Affordable Ports!

My last posting covered some first class Ports I’ve had, however they range from $80 to $115. Vintage Ports can be too pricey for regular consumption, but there are plenty of more affordable options out there that still offer amazing quality.

Always a good bet are LBV (Late Bottled Vintage) Ports, especially those from the well known Port houses (Graham’s, Warre, and Dow's which are all owned by the Symington family; Taylor Fladgate; Croft etc.). They are aged longer in the barrel before bottling which causes them to mature faster, something like a Vintage Port without the wait (though they can improve with 2-5 years in the cellar).

Blends of several vintages can be good also, for example:

Graham’s ‘Six Grapes’ Port
This Port retails in Ontario (via Vintages at the LCBO – product code 208405) for $18.95, but has received glowing reviews from Tony Aspler (The Wine Guy) who gave it 4 out of 5 stars and Gordon Stimmell of the Toronto Star. My notes: dense black fruits, limestone, tea, a bit of spicy pepper, sweet with a warm finish. Great value!

Also Good but not seen often at the LCBO is:
Quinta de Ventozelo Reserva Port
I remember liking this one more than the Six Grapes when I tasted them back to back, but I seem to have misplaced the tasting notes. It had slightly better balance and depth. For $17.95 it’s a great value (For those of you in Ontario the LCBO No. is 729665).

Crusted Ports can also offer good value, the name refers to the sediment or ‘crust’ that develops from the bottle aging (making decanting desirable). Though sometimes seen with a vintage year or ‘bottled year’ they are typically blends of several years close to the year on the bottle. Dow’s 1999 and 2000 Crusted Ports are a nice examples.

If anyone has any other bargain Ports they’d like to mention please post a comment!