extractive contours with which time has engraved it.

Dalva, Colheita, Port 1982

Platinum, 97 points

Evocative and ethereal aromas of honey, sweet spices and toasted nuts – the nose alone is worth a gold medal – but the palate also delivers, with a sumptuous array of caramel, sweet fruit and nuts.

Kopke, Colheita, Port 1966

Platinum, 97 points

Gloriously rich and savoury, with rich dried fig and apricot aromas, and the weight and texture of wood ageing. Dates, caramel, leather and thyme on a steely palate with brazil nut hints and roasted spices.

• Search all Gold medal fortified wines from Portugal here
• Search all Silver medal fortified wines from Portugal here
• Search all Bronze fortified wines from Portugal here

Spain

Lustau, 30 Years Old V.O.R.S., Oloroso, Sherry NV

Best in Show, 98 points

There’s something almost disarming about the relatively pale hue of this Oloroso, so accustomed are we to associating intensity with depth of colour. Don’t be misled. A sniff or two should set you on the right course: the great wealth of aroma that lifts from the glass gives you a sudden impression of gravity and depth, lurking unseen. What you’ll find on the palate magnifies that impression further: this is a plunging, driving wine of almost shocking intensity, ricocheting around the mouth and evoking a full library of sensual allusions, from leather and apothecary elixirs to apricot skins and beeswax polish.

Lustau, 30 Years Old V.O.R.S., Pedro Ximenez, Sherry NV

Best in Show, 97 points

This dense, saturatedly black and decidedly viscous elixir is as much food as wine – but what led our judges to pick this one out over its peers was precisely the fact that that it is, once sniffed and swallowed, a wine after all, with the complexity of age, and with a repertoire of flavours other than the paste of raisins which every PX always delivers, and with a base line of leather and tar, of mineral oils and beeswax. Pedro Ximenez is a sensational wine world ultimate, but this one really does repay time and attention.

González Byass, Del Duque V.O.R.S, Amontillado, Sherry NV

Platinum, 97 points

Glorious, enticing aromas of spice, nut, white pepper and toast leads through to a plush, rich palate layered with butterscotch, honeycomb, dried peach, white chocolate and tamarind, then on to a silky, salty powerful finish.

González Byass, NOE V.O.R.S, Pedro Ximenez, Sherry NV

Platinum, 97 points

Captivating, smoky dark nose, with layers of toffee, liquorice, citron peel and vanilla leads on to a luxurious palate graced with confit chestnut, almond, glace orange and a beautiful bitter chocolate and coffee complexity.

González Byass, Tio Pepe Cuatro Palmas, Amontillado, Sherry NV

Platinum, 97 points

Opulent and perfumed, with hints of vivid burnt sugar, vanilla, dried orange peel and menthol leading on to a textured, savoury palate framed with frankincense, sea salt, honeycomb, barley sugar and a long, liquorice finish.

González Byass, Tio Pepe Tres Palmas, Fino, Sherry NV

Platinum, 97 points

Opulent and seductive with aromas of red apple, honeyed almond, cardamon and cumin, then on to a plush palate of Seville orange, bitter herb, white pepper, buttermilk and red apple. Exceptionally powerful and long.

Lustau, Botaina Autumn 2019 Edition, Amontillado, Sherry NV

Platinum, 97 points

Perfumed and enticing, with layered aromas of muscavado sugar, brine and wood lead through to a subtle, saline palate of cumin and coriander spice, salted caramel, vibrant citrus orange pith and marmite.

Valdespino, Solera de su Majestad V.O.R.S., Oloroso, Sherry NV

Platinum, 97 points

Heady, with smoky layers of eucalyptus, mushroom, honey and roast nut, then on to a luxurious, savoury palate of bitter orange, dark chocolate, roasted coffee, cherry and a long, controlled, peppery finish.

de Alberto, Dorado, Rueda NV

Platinum, 97 points

Complex aromas of beeswax, grilled nuts, clove and dried wood along with candied orange. Rich but dry palate with a layered profile of oxidative nutty flavours, interlaced with bitter marmalade, pecans and honeycomb. Very long and complex.

