3-4 value ports for a nice beginner-oriented tasting

[terry87]

Hi all,

I'm getting married in a few weeks, and our venue has an excellent option for a tasting bar - BYOB. We have been talking about using it for a small port tasting, which we're excited about, though we're relatively new to the world of port. (We did several tastings when we were in Porto a year ago, so we know the basics, but little about practical value options.)

I'm hoping to get some help from the experts here.

We're thinking of having 3-4 different options for people to sample. Our thoughts now were to have one ruby, one tawny, and once nicer vintage port. We're looking to get bottles that are nice enough for everyone to enjoy but also accessible and reasonably affordable (nobody is a serious aficionado who will appreciate a superior bottle).

Based on some basic research, here's what we're thinking:

• Six Grapes (or a ruby in the $20/bottle range)
• Taylor Fladgate 10 year tawny (or a tawny in the $30/bottle range)
• Considering 2001 Taylor Fladgate Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port (or vintage in the $50/bottle range)

We've also been considering something like a LBV in the $30/bottle range and a 20+ year tawny for the $50/bottle.

Any comments or suggestions you have would definitely be appreciated.

Thanks!
-Terry

[DRT]

Hi Terry,

Congratulations!

I think the ports you have already selected would be ideal candidates for what you are trying to achieve.

One suggestion I would offer is that if you are trying to show the differences between the various styles of Port you might want to stick to one producer. One of the following line-ups might be worth consideration:

Option 1

• Taylor Fladgate LBV from whatever vintage is currently on the shelves where you live;
• Taylor Fladgate 10 yr Tawny;
• Taylor Fladgate Quinta de Vargellas 2001.

Option 2

• Graham Six Grapes;
• Graham LBV from whatever vintage is currently on the shelves where you live;
• Graham 10 yr Tawny;
• Graham Quinta dos Malvedos 2001.

Option 3 (from any producer)

• Ruby Reserve;
• LBV;
• Single Quinta Vintage Port;
• 10 yr Tawny;
• 20 yr Tawny.

Be sure to offer your guests appropriate glasses to taste from. Small white wine glasses would be fine if you cannot source proper Port tasting glasses.

Have fun!

Derek

[CaliforniaBrad]

Welcome Terry, and glad to see you're already on the right track towards becoming both knowledgable and hooked on this wonderful wine. Derek has already best me to most of what I would tell you, though if you're considering spending around $50 for a Vintage Port of some kind, you may be able to source one in the 20-30 year old range for that price, depending where you live. If you would like, you can provide your general location and I can do a bit of market research for you. While not necessary to begin a love of port with a VP with some age, it is one of the most understandable forms of aged fine wine there is IMHO. Your friends may become converts if the right bottle happens into your tasting.


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[Alex Bridgeman]

Terry

My only word of caution would be that I find the 2001 vintage ports to be a bit hard at the moment, in my opinion they still need another 3-5 years to be past that difficult point.

But as Brad has suggested, for $50 a bottle you might be able to find something either older or younger which would show better. The 1998 single quinta ports (like Malvedos or Vesuvio) are pretty good at the moment.

I do a fair number of beginner-oriented tastings and usually feature a line up of 5 bottles, 4 from the same producer:
Ruby Reserve - such as Warre's Warrior
Bottled aged LBV - Warre 2001 is on the shelves at the moment
Mature vintage - such as Warre 1991
10 year tawny - such as Warre's Otima

And then I throw in another 10 year tawny from a different producer to show variation in style, ideally one known to be a contrasting style.

[terry87]

Hi all,

Thanks for all your suggestions. Definitely a lot to think about here.

One of the simultaneously great and terrible things about weddings is that there are so many opportunities to splurge! You really have to pick and choose, and as the port tasting will only be a side attraction, we're trying to stick to our budget. It would be great to get a bunch of $50-80 bottles, but we really don't want to end up spending many hundreds of dollars. (We're looking at probably 3-4 bottles of each, assuming 1.5 oz. pours and not everyone tasting.)

Two main themes I've seen are that a 20-year tawny would be much better than a 10-year tawny and the 2001 vintage is probably a bit too young. Unfortunately I'm having trouble fitting both of those upgrades without blowing our budget.

