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PORT STYLES

Port is made in many different styles, primarily divided into two categories: bottle aged and wood aged.

Bottle Aged Port

Vintage Port, the pinnacle of all ports, and Single Quinta Ports are known as "bottle aged" port. These wines are aged by the producer for a short time before release, then bottled without filtration.

Vintage Port

Vintage Port is the best of the best; the best wine of one superior "declared" year blended from various vineyard sources. Aged two years in cask before bottling, vintage Ports require 15-30 years of bottle aging to reach optimum maturity.

Declaring a vintage is a weighty decision for port producers, as the company’s reputation is largely determined by the quality and style of its vintage port (even though vintage declarations amount to only 1-3 per cent of the total production in any year). When a wine is declared worthy of a vintage designation, the wine must be outstanding and not merely good.

Single Quinta Port

Created from a single vineyard property, known as a quinta, Single Quinta Port is made much the same way as vintage Port, aged in wood for two years and bottled without filtration. It provides a vintage-style wine in years when no vintage has been officially declared. Single Quinta Vintage Ports are released 2-3 years after the vintage, and develop to full potential after 8-10 years in bottle. Single Quinta Ports are unique in that they convey both the terroir of the property and the character of a single vintage port (such as the weather conditions that year).

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Wood Aged Port

Wood aged ports come in a variety of styles, and are aged by the shipper for various amounts of time before release. All wood aged ports are filtered before bottling, thus they do not require decanting. Additionally, wood aged ports are aged before release, and are not intended for additional bottle aging.

Late Vintage

A classic after-dinner drink, Vintage Port is typically aged at least 20 years. Vintage Port is made entirely of wines harvested in a single year, from multiple vineyard properties. The vintage may or may not have been "declared" by the port house. While true vintage ports are aged in cask for two years, most quality vintage ports are aged four to six years in cask before bottling.

Tawny

Generally older and lighter than ruby, this tawny-colored wine is available in different varieties and ages.

Tawny port is made from very high quality ruby port wines, often wines that are set aside in undeclared years that might otherwise have ended up as Vintage Port. These wines are aged for many years in wooden casks, where they begin to take on a tawny color and a soft, silky character as the tannins soften. The terms 10, 20, 30 or 40 Years Old on the label are indications of the average age of the blend. Aged Tawny Port is intended to be consumed near the bottling date, which appears on the label, and may deteriorate if the wine spends too much time in bottle. They are clarified before bottling and need no decanting.

Ruby

Aged only three years, ruby port is deep red, with a rich, sweet flavor. Ruby ports are intense, powerful full-bodied wines that show the fresh characteristics of young port. Aged in large wooden vats for 2-3 years in the warmer climate of the Douro Valley, ruby port is less exposed to oak and air and hence retains the deep ruby color and strong, fruity characteristics of youth.

White

Made from white grapes, white port's flavor ranges from sweet to dry. It is usually served chilled, after dinner.

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