Tasting and Discussion of PORT Wine Styles

Today's video is all things port. I'll cover everything that you need to know to fully understand what makes the wine so uniquely special. I'll include a tasting and discussion of wine styles that you'll commonly come across. This will help you to make more informed buying decisions when you're out shopping. Authentic port is produced in the Douro Valley of Portugal. It's a region north of Lisbon. It's a fortified wine made in a wide range of styles in accordance with tradition and regional guidelines. It also happens to be one of the world's most picturesque wine regions. Fortification is a key defining characteristic of port wine. Partway through fermentation, when the developing wine is between six and nine percent alcohol by volume, a neutral spirit with 77 percent alcohol is added to boost the wine's total alcohol level to around 20 percent. This halts fermentation, stabilizes the wine, and allows for the retention of sweetness from the unfermented grape sugars. The precise timing of fortification depends on the wine style and a specific port producer's preference. The authenticity of the wines is guaranteed through a regional administrative organization. Bottles will have a tag over the bottle neck or across the back label as proof. The organization also rates the region's vineyards on a scale of A through F, with the higher rated vineyards slated for the most premium wines. There are five key grape varieties used in the making of port, but nearly 30 are recommended and roughly 80 different grape varieties are permitted. Traditionally, field blends have been used. This is a mix of varieties planted together within a single vineyard. The blends will vary by each port house and for each specific wine. Port wine is split into three types, tawny, ruby, along with white and rosé. Tawny is aged in small barrels to enhance the oxidative process. This transforms the wine's color, aroma, and taste profile. Within tawny, there are a range of styles with one common trait. The wines are ready to be consumed when released for sale. Standard tawny is the introduction level. The wines are aged for two years. They'll be aromatic with a roasted nut and subtle red fruit character, along with the telltale oxidative note. Reserve tawny is typically aged six or seven years. It's more complex and layered versus the standard tawny. Then comes the more serious extended age tawny ports with an average age noted in 10-year intervals. The 10-year and 20-year versions are most common. The older offerings are increasingly rare and pricey. Older versions will show that heightened complexity and oxidative character. Then finally comes Collietta. This is a single vintage tawny port aged at least seven years, but many are aged years longer. These are among some of the very best ports that I've ever tasted. Ruby ports are aged in large vats. Unlike tawny ports with a pronounced oxidative character, this range highlights red and black fruit notes along with the deeper appearance. The wine styles vary. Some are non-vintage. Others are vintage dated with long aging potential. Standard ruby port is non-vintage. This is port at a base level. It's widely produced. The wines are very simple, bright, and fruity. Ruby Reserve. This is also non-vintage, but more serious, a bit more layered, and complex. Late Bottled Vintage. This is produced in non-declared vintage years. It's ready to be consumed on release, but it can also age for a few years. LBV is a treasure trove for value. Crusted port is not common. It's non-vintage port made from two to three vintages aged two to four years before release. Single Quinta comes from a single estate, which is noted on the label. The wines are aged two to three years in vat, then typically bottled unfiltered. Think of it as the little brother to vintage port, and it's priced accordingly. Single Quinta is made in very good vintages when vintage port is not declared. Then at the top tier, vintage port. This is from the best vintages, the best vineyard sites, essentially the best of the best. Vintage port is made about three times per decade. It's aged for about two years in large cask, then it's aged for an extended time in bottle, sometimes for decades. White and rosé is a small part of port's total wine production, although white port has become trendy in recent years. It's produced in both sweet and dry styles. Rosé port came on the scene about 20 years ago. It's made from red grapes with a short maceration time to extract just a bit of color. Both are consumed on their own. They've also established a niche with wine cocktails. It's time to taste some port. First up is the Taylor Fladgate Tawny Port. This is non-vintage, entry-level tawny. It's sold in many markets around the world. In the U.S., expect to pay around $14. It has a typical tawny color at the edge of the glass, with some faded red at the core. Oftentimes with tawny port, the bottles will be sealed with this, called a T-stopper or T-cork. You don't need a corkscrew to open this, and it makes it very easy to reseal the bottles. As for Taylor Tawny, this is at the base level. For me, this has long been the benchmark standard for this style of wine. The aroma is outstanding. There's a bit of a spice character, a little clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, dried apricot, very distinctive dried walnut characteristic here, more of a roasted walnut note. And there's just a bit of underlying red fruit, and you'll find this with younger tawny ports. As you get older bottlings, that fruit character, that red fruit character, will be tapped down a bit, but this definitely does have it. Good intensity, nice purity, smells very good. Good storage just carries through to the palate. Ripe, weighty, rich, full, nice density to it. Certainly sweet, but there's enough acidity to counter the sweetness so the wine doesn't come across as cloying. Excellent finish as well. Really smooth, nice length. Absolutely love it. If you're looking for an introductory level Tawny, you can't go wrong with this one. Next up is the Kirkland Signature 10-Year Tawny. This is an exclusive to Costco. It sells for $17.99. This one has a bit more of a faded appearance versus the standard Tawny. This wine was featured in one of my previous videos, but it merits attention here as well, so I'm bringing it back for a second go. Think of it as a bit of a bonus. 10-Year Tawny. Compared to the previous Tawny, this has more of that developed tertiary characteristic. It's had a longer time to go through that slow oxidative process, and you really do pick that up in the aroma. The aroma here is dried fruit, a bit of a roasted nut character, toffee, coffee. Good intensity, smells very good. Ripe, weighty, full, good density. Carries through to the back palate very well. Again, there's enough acidity here to counter the sweetness. While the sweetness is very evident, it's not cloying. I think the wine is put together really well from start to finish. If you happen to have a Costco nearby, this is definitely worth picking up. It's a seasonal item. It's only typically available in November and December, but it's very much worthwhile. Next up is the 2017 Grahams Late Bottled Vintage. This is available in many markets around the world. Expect to pay around $30. Deep dense core, purple-red color, with the slightest fade. Here's another example. In this case, a non-Tawny port that uses the tea cork or tea stopper. Late Bottled Vintage, LBV. For me, this has long been the best value within the entire port range. As for Grahams, their house style leans a bit to the sweeter side. The aroma is completely different than Tawny. This has more of that red fruit and dark fruit character. Blackberry, currant. There's a fig aroma here. Coffee characteristic shows through, but much more of that deep, dense, dark fruit character. All of that carries through to the palate. Very full, weighty, rich, ripe, nice density to it. Very good length on the back palate, but there's a bit of tannins, a little bit of grippy tannins there. This is very typical of what you'll find with Late Bottled Vintage. The wines certainly do benefit from some aeration. This is an absolute stunner, and in terms of value for the money, this is just a spot-on winner. I absolutely love this wine. Next is a 1995 Smith Woodhouse Maddalena Single Quinta Port. It's difficult to put a price on this one. Estimated value of around $100. With old bottles of wine, the cork can be fragile. I use a special cork extractor called a Currand. If you're interested, check the description for the link. Even at 30 years old, the color density remains very good. This wine is from my own personal cellar. I've had it for about 25 years. I started out with six bottles. I think there's one left after this one, and it's fun to watch the wines develop over a long period of time. As for Single Quinta Port, this is something that has really taken hold in recent years. In my opinion, Smith Woodhouse Maddalena is absolutely one of the best. In terms of the 1995 vintage, it's a very good vintage, but it's overshadowed by 1994, which was one of the best in several decades. As for the aroma, this wine has much more of that tertiary character. No surprise, we're looking at a bottle with 30 years age to it. It does have some red fruit character, but it's more of that coffee fig. There's a dried orange wine character here, also some spiciness. You do get a bit of that clove and cinnamon nutmeg. Smells very good. There's a lot going on in this glass. On the palate, very weighty, ripe, full. Again, that tertiary characteristic is very much there. There's a bit of red fruit, but that's much more of an underlying characteristic. What is more evident is that spice component. Excellent length on the back palate, and at 30 years old, this wine is still holding together very well. You can look at a number of reference sources, and oftentimes they'll say that Single Quinta Ports maybe hold for 15 or 20 years. If you can choose the right one, it'll get much more mileage. This one is absolutely superb, and I'm glad that I still have one bottle left. On the right occasion, nothing beats a glass of Port. As for me, I'll be enjoying the 1995. If you have any questions or comments, please post them down below. I do my very best to follow up on each and every one. Here's a couple of recent videos. One is I take you wine shopping for four bottles of wine for $100, and the other is a look at Pinot Noir from top end down to the bargain price. Please stop back again for too long.