We're in the Bay Area (USA-California). I've generally been checking Wine Searcher and am happy to purchase online, though I'm finding shipping can be as much as $25, which kind of defeats any online bargain for limited quantities.

Here's another practical option (showcasing one producer) in our budget that includes a 20-year tawny.
• Warre's Warrior ($20 @ BevMo)
• Warre's 2001 LBV ($30 @ shipped)
• Warre's 20-year tawny ($56 @ BevMo)

Or:
• Warre's Warrior ($20 @ BevMo)
• Smith Woodhouse 2001 LBV ($30 @ BevMo)
• Taylor Fladgate 20-year tawny ($56 @ BevMo)

I'm having trouble finding all of the $50 options for a vintage 1997 or before on Wine Searcher. I see a number of options in the $55-60 range, plus shipping, bringing it closer to $75… am I missing something? (I can't find a way to just search for 1997 vintages or 1994 vintages.) The 1998 single quinta may work, though there don't seem to be many.

Thanks for all the advice!

-Terry

[PhilW]

Based on some basic research, here's what we're thinking:

• Six Grapes (or a ruby in the $20/bottle range)
• Taylor Fladgate 10 year tawny (or a tawny in the $30/bottle range)
• Considering 2001 Taylor Fladgate Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port (or vintage in the $50/bottle range)

We've also been considering something like a LBV in the $30/bottle range and a 20+ year tawny for the $50/bottle.

Any comments or suggestions you have would definitely be appreciated.

Hi Terry; BYOB for the bar sounds like an excellent way to offer a port tasting at your wedding, great idea Some feedback on your proposed choices:

Ruby: Graham Six Grapes
- Good choice; Noval Black would be another similar option if you wanted to vary from Grahams due to others in the line-up.

Tawny: Taylor 10yr tawny
- ok, alternative Warre Otima; but if you can afford the extra do go 20yr instead, they are significantly better and very good value for money; I would pick the Graham 20yr tawny at around £30/bottle

LBV:
- You didn't choose one, but I would recommend the Warre 2001 LBV available from Waitrose at ~£22/bottle.

VP: Taylor Vargellas 2001
- I would not choose this, as it is not really old enough to be drinking well - at $50/bottle you should be able to do better; I would suggest Fonseca Guimeraens 1996 as this is fairly readily available from merchants at £25-30/bottle. If not easily obtained, Warre (Quinta da Cavadinha) 1996 is also available from Waitrose at ~£30/bottle.

Others above have suggested the option of using a single producer; personally I would favour variation to get the best of each class of port which you are including.

[PhilW]

Two main themes I've seen are that a 20-year tawny would be much better than a 10-year tawny and the 2001 vintage is probably a bit too young. Unfortunately I'm having trouble fitting both of those upgrades without blowing our budget.

We're in the Bay Area (USA-California). I've generally been checking Wine Searcher and am happy to purchase online, though I'm finding shipping can be as much as $25, which kind of defeats any online bargain for limited quantities.

Have just noticed that you're state-side; others will likely be able to advise better on availability; With a $100 budget then, I would suggest (dependent on availability):

1. Noval Black ($20)
2. Warre 2001 LBV ($30)
3. Graham 20yr Tawny ($55)

or

1. Graham Six Grapes ($20)
2. Warre Otima 10yr Tawny ($30)
3. Fonseca Guimeraens 1996 ($50)

and if prepared to push the budget a little then:

1. Noval Black ($20)
2. Graham 20yr Tawny ($55)
3. Fonseca Guimeraens 1996 ($50)

which I think would be ideal, but beyond the stated budget. If you're using wine-searcher to find VP, I suggest looking for '96 rather than '94/'97/'98 as I would expect it to be more commonly available (and hence probably cheaper, ideally somewhere you could collect instead of paying delivery).

[RAYC]

Vesuvio 96 seems still to be available very cheaply in both the UK and US market and is a very good port (in my opinion) that is nicely approachable now even if still slightly on the young side. Vargellas 2001 is not in a good drinking phase in my view, though your mileage may vary