Port Styles

Question 1

Basic Ruby

Answer 1

Winemaking: protective - retain primary fruit (SS/concrete)
Maturation: max 3y in large SS/concrete/old wood (10k - 100kL)
Filtered
Can be pasteurised to stabilise (can give cooked flavours)
Blending: diff. vintage for consistency

Style:
deep ruby
med. body
med. tannin
red+black fruit, simple fruit + hot alco. sensation (due to ageing + cheap spirit)
early drinking
Quality: acceptable to good
Price: inexpensive to mid-priced (short ageing + cheap spirit)

Question 2

Basic Tawny (Name from extensive ageing in wood during which wine loses its colour and changes into amber or tawny)

Answer 2

Winemaking: light extraction during fermentation, early drained to avoid too much colour extraction (rest is more concentrated and can be used to add colour/flavour to ruby port)
Can also be adjusted with % of white port = pale pink colour
Can be also made from not as ripe fruit from Baixo Corgo which don’t have much intensity and colour (Anthocyanins increase during the ripening stage, and increase most rapidly with plentiful sunlight and temperatures between approximately 15°C (59°F) and 25°C (77°F).
Maturation: similarly to ruby (around 3y)
Style:
pale brown colour similar to aged Tawny
Lack freshness and primary fruit of young port

Question 3

Reserve Ruby and Reserve Tawny

Answer 3

higher quality than basics
Ruby: more colour, character, no min. Ageing period
Reserve Tawny min. 6y ageing in wood
Style: concentrated
Quality: higher
Price: higher
need to be tasted and approved by IVDP panel

Question 4

Tawny with an Indication of Age

Answer 4

• Cask Size:
  • Typically old 620–640L casks → allow steady oxygen exposure.
• Age Categories:
  • 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years.
  • Age is not a minimum but an approximate average.
  • Wines are blends of multiple vintages, including some younger and older than the stated age.
• Maturation Process:
  • Casks are racked and topped regularly.
  • Slow evaporation leads to natural clarification and stabilisation.
  • Wines are typically not filtered before bottling.
• Style:
  • Tawny colour from extended wood ageing.
  • Colour fades with age; changes include softened tannins, integrated alcohol, and transformation from primary to tertiary aromas (e.g. coffee, caramel, walnut) due to oxidation.
  • No new oak used, so no new oak aromas present.
• Quality:
  • Requires high-quality raw material.
• Price:
  • Expensive due to long ageing time, labour-intensive processes (racking, topping, blending), and raw material quality.
• Regulations & Approval:
  • Must be tasted and approved by IVDP panel.
• Market Trends:
  • Popularity is increasing → stocks decreasing → prices rising.
  • Growth in very old and non–age-indicated Tawny categories (e.g. Taylor’s Scion – over 150 years old; Graham’s Ne Oublie – dates from 1882).
• Labelling Requirements:
  • Must also state the bottling date (as Tawnies do not improve in bottle).

Question 5

Colheita (port. harvest or crop)

Answer 5

Tawny from single vintage
aged in small, old min 550L barrels for min 7y most longer

• before bottling - topped up with other wines/spirits to avoid ullage
• label states vintage + bottling year
• permissible to bottle part in 1 yearif it’s 7yo+ and then bottle other portions in next years (dep. on demand)

Style: don’t improve with time

Price - not as exp. as Vintage, some shippers have small stock for super premium prices

Question 6

5b - garrafeira „private cellar” or „reserve”

Answer 6

• start like colheita
• between 3rd and 6th year in barrel - into glass demijohns (5-10L) where they stay for min 7 years
• Then decanted off sediment and into 750ml
• Effect: huge elegance, depth, silky texture.

On label: dates of harvest, bottling into DJ and decanting into 75cl.

Example: Niepoort

Question 7

Vintage

Answer 7

Vintage Port (VP)

• Single vintage (“declared”)
  – Declared 2nd year after harvest if grape + young wine quality high
  – Approved by IVDP tasting panel
• If not declared → used for Single Quinta Port, LBV, Crusted, or Tawny Port
• Declaration patterns
  – Most producers: e.g. 2011, 2016
  – Select producers: e.g. 2015
  – Market-driven: declared 3–4x/10y to avoid impacting previous vintage sales
• Grapes
  – From best vineyards
  – Key: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca → colour, tannin, flavour → age-worthy
  – Super-premium: old vine plots (e.g. Noval Nacional)
• Ageing
  – Max 3y in wood (usually 18–20m)
  – Oxygen exposure → colour stability (anthocyanin–tannin bonding)
• Bottling
  – Unfined, unfiltered → heavy sediment forms in bottle

