Looking for a Good Port

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markus

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 18, 2014
770
488
Bloomfield, IN
Let me start by saying that I'm not normally a wine drinker... but I was recently smoking my pipe at a friends house and he convinced me to try a port that he was drinking. It was Dow's Fine Ruby Porto and it actually went really well with the DFK blend that I was smoking at the time, very tasty, so now I'm looking for other good port wines, but I have no idea which are good, or bad, or in between and I hate to go by price alone. Can anyone recommend a good port here in the USA?

 

troutface

Lifer
Oct 26, 2012
2,328
11,362
Colorado
I'm a tawny man myself, so no help with ruby or vintage ports. I think Whiskers Blake out of Australia is a very nice tawny for not a lot of money ($15). The 20 or 30 year old tawnys from Graham's or Fonseca are very nice but will set you back about $60.

 

dmcmtk

Lifer
Aug 23, 2013
3,672
1,685
Graham's Six Grapes is always excellent, and the best deals, quality to price, IMHO, are the LBV (Late Bottled Vintage) Ports from the major Port houses.
:)

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,699
16,207
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
I find the Grahams 20 to be tastier than the 30 year old. Both, for their quality are very under priced. Either of them out performs a lot of more expensive ports. At least that's what my taste buds inform me.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,699
16,207
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
Suggestion: Find a "up scale" liquor store with an "honest to God" sommelier. Let him give you a wee tour with answers to your questions. Since you've found one you obviously like, it'll be easy to steer you to others in a range of prices.
I drink port in the late evening three or four times a week. It is great with a bowl or two. In my opinion, port is like many things. There are good lower priced ones but, when you get into the more expensive you enter an entirely different world of wine. Wine is like beef. There's store bought and then there is grass fed, corn finished, dry aged beef at twice the price and ten times the flavor and texture.
You owe it to yourself to try a couple of the upper end blends of port just to appreciate the differences. Then you can treat yourself on special occasions.

 
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markus

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 18, 2014
770
488
Bloomfield, IN
Thanks everyone for the all of the input, I will give it some careful consideration and try pick up a couple of different brands to try later this week.
Warren there is a big liquor store in town, not sure if they have sommelier on staff, but I do know that they have a huge wine section.

Thanks for all of your advice, you were the person that I had in mind when I posted this thread and was hoping to get some input from you.

I remembered reading a few of your posts where you had mentioned drinking port.

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
I got into Port Wine a while ago and found that my favorites were a Taylor and Grahams 20 Year Old Tawney. I tried a bunch of vintage ports but found them to inconsistent especially for the money.

 

cerfer

Might Stick Around
May 8, 2017
64
0
Cockburn's Ruby Porto is fantastic, and a great price at $9-12 a bottle. Their Tawny & Ruby Reserve--not so good.

 

fnord

Lifer
Dec 28, 2011
2,746
8
Topeka, KS
I've never had a bad glass of port and all the major labels have been named. The Australian ports, like most of their wines, are great values for the money spent and there's even a small Missouri winery, Norton, that makes a knockout ruby port.
Warren's right though. Ask for the most experienced wine person at your local store and start the interrogation. Much like tobacco the journey will be the reward.
Fnord

 

blendtobac

Lifer
Oct 16, 2009
1,237
213
My go-to is Warre's LBV, although I can't have port very often anymore. The best I ever had was a bottle of Taylor Fladgate from 1964 which was given to me on my 50th birthday. It was popped open at the reception for daughter #2's wedding.
Russ

 
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dmcmtk

Lifer
Aug 23, 2013
3,672
1,685
You've got me beat Russ, the oldest Vintage Port I've had is 1970. The '77's were pretty good also. I know there's quite a few cases of the '94's in the "Family Cellar". :wink:
Unfortunately, for medical reasons (drug interactions) I don't drink alcohol any more. The wine opened at the family Christmas dinner was 1984 Heitz Bella Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon. Just the nose was impressive, the 33 year old wine smelled incredibly frsh, rich, and full. The first of three great California vintages 1984-87. I cooked professionally for 20 years, and created quite a few wine lists back in the day!
Just checked the shelf of half a dozen wines I still have, a bottle of Noval Fine Ruby, and Warre's Warrior that are both at least seven years old. A couple of bottles of '82 and '90 Bordeaux. I gave away the rest to a Chef friend of mine.
:)

 
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pipebuddy

Guest
Have you tried white port? It is surprisingly good, and less sweet than the red.

 
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