• Search all Gold medal fortified wines from Spain here
• Search all Silver medal fortified wines from Spain here
• Search all Bronze fortified wines from Spain here

Australia

Morris, Old Premium Rare Topaque, Rutherglen, Victoria, Australia NV

Best in Show, 97 points

Just a few drops of this wine splashed into a glass will tell you it’s an elixir, staining where it falls and releasing its great engine of sweet scent. Fill the glass a little further and you have an hour or two’s meditative sniffing and sipping to look forward to. The harmony and seduction are remarkable, as you tick off dried fruit after dried fruit; the wine is truly tongue-coating as few are, and the aftertaste of treacle and tar lingers saltily for minutes. Despite the huge levels of sweetness, the extracts and essences of flavour contrive to make this wine seem, 30 seconds or so after you swallow, almost dry. A Rutherglen monument.

Campbells, Isabella Rare Topaque, Rutherglen, Victoria, Australia, NV

Platinum, 97 points

Perfumed and heady with hints of plush floral notes and aged, steeped prune, while the luscious palate is bursting with vibrancy, finesse and has a beautiful clean purity. Wow!

De Bortoli, Black Noble 10 Years Old, Riverina, New South Wales, Australia, NV

Platinum, 97 points

Opulent and plush with black fig, treacle, candied orange rind and hints of burnt caramel on the nose, while the palate is richly layered with bitter chocolate, coffee and lush peach.

• Search all Gold medal fortified wines from Australia here
• Search all Silver medal fortified wines from Australia here
• Search all Bronze fortified wines from Australia here

Learn: The fortified wine crossword

Read more: DWWA highlights

The buses in a West Yorkshire town used to be referred to as ‘grapes’: they were red, you waited for ages and then they came along in a bunch. There is something of the same to be said about Port vintages these days, with the last four years declared in a row.

Scroll down to see Richard Mayson’s top Vintage Port 2018 tasting notes and scores

It used to be a rule of thumb that declared vintages would number about three a decade; 1960, 1963, and 1966 being a case in point. Then there could be long gaps like that between 1985 and 1991/2.

But in recent years Port drinkers have been faced with an embarras de richesse with declarations taking place in 2015, 2016 and 2017 followed by yet another successful year in 2018.

Taylor’s who declared outright in 2016 and 2017, declared again in 2018; the first time in history that they have made three classic vintage declarations in a row.

Adrian Bridge, managing director of the Fladgate Partnership justifies this, saying: ‘Our principle is that we declare a Classic Vintage when the quality is there. This is dictated by the year, not by any other consideration. In 2018, overall conditions were excellent but in the Douro Superior they were exceptional’.

Luís Sottomayor, responsible for Ferreira, Offley and Sandeman is even more fulsome. ‘2018 is one of the best, not the best vintage I have witnessed. The special conditions experienced during the 2018 harvest came together to produce wines that combine extraordinary elegance with an unusual structure…’

Although 2018 has proved to be a good harvest across the board, not everyone is quite so effusive. Speaking for Cockburn, Dow, Graham and Warre, Harry Symington comments that they had ‘small quantities of excellent wine, but this was not consistent throughout the region, so we decided against a full declaration’.

Cockburn’s had already declared an unprecedented three years in a row with 2015, 2016 and 2017 and all the Symington Port houses declared Single Quinta Vintage Ports (SQVPs) in 2018.

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Growing conditions

From the grower’s point of view 2018 was certainly a roller coaster of a year. Ana Rosas of Ramos Pinto says: ‘It was one of the most challenging years for viticulture, however the wines produced are very pure with exceptional fruit.’

Dirk Niepoort has opted not to declare any 2018 adding: ‘Since we picked the grapes quite early, as usual, in 2018, we think that the 2018s don’t have the concentration, richness – and particularly not the complexity – for us to declare. It seems that 2018 might be “great” when picked late…’

The year was preceded by 22 months of drought, interrupted by a wet spring then followed by a summer heat wave, when temperatures rose to 45℃ in parts of the Douro Superior.

