Holiday Gifting Guide 2023: The Best Vintage Ports
The crown jewel of Port production: VINTAGE Port. In only the best years a wine so good is made that it can defy the test of time. When a Port Vintage is declared. It remains in wood vats for only about two years, and then goes directly into the bottle to age as a time capsule for as long as you are patient. The very best of Vintage Ports can age anywhere from 30-100 years in bottle, developing every so slowly and perfectly. The power and longevity of these rare bottlings make them sought after by collectors and drinkers, and Vintage Port only makes up about 2% of the the total production. These wines take patience, but mark the great celebrations of our lives to accompany great meals with the ones we love. Here are my picks for the best Vintage Ports to give as gifts in 2023:
Courtesy of Real Companhia Velha
Real Companhia Velha was founded on the 10th of September 1756 by Royal Charter of King D. José I, under the auspices of his Prime Minister, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, the Count of Oeiras and Marquis of Pombal and since then have been faithful to its old traditions by offering the finest Ports.
The Company owns some of the Douro’s finest Quintas, located in the very best areas of the Region. White Ports originate from Quinta do Casal da Granja where the fresh climate is perfect for the production of white grapes. Red Ports are produced from parcels planted at Quinta das Carvalhas, Aciprestes and Síbio. The Old Vines located at Quinta das Carvalhas are the origin of our Premium Ports such as Vintages and Colheitas.
The Real Companhia Velha Vintage Ports are produced from selected parcels located at our 3 Class A estates: Quinta das Carvalhas, Quinta dos Aciprestes and Quinta do Síbio. The centennary old vines of Quinta das Carvalhas are the spine of this great Port, with more than 30 grape varietals in one single parcel - a technique used by our ancestors as a method of spreading production risks - offering immense complexity and originality. From Quinta do Síbio and Quinta dos Aciprestes we look towards the strong character of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca.
Courtesy of Niepoort
2015 was as perfect as it gets, particularly for Port – a year where they had time to think and make the right decisions, with the weather helping enormously. Picked at the perfect time, 40% originating from the Pisca vineyard and 60% from different small parcels, all over 80 years old, the Ports were foot-trodden and made in lagares in Vale de Mendiz, with 100% of the stems.
This resulted in incredible Ports with an unusual dimension, impressive structure with fine and intense tannins, great concentration but always accompanied by balance and harmony. All the elements seem to have fallen into place to ensure that this Vintage will outlive the 1955, 1970 perhaps even the 1945 Ports (but after vastly different harvest conditions)…
The sweetness is masked by the wonderfully robust tannins, the alcohol by the generous concentration, with the fantastic natural acidity of 2015 providing an overall balance.
The nose is shy but focused, no overripe prune-like characteristics, just a gentle and elegant expression of fruit and complexity – it is a joy just to smell all the hidden elements.
The balance and harmony in the bottle promise a great future: these are bottles to taste in the coming years in order to smile at its youth, to drink properly in 20 years and to enjoy fully in 40 years. A Vintage which is actually destined for the next generations so they can admire the beauty that the Douro is able to deliver.
"THE BEST VINTAGE PORT OF THIS CENTURY." -Dirk Niepoort
Courtesy of Kopke
A journey in 1636 between Hamburg and Portugal is the beginning of a long story: Nicolau Kopkë settles in Portugal as Consul General of the Hanseatic League. Two years later, in 1638, the first bottles of wine are shipped to the North of Europe.
The purchase of a farm in the Douro, in 1781, marks the transition from a wine buying company to a major producer. Port Wine gradually become the focus of the company and soon represents its main business. Nicolau Kopkë & Co. is an example for innovation, producing and shipping its wines within the same company.
This 2019 Vintage produced from the vines of Quinta de São Luiz is the reflection of both Kopke’s style of Port and the exceptional terroir of the Quinta. It is the result of a winemaking year marked by contrasts: an extremely dry and cold winter and the hottest months of August and September of the last decade. Despite the high temperatures of the summer, the leaves protected the berries from sunburn and the vines were able to extract the much needed water and nutrients from the soil. By the time the harvest started the grapes were in great health and perfectly ripe.
The wine should be stored in a fresh, dry and dark place, without temperature variations, and the bottle must remain in a horizontal position. This wine can be kept in bottle fur an indefinite period, without any damage to the quality of its proprieties and character. Once opened, it should be decanted and consumed within 1 to 2 days. The periods here suggested are merely for guidance, not implying the deterioration of the wine but only a slow evolution that can lead to the loss of its original censorial characteristics. Serve at a temperature between 16 and 18 °C.
Courtesy of Sandeman's
It all started in 1790…
…when the 25-year-old son of a Scottish prosperous cabinetmaker asked for a 300£ loan from his father to set up as a wine merchant in London. This ambitious young man was George Sandeman, the founder of Sandeman, who ended up establishing one of the world’s leading Port and Sherry wine businesses.
From early on Sandeman specialised in these two great Iberian fortified wines and, following a usual practice in those days, began trading not from own offices but from Tom’s Coffee house, on Birchin Lane, London. Business was agreed on a ‘gentleman’s word’ and George soon gained an impeccable reputation, characteristic of The House of Sandeman to today.
Selected for its classic and exceptional characteristics, Sandeman Porto Vintage 2018 is a single-year wine that will age in the bottle for 30 or 40 years. Sandeman Porto Vintage 2018 is an example of Sandeman's commitment to the production of quality wines.
Winemaker notes: Deep color, almost opaque. Aroma of excellent complexity, with spicy notes, together with curry, pepper, ginger, red berries and black fruits. The wine has a light cacao touch with a slightly stony finish, the result of good maturation. On the palate it is intense and complex with lively acidity, firm and well present tannins with an extremely long finish and great concentration.
Courtesy of Graham's
Founded in 1820 by William and John Graham in Portugal’s Douro Valley, for two centuries Graham’s has cultivated its reputation as one of the greatest names in Port. The quality of Graham’s Port relies on the finest grapes, primarily sourced from five iconic quintas in the Douro Valley: Quinta dos Malvedos, Quinta do Tua, Quinta das Lages and two others, Quinta da Vila Velha and Quinta do Vale de Malhadas, which are privately owned by members of the Symington family.
Graham’s is proud to mark the 70th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne with this commemorative limited bottling of Graham’s 1952 Single Harvest Tawny. This same wine was bottled in 2012 to celebrate the Queen’s 60th year on the throne. Since then, this extraordinary wine has aged for an additional decade in seasoned oak casks giving the wine a highly unique character and a magnificent rich maturity.
Produced in the year Her Majesty became Queen, this Port has gently aged in our Graham’s Port Lodge for seven decades, quietly bearing witness to her Majesty’s inspirational and enduring reign. Three generations of the Symington family winemakers and tasters have followed the wine’s progress on its long journey
