The Vintage Port Thread

Introduction of oxygen changes the chemical makeup of the port, essentially smoothing out the tannins and can really make the wine come alive. Decanting time varies based on the age and also year/house. As a general rule, port that is 20-40 years old should be decanted around 2-4 hours (I find that closer to 2 is usually good enough with some exceptions). Over 40 year old, closer to an hour should be enough. Again, these are generalizations. But yes, absolutely decant your vintage port unless it’s a newer bottle. I can’t really tell much of a difference with them. I also pour my port through cheesecloth when decanting to keep out the sediment. I want every last possible drop out of my bottles.

 

Yes. I usually plan ahead for enjoying a bottle. I’ll start decanting around mid-day, early afternoon and leave myself plenty of time to enjoy the bottle.

 

Going to try an ‘83 Graham’s for the first time.
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Getting ready to enjoy a ‘77 Warre’s on a cloudy, stormy day.

 

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The new crown jewel of my collection. A 1948 Graham’s Vintage Port. One of the few true benchmark vintages out there. Going to save this for a very special occasion.
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It’s been a while so I decided to try something new. This is probably one of the sweetest vintage ports I’ve had to date. The ‘70 Warre’s and ‘70 Dow’s were not as sweet.
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A little something for a rainy afternoon.
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It really depends on the year. But on the more recent pics above, roughly just under $200 a bottle. The '48 though is significantly more.

 

Answers seem to be all over the place on the internet though many articles don’t distinguish between vintage port and other ports which makes a difference.

Here’s a quote from an article on vintageportsite.com:

“Like all great wines, Vintage Port should ideally be enjoyed within a day or two of opening. Use of a Vacuvin™ wine stopper may extend its life a little further. Older wines, more than 40 years, tend to be more fragile and are likely to lose their freshness and complexity after a relatively short period of time, and should be enjoyed on the occasion of their opening.”

I always finish my vintage ports in the same sitting so I have no firsthand experience to share.

Scott

 

Got some bottles in the mail today. Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I really enjoy the ‘63 Croft. I think it’s very good value. It won’t have the complexity of a ‘63 Graham’s (one of my favorites) but you can definitely tell you’re drinking 50+ year old port.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login Got a very nice bottle for Christmas

 

Cracked open the ‘55 Taylor a few minutes ago. Letting it decant right now. Noticed some seepage from the cork and decided it was best to drink it now. We’ll see how it is soon enough.
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It’s still good.
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