It was the groundwater that saved the year and the late-ripening Touriga Franca grape gave the wines acidity, lending them freshness and definition.

It is interesting to observe how many vintage Ports are now made up from a fairly precise varietal mix rather than from the interplanted field blend of old vines that has historically been at the core of the finest wines. There is no rule on when a vine becomes ‘old’ but it is worth remembering that some of the early varietal vineyards in the Douro are now between 30 and 40 years of age.

The vintage Port market

Due to the pandemic, the market for vintage Port has been rather skewed this year. A few wines were offered en primeur in the early summer of 2020, including Quinta do Noval, Quinta do Vesúvio and Dow’s Senhora da Ribeira.

The other wines from the Symingtons have been kept back for later release. Taylor’s will only be released for sale early in 2021. Opening prices for the top wines were around £280/six bottles in bond but, as this is not a fully declared year, expect some well-priced SQVPs for drinking over the medium- to long-term.

The wines below were tasted over the summer of 2020. They form an impressive line-up, the best characterised by ripeness, freshness and thereby wonderful balance. One or two show the heat of the vintage.

I will give the last word on 2018 to Adrian Bridge: ‘We have to follow the wine, not the economy… We want to make these wines when they come along and we don’t know when the next one is coming along.’ Just like those buses…

Port 2018: top recommendations

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Symington Family Estates, owner of Warre’s, Dow’s and Graham’s, announced the death of James Symington this week.

He was part of the third generation of the Symington family to make Port and was a leading figure in Portugal’s famous Douro Valley for more than 40 years, the family-owned group said in a tribute.

From overseeing the making of legendary vintages like 1966 and 1970 to expanding the reach of Port overseas – especially in the US – James Symington is credited with helping the region recover from a precarious financial position following the Second World War.

Born in 1934, Symington moved to Canada with his mother and siblings for two years during World War Two, but the family returned to Portugal in 1943.

Having been educated in Lisbon and at Ampleforth school in Yorkshire, England, Symington was unable to take up a place at the University of Oxford in 1952 due to ‘financial limitations’ amid a difficult era for Port producers.

He joined the British Army in 1954 and served as second lieutenant in the King’s African Rifles in Kenya, where he became fluent in Swahili.

However, in 1960, he married his wife, Penny, and joined the family firm, initially working as a taster and blender.

He would be responsible for Dow’s and Warre’s 1966 and 1970, two top Port vintages of the 20^th century, as well as the lauded 1970 vintage Port at Graham’s, the historic producer house acquired by the Symington family that year.

After 1973, he switched to the commercial side of the business and to finding new markets, a move that notably led to the creation of distribution firm Premium Port Wines in San Francisco, US, in 1985.

‘James, together with his cousins Michael and Ian, formed a strong partnership that steered the family business through several turbulent decades, when many of the historic family Port companies were sold or simply closed,’ Symington Family Estates said.

In 1987, Symington and his wife, Penny, bought the semi-abandoned Quinta do Vila Velha and renovated it into a 145-hectare (ha) property with 55ha of vineyards, the group said.

It added that James Symington’s friendship with other leading wine world figures, such as Miguel Torres, Piero Antinori and Robert Drouhin, was instrumental the firm becoming a founding member of Premium Familiae Vini group of prestigious, family-owned wine producers in 1992.

‘James and Penny had a son, Rupert, and two daughters, Clare and Miranda, and six grandchildren,’ said the group.

Rupert is currently CEO of Symington Family Estates, while Rupert’s son, Hugh, has been working at Premium Port Wines since 2018. ‘Clare also works in the family business and is based in the UK,’ the group said.

See also: 

The Decanter interview: Paul Symington (2020)

Top Ports that are drinking well today (2019)

Taylor’s secured a remarkable collection of old, cask-aged Ports when it purchased Wiese & Krohn in 2013. A year later Taylor’s launched its first Single Harvest Port (an aged tawny Port, also known as a colheita) from the 1964 vintage. The newly released 1970 is the seventh in the series of this limited edition of 50-year-old wines.

