Vintages after 2000

Anything to do with Port.
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Spotter Brown
Cruz Ruby
Posts: 4
Joined: 09:02 Fri 07 Dec 2018

Vintages after 2000

Post by Spotter Brown »

Apologies if this is a silly question from someone with limited port knowledge but I read somewhere that the rules concerning the quality of spirit added changed in 2000. Does logic apply here and would the fan of port, those in it for long haul, be better to buy later vintages and wait? I always try a few young ports if I can, and I honestly thought the 2011 samples were amongst the best young ports I have ever tried (I allowed myself one bottle from each case I bought to lay down).
Andy Velebil
Quinta do Vesuvio 1994
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Joined: 22:16 Mon 25 Jun 2007
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Re: Vintages after 2000

Post by Andy Velebil »

No such thing as a silly question when it comes to Port. Not so much rules, the overall quality of the "brandy" used for top end Ports has gone up considerably over the years. The short version is back in the old days a producer had to buy it from the IVP (now called IVDP). As one can imagine when you got what the government agency sold you, may not have been the best. Forward to more modern times and producers were allowed to buy their own, so long as the gov't approved a sample of it. For the "upper end" brandy, that has led to a marked increase in the quality, and price, of it over the years. It is one of the reasons VP is a bit more approachable when young. Roughly speaking, that started to take place in early 2000's. Hope that helps a little.

And 2011's are fantastic. Try all you can get your hands on....and any other Ports for that matter :)
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