Drink Vintage Port before you die! Why?
Firstly, it's the crème de la crème of Ports. Secondly, there's no better way to add some delicious sophistication to your postprandial chatter!
Vintage Port is the king of all ports. The numero uno. The big cheese. The one that makes wine aficionados froth at the mouth.
You see, Vintage Port is an exceptionally complex, intensely concentrated, full bodied, and sophisticated wine permeated with notes of plum, red fruits, dark berries, cocoa and spice. It is built to be enjoyably devoured for decades as it evolves, mellows, and transforms into a seamless liquid tapestry.
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| Three 1994 Vintage Ports all hailing from the legendary Symington Family Estates' stable | symington.com |
Vintage Port has built up a particular reputation for shining at the end of a meal. And, drinking a glass at this juncture in prandial proceedings is something everyone should do at least once in their life.
Oenophile James Suckling summed it up just right on the dust jacket of his book Vintage Port: “If there was a wine designed to end a meal with style, that wine is vintage Port. Arguably, nothing in the wine world offers the complexity and intensity of flavor capable of rounding out an evening of fine food and stimulating after-dinner conversation like a great vintage port.”
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| The book Vintage Port by James Suckling. Originally published in 1990 an new edition is long over due. But the original is still a great read and secondhand copies are a bargain on Amazon! |
Less than 1% of all Port made is Vintage Port but it’s the most talked about and the most desired.
It’s only made in the best vintages, from the best vineyards, from the best, most perfectly ripened grapes. A Port producer, commonly known as a Port shipper, will typically only make, or declare (to use the proper term), a vintage 2 or 3 times a decade.
Now, a producer—sorry, shipper—can’t just go and declare a vintage willy-nilly. No, no, no! A vintage can only be declared after the IVDP (that’s the port industry’s regulating authority, the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto) has tasted and approved samples submitted in the second year after the harvest.
If approved, the producer—um, shipper—must bottle the Port by the end of the third year after the harvest. The Vintage Port then stays in its bottle and does its thing ... slowly, very slowly.
The old rule of thumb was that at about 20 years after harvest a Vintage Port was just getting mature enough to drink. As such, a tradition developed amongst the British upper classes where a pipe of vintage port was laid down when a son was born (a pipe is what port producers call their wooden barrels and hold about 720 standard 750mL bottles). The Port remains fully reclined in bottle until the said son turned 21 and revelers do their best to make a decent dent in the stash.
Modern Vintage Port is now made so that it’s usually considered approachable at 10 years of age. However, this hasn’t come at the expense of longevity and can usually make 40 with ease. Seeing corks being pulled from bottles of Vintage Port at 40th birthday celebrations is becoming an increasingly common sight. But, you don’t have to stop there, apparently, the best can easily make 60 or 70 years.
To survive traveling this sort of distance and still come out shining at the other end, Vintage Ports are notably thick dark sturdy wines that are extraordinarily high in phenolics in their youth. As such, they are well known for leaving a substantial amount of sediment in the bottle as they age. So, it’s always wise to decant a Vintage Port and avoid a mouth full of chewy bits—especially if you're poured the last glass. But, always save these chewy bits and use the next time you’re making a casserole to add some extra flavor!
Top 5 Vintage Ports for your Bucket List
Here's the top five vintage ports to add to your Bucket List. They won't disappoint. Click on the link to find a bottle near you. Invite some friends around for dinner and tick another wine off your Bucket List. Bon appétit!