The year 1970 happened to be an excellent and widely declared Port vintage producing classic, tight-knit wines, the best of which still have a long future ahead. Vintage Ports are bottled after around two years, but for colheitas, prolonged ageing in pipes (casks of around 620 litres) gives a very different outcome from bottle age.

Keeping Port in wood for this long is an extraordinary feat involving continual care and attention to ensure the wine does not expend itself. Cool cellars are essential: this Single Harvest 1970 was aged in the Port lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia. (In contrast, wines aged in the Douro Valley often take an overtly stewed, volatile character known as ‘Douro bake’.)

After nearly half a century in wood, the wine takes on a wonderfully lifted, liquorous quality, the natural sweetness intensified by the steady evaporation rate of 1-2% a year. The key to maintaining the quality of the wine is to keep topping up the cask with more of the same wine to prevent the oxidation from becoming excessive.

The result is a rich, heady wine with tawny qualities, the tannins having softened and fallen away. Don’t expect to find primary fruit, but instead all sorts of ethereal complexities that have gathered with age.

One of the great beauties of these wines is that you don’t have to consume the bottle at a single sitting. The fact that it has aged for so long in the presence of air means that it is resistant to oxidation when ullage occurs after pouring. Kept cool, a wine like this may be sampled at intervals over a few weeks without its very many charms diminishing greatly.

Tasting Taylor’s Single Harvest 1970

See also:

Decanter’s guide to anniversary wines 2020

Port 2018 declared for rare third consecutive year

In the third and final part of our results from our wines of the year tasting, we bring the top scoring sparkling, fortified and sweet wines.

After over 100 wines were nominated by Decanter experts and in-house team, Sarah Jane Evans MW, Dirceu Vianna Junior MW and Tina Gellie spent two days tasting them against each other, to come out with our list of most exciting wines of 2019.

Find more top wines of 2019 here. 

Most exciting wines of 2019: Sparkling, fortified and sweet

Vintage 2017 will go down in history for the Symington family. It made its first ever ‘back-to-back’ general Vintage Port declaration since Andrew James Symington arrived in Porto in 1882 and, perhaps just as momentously, acquired Quinta da Fonte Souto. Located in Portalegre, Alentejo’s northernmost sub-region, it is the family’s first vineyard acquisition outside their beloved Douro.

In year one, with ‘probably as close to maximum quality as possible’, according to Charles Symington, it produced Alicante Bouschet and Syrah ‘of the highest quality’. Having focused on the ‘highly regulated’ Douro since 1995, the head winemaker is enjoying working in Alentejo, describing it as, ‘more New World, with a refreshing approach to varieties’. These include Syrah, which he rates as ‘fantastic’ in this southern Portuguese region.For Charles the chief attraction was ‘a location where, with more acidity, we could make different wine styles, not necessarily the most powerful and structured, but more elegant.’ Qualities that, since I first visited Portalegre in 2009 (including Altas Quintas, as Quinta da Fonte Souto was then known), have attracted cutting-edge winemaking talent and other established players (notably Herdade do Esporão, Cartuxa and Sogrape), putting its unique terroir in the spotlight.

A breath of fresh air

Key to Portalegre’s freshness is its location on the slopes of the Serra de São Mamede. Rising to 1,025m above sea level, the mountain is the south’s highest point and, says Dominic Symington, ‘creates its own microclimate, with particularly abundant rainfall [averaging 750mm a year]’.

Located at 480-540m, Quinta da Fonte Souto experiences pronounced diurnal temperature variation (averaging 11.5ºC) during maturation. Granite soils impart freshness too. With obvious potential for whites, it makes little sense to Charles that just three out of 45ha are planted to white grapes. The Symingtons have already grafted over some Trincadeira and Cabernet Sauvignon to increase the area of white grapes by 50% and introduce Touriga Nacional.

