Looking for a Good Port

[markus]

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?

 

[Chasing Embers]

I'm a fan of Graham's 20 Year Old Tawny Port.

 

[philobeddoe]

Sandeman’s makes tasty port as well.

 

[troutface]

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]

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.

 

[jpmcwjr]

The two best ports I've been to are Sydney Harbor and San Francisco Bay. But any port in a storm will do.....

 

[warren]

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.

 

[randelli]

I like Warres Otima 10 year Tawney port.

 

[warren]

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.

 

[prairiedruid]

Having a glass of port with some LBF......simply heavenly!

 

[markus]

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]

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]

Cockburn's Ruby Porto is fantastic, and a great price at $9-12 a bottle. Their Tawny & Ruby Reserve--not so good.

 

[fnord]

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]

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

 

[warren]

You shared? That's not sharing booze. You're a better man than me.

 

[dmcmtk]

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.

 

[pipebuddy]

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

 

[deathmetal]

I wonder if the topping to Royal Yacht is indeed a tawny port because if so, obviously, I will douse myself in the stuff and set myself on fire.

 

[voorhees]

http://store.sansebastianwinery.com/index.php/wines/wine-port.html