Style

• Young: Deep colour, full body, high tannin, ripe black fruit, floral
• Aged: Dried fruit, forest floor, integrated tannin + alcohol

Quality & Price

• Quality: Very good – outstanding
• Price: Premium – super-premium
• Profitability: High (short cask ageing, long bottle ageing)

Question 8

Single Quinta

Answer 8

• when no vintage declared (eg. weather = not good quality fruit) * 1 vintage, from 1 estate (quinta) - stated on label

e.g. Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas and Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos
* Many producers keep and sell only when RTD 8-10y after harvest

Question 9

Crusted

Answer 9

More than 1 vintage
Aim: appeal to vintage port enthusiasts
** old casks up to 2y**
bottled thout fining/filtration = deposit “crust” in bottle
bottling date must appear on label
can be released at any time after bottling
** “botttle matured” ** on label - released min 3years of bottle age

Style: similar to Vintage Port, good ageing potential
Quality: good - v.good
Price: mid-priced - premium

Question 10

LBV

Answer 10

Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port

• Single vintage, bottled 4–6 years after harvest (vs. 2–3 years for VP)
• Made from lower-quality grapes than VP
• Longer bulk maturation = LBV is ready to drink, no need for bottle ageing
• Matured in bulk (large wood or stainless steel) to minimise oxidation
• Most are filtered, fined, cold stabilised before bottling → no decanting needed
• Quality: Good to very good
• Price: Mid-priced
• Style: More intensity, body, and tannin than Ruby or Ruby Reserve

Unfiltered LBV (Traditional Style)

• Not filtered before bottling → fuller-bodied, may benefit from bottle ageing, may throw sediment
• Aged 4–5 years in old casks + additional years in bottle before release
• Label usually says “unfiltered”
• Must spend min. 3 years in bottle before release = “bottle matured”
• Quality: Very good
• Style: Similar to young Vintage Port
• Price: Mid-priced

Question 11

ROSÉ PORT

Answer 11

or pink port
* invented by Croft in late 90s, initially classed „light ruby”
* from cool, h. alt. sites or B. Corgi
* few hour of maceration to extract little colour
* free run juice drained, clarified, typically blended with clarified juice from lightest press

ferment:
* 15–16°C - retain red berry fruit aromas
* aguardente - neutral, HQ to minimise sensation of alc. on * palate = due to less intens. flavour, lower tannin than reds

bottled soon after fortification, released within a year

Price: inexpensive - mid-priced
Style: depending on producer (pale pink-orange to deep pink)

Question 12

WHITE PORT

Answer 12

White Port

• Styles: Range of sweetness (dry to sweet), reductive to oxidative
• Grapes: Often from mixed vineyards but separated from black varieties; some vineyards plant only whites for easier harvest
• Labelling:
  • Same as Tawny (e.g. Reserve, age-indicated)
  • Reserve = min. 7 years in wood
  • Age indications (10, 20, 30, 40 years) = must pass IVDP tasting
  • Colheita = single vintage, estate-grown, min. 7 years in oak

Moscatel

• Varietal, sweet, Muscat aromas
• Speciality of the village of Favaios

Styles of White Port

Fruity, Unoxidised (e.g. Moscatel-based)

• Arrival: Crushed + SO₂ added
• Maceration: Few hours at low temps to avoid oxidation
• Fermentation: 17–18 °C → preserve fruity/floral aromatics
• Storage: Stainless steel or very large old oak for short time
• Profile: Lemon colour, medium body, stone fruits, floral

Oxidative (e.g. Malvasia-based)

• Maceration: Longer → extracts some phenolics for ageing support
• Fermentation: 20–22 °C
• Ageing: Few years in small old casks
• Profile: Amber to brown, caramel, citrus peel, dried fruits, nuts

Intermediate

• Limited oak exposure = slight oxidation
• Profile: Fresh fruit + slight nuttiness

Other Terms

• “Lágrima”: Intensely sweet style, mainly local market
• “Leve Seco”: Light dry style, 16.5–17% abv

Question 13

VERY OLD WINES

Answer 13

since 2022
new category
White and Tawny Ports: 50yo
“Very Very Old” or “VVO” or “W” for aged over 80y