Polished wines

If freshness is in Portalegre’s DNA, attention to detail is part of the Symington’s DNA, resulting in polished wines. Compared with those I tasted from Altas Quintas a decade ago, Quinta da Fonte Souto reds are especially much more sophisticated. Multiple selective harvests, irrigating only to avert hydric stress and sweeping clean with new fermenters and barrels has paid dividends, although I found the new oak a little overplayed in the top white.

Quinta Da Fonte Souto at a glance

Area: 207ha, of which 43ha under vine

Soils: Transitional granite to schist

Principal white grape varieties: Arinto, Verdelho

Principal red grape varieties: Trincadeira, Aragonês, Alfrocheiro, Alicante Bouschet, Syrah, Touriga Nacional, Cabernet Sauvignon 

How do they compare to other Portalegre wines? Seized upon by leading winemakers such as Rui Reguinga, Vitor Claro and Susana Esteban, small plots of Portalegre’s old field blend bush vines produce exceptionally characterful wines on an artisanal scale.

Revolving around noble varieties from this relatively large estate’s modern, block-planted, trellised vines, Quinta da Fonte Souto offers a point of difference. The wines are sleeker and more international, yet finer-framed and fresher than is common for Alentejo.

With premium but accessible price points for all bar the flagship – ‘a statement wine,’ says Dominic – they look set to win new fans for Portalegre’s elegant style.

Sarah Ahmed reviews the Quinta da Fonte Souto wines

Whether your preferred style of Port is a nutty tawny, a fruity LBV, a bargain single-quinta or a sledgehammer vintage Port, the sheer variety of fortified wines produced in the Douro region of Portugal should be celebrated.

If you’re looking for a value option, take a look at our Christmas Port recommendations below. Most of the wines in our roundup retail for less than £20/$25, although we have included a couple of slightly more expensive examples which still offer great value for money, such as Maynard’s 40-year-old Tawny Port, which can be found at Aldi for just £34.99.

With bottles from some of the region’s top names, such as Taylor’s, Graham’s, Fonseca, Warre’s and Quinta do Noval, as well as supermarket own-labels from M&S, Tesco, Booth’s, Morrisons and Lidl, we are sure you’ll find something for the table over this festive period.

See also: Cheese and Port matching guide

Value Christmas Port recommendations:

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See Richard's top six picks below, plus his detailed vintage guide back to 1960.

When it comes to vintage Port, we’ve never had it so good – an unprecedented run of fine vintages in 2017, 2016 and 2015 were all worthy of an outright declaration, with 2018 and 2019 looking promising too.

But to drink these wines now would be infanticide, so it begs the question: what Port to drink now while these wonderful recent vintages slowly mature?

Fortunately, some of the rather good years in the 2000s and 1990s are now becoming approachable. They divide between so-called ‘classic’ declarations and single-quinta vintage Ports (SQVPs). The main difference is that SQVP is generally ready to drink after 10 years rather than 20, and priced at £25-£45 a bottle, these wines are less than half the price of a bottle from a fully declared vintage.

The most recent single-quinta year that is becoming approachable is 2010. From a large crop, those estates with old vines at their core produced some lovely, balanced, fruit-driven wines that are just being released. With a backbone of fragrant Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, Cockburn’s Quinta dos Canais looks like a good wine for the medium term.

In complete contrast, 2008 was a low-yielding year with a lot of single-quinta Ports, many yet to be released. In general, the wines are aromatic but still show restraint and are characterised by their freshness and purity of fruit backed by structured tannins. Taylor’s Quinta de Terra Feita and Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos both look very promising.

A run of three good years in the mid-2000s produced SQVPs, all of which are now fully ready to drink. 2006 and 2005 made big, ripe-flavoured wines. A few shippers, notably Niepoort, thought 2005 was good enough to declare outright. Both vintages made wines that can be enjoyed now and will last into the 2030s and beyond.

By contrast, 2004 was a near-disaster due to untimely rain, but swung to success with a fine harvest that produced balanced, well-structured wines perfect for drinking now. Warre’s Quinta da Cavadinha 2004 is well defined with plum and black cherry fruit supported by firm tannins.

See Richard Mayson’s Port vintage guide here

Raring to go

When it comes to fully declared years, 2011, 2009, 2007, 2003 and 2000 are, on the whole, not yet ready to drink. The opulent 2003s will be ready first with Cockburn’s, Croft and Ramos Pinto just on the cusp.

For Port to drink now, go back a decade to two contrasting years: 1997 and 1994. The latter year proved to be a watershed after some patchy declarations in the 1980s and early 1990s: Croft, Ramos Pinto and Taylor’s performed well in a recent comparative tasting, showing the characteristic eloquence of the 1994 vintage. The 1997s were more demure at the outset and perhaps a little more forward now. Fonseca and Taylor’s already show purity of fruit and have the structure to continue to drink well for the next 20 years or so.

Going back to the 1980s, there is a caveat emptor on some of the 1985s, though Fonseca is faultless and in my opinion the leading wine of the vintage. Dow’s, Graham’s and Warre’s all performed well in 1983, as well as three years earlier in 1980. These wines would be my selection for drinking this Christmas, unless of course you have access to the 1977s and 1970s.

From 1977, Fonseca is a tower of strength with Dow’s and Graham’s 1970 both worthy of being ranked alongside the 20th-century greats.

How to serve

All vintage Port, be it single-quinta or a classic declaration, is treated in the same way, with the minimum of intervention before bottling. All throw a crust (sediment) in bottle as they age and require decanting.

Leave the bottle upright for an hour or two then slowly pour the wine into a decanter against a good light (a candle if you want to be romantic). Nothing needs to be wasted: decant the wine before dinner and the sediment makes a good addition to a casserole or gravy.

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Wine Legend: Dow’s Vintage Port 1955

Bottles produced N/A

Composition Principally Quinta do Bomfim, with an important Senhora da Ribeira component and possibly a very small contribution from Quinta do Zimbro

Yield N/A

Alcohol 20%

Release price £1

Price today £360

A legend because…

There was a plethora of excellent Ports made in this vintage, but Dow’s has long stood out for its elegance as well as richness. William Warre, who sold these wines for many years, described them as ‘rather more delicate, feminine wines’ that ‘seldom let anyone down in quality’. They age well, even if in their youth they seem less structured and powerful than some other well-known Ports. They are also a touch drier than some of the more sumptuous Ports, but that doesn’t impede their ageing ability.

Looking back

Silva & Cosens, an Anglo-Portuguese shipper, bought the established Dow’s brand in 1877, and one of the shareholders was a member of the Warre family. Warre’s own Port was owned by the Symington family, who invested in Silva & Cosens, and by 1961 had become the sole owner. There were no significant changes in the wine’s style during this period.

The vintage

This was the most widely declared vintage since 1927, so consistent was the evaluation of the wines by 26 shippers. The spring months were unusually hot and led to a good flowering. The summer was slightly warmer than average, and the little rain that fell sporadically proved beneficial as it quenched the thirst of dehydrating berries. The fine weather continued into the autumn. The resulting wines were rich but so well balanced that a long life in the cellar seemed certain.

The terroir

Like all vintage Ports, the Dow’s is a blend of different grape varieties from different vineyards. However, the mainstay of the blend is fruit from the Symington family’s Quinta do Bomfim, close to Pinhão, and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira in the isolated Douro Superior sub-region, farther upstream. The proportions of each vineyard’s contribution varied from vintage to vintage. The grape varieties were then field-blended and would have included Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Francisca, Tinto Cão and a small proportion of Touriga Nacional, which was then much less widely planted than it is today.

The wine

At this time virtually all of the wine would have been foot-trodden in lagares, the stone tanks traditionally used to crush the grapes and begin their fermentation. The fermentation period would have been slightly longer than for most other vintage Ports, and this accounts for the slightly drier style of Dow’s, as the yeasts would have consumed more sugar. After 18 months of storage in large wooden vats (to minimise the wood’s influence), the wine was bottled without fining or filtration.

The reaction

Michael Broadbent frequently tasted Dow’s Ports between the mid-1960s and 1998. In 1994 he noted that the 1955 had ‘a silkily tannic texture’ but in later years bottles were ‘tending to dry out although very flavoury, with a lingering finish. Vanilla and liquorice noted, then a touch of acidity creeping up.’

Richard Mayson adored the wine in 2008: ‘Still very deep in colour, only just browning on the rim; extraordinarily fresh, powerful, tight-knit bitter chocolate aromas, minty fruit; very fine and focused, dry in characteristic Dow style, remarkably fresh, ripe, minty fruit. Absolutely delicious. Just about as good as it gets.’

See more Wine Legends here

£5,000 bottles of wine are usually the preserve of the revered estates of France’s Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne regions (with Napa producers getting a look in now and again), so it’s a bold move for a Portuguese winery to release a wine – albeit a century-old Tawny Port – which retails north of £5k.

The Honore Very Old Tawny Port from Quinta do Crasto is not just very old (it is a blend of wines that were all produced pre-1918) it is also very rare; just 400 bottles were produced, one to represent each year since the Quinta was founded in 1615 and the wine being bottled.Just over a century ago Quinta do Crasto was bought by Constantino de Almeida, founder of the renowned Constantino wine house dedicated to the production and export of Port. It is wines from his private collection, all put into barrel before he purchased the estate in 1918, which make up the blend of the Honore Very Old Tawny Port.

Today the estate is owned and managed by Constantino de Almeida’s granddaughter Leonor Roquette, her husband Jorge Roquette and their children Tomás and Miguel. It was their decision in 2015 to create two one-off wines in honour of the people who have worked on the estate over the 400 years since it was founded.

Alongside the Honore Tawny, Quinta do Crasto released a Douro red wine also named Honore. It is a blend of wines from the 2015 vintage of the Quinta’s top two vineyards Vinha Maria Teresa and Vinha da Ponte. Just 1615 numbered magnums were produced of this hedonistic blend.

What you get for your £5k (as well as the wine)

You cannot release a wine like the Honore Very Old Tawny Port (priced £5,103) without going to town on the packaging, and no corners have been cut here. The wine comes in a numbered hand-blown crystal decanter housed within a walnut box, emboldened with hand-sewn leather and sterling silver (pictured top).

The Honore Douro red – retail price £783 – comes in a numbered gatefold-boxed Magnum, complete with coffee-table book.

Speaking about Quinta do Crasto’s premium vision at a recent tasting in London to launch the Honore wines Miguel Roquette said: ‘We want Vinha Maria Teresa to be Portugal’s DRC,’ which is ambitious for an estate which can document its history of Port production back to 1615, but produced its first Douro wines in 1994.

Other ‘iconic’ Douro wines from the Quinta were on show at the tasting, including the Vinha Maria Teresa and Vinha da Ponte wines which come from steep stone-terraced vineyards on a dramatic spur overlooking the Douro river.

Around 50 different grape varieties contribute complexity and balance to these field blend parcels which are only made in exceptional years. Both wines enjoy ‘grand cru’ status in the Douro and are consistently of the highest quality and eminently age-worthy; their reputation is deserved.

All the latest 2016 releases hail from a generally declared year for vintage Ports, feted for remarkable freshness and fruit purity. So it is for the wines, notwithstanding the customary heady concentration of Maria Teresa and Ponte, a function of old field blend parcels originally planted for Port.

In this refined vintage, winemaker Manuel Lobo achieved the requisite level of elegance to produce Crasto’s first Touriga Franca – a grape that he describes as ‘sometimes a bit rustic’. More finely framed, both it and Crasto’s single-varietal Tinta Roriz (aka Spain’s Tempranillo) and Touriga Nacional come from higher, younger vineyards planted with wine in mind by Roquette’s father, Jorge.

Tasting the Quinta do Crasto Honore and 2016 wines: