Recommend me a 1976 port?

[Fluoxetine]

Evening folks,

I'm a new addition to the forum, having only been a port drinker for around the past 5-6 years, and only of the supermarket bought variety, to my shame.

I'm keen to learn more with regard to fine vintage ports, and there seems to be many good resources here to facilitate this.

More pressingly, I'm keen to acquire a good 1976 port.

Why 1976? Well, silly as it sounds, it's the year I was born and therefore I have a 'significant' birthday approaching in just over a year - Perhaps there's some sentimentality kicking in, but rather than mark the occasion with bubbly, I'd rather prefer to do so with a nice port from the year of my birth.

Any tips or advice would be most welcome - Is what I need achievable for under £80-100 a bottle?

[DRT]

Hello and welcome to

You can find a list of tasting notes of 1976 vintage ports here on

1976 is particularly noted for the very dark colour of the Fonseca Guimaraens, which is extremely nice and has been known to outshine the classic 1977 Fonseca in blind tastings. The Taylor Vargellas 76 is also a great wine whilst the Graham Malvedos seems to have mixed reviews.

The problem you have is that these are now extremely rare.

Perhaps some kind person here will be able to help you find a bottle?

[jdaw1]

I'm a new addition to the forum, having only been a port drinker for around the past 5-6 years, and only of the supermarket bought variety, to my shame.

No shame — there’s good Port in supermarkets.

Must your ’76 be Port? It will be difficult to find.

[Glenn E.]

Another option, especially if you enjoy tawny Ports, is the 1976 Krohn Colheita. It can be a bit difficult to find especially now that Krohn has been purchased by Taylor, but it is well worth seeking out and should be easily within your budget. (It was recently on sale at Premier Cru in California for $60/bottle with a regular price of $99.)

[Fluoxetine]

Must your ’76 be Port? It will be difficult to find.

I had feared that may be the case - Not that I remember, but I believe '76 was a very dry and hot summer, which greatly affected yields.

I'd prefer it to be a vintage port, but Glenn E's suggestion of a '76 tawny may be somewhat easier to track down?

[Glenn E.]

Must your ’76 be Port? It will be difficult to find.

I had feared that may be the case - Not that I remember, but I believe '76 was a very dry and hot summer, which greatly affected yields.

I'd prefer it to be a vintage port, but Glenn E's suggestion of a '76 tawny may be somewhat easier to track down?

Winesearcher.com currently shows 2 VPs and 4 Colheitas available in the UK. The prices shown below are Winesearcher average prices, which are largely meaningless because no one ever buys from an "average" listing on winesearcher... you pretty much always buy from the lowest priced listing. But it is useful for your purposes as it determines which of the below might be in your price range.

Taylor Fladgate Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port, Portugal
Single Quinta Vintage $116

Caves Messias Quinta do Cachao Vintage Port, Portugal
Vintage Port $266

Kopke Colheita Port, Portugal
Colheita Port $114

Barros Colheita Port, Portugal
Colheita Port $77

Wiese & Krohn Colheita Port, Portugal
Colheita Port $88

Quinta do Noval Colheita Port, Portugal
Colheita Port $215

This listing from All About Wine in London seems perfectly reasonable to me for a 1976 Krohn, aside from their apparent lack of knowledge about Port.

[DRT]

I did the same search earlier today. When you follow the link for the Taylor there is no stock. The Messias is vastly over-priced and will not be worth the money.

In these circumstances I have to agree with Glenn that brown sticky stuff might be your best option. There are quite a few to choose from and there are tasting notes here that will allow you to make an informed choice.

[AW77]

There is also a 1976 Niepoort Colheita: http://www.niepoort-vinhos.com/de/ports ... .html#1976
It was bottled in 2004. You can get it for 75 Euros on the German market (shipping costs to the UK are quite low, so this should not be a problem).

[LGTrotter]

There seem to be a few Madeiras available from 1976. They are over budget but there are half bottles of Terrantez, lately bottled (always a good sign) at £110 plus VAT at Fareham wine cellars. If you haven't tried Madeira try the 10 to 15yo varietals first to see if you like them as it is a lot to spend on a bottle if you don't like it.

But if you must have port your best bet might be keeping an eye on the auctions, there is still a while between now and next year, it would almost certainly be cheaper, as undeclared years tend to go for less, with the exception of when anniversaries are coming up.

[Fluoxetine]

Many thanks for everyone's help thus far - Plenty of food for thought!

[Alex Bridgeman]

1976 vintage ports were made, but not in large quantities. The occasional bottle does come up for sale but is likely to rapidly increase in price over the next couple of years.

One option you might have is to come to an offline around your birthday in 2016. If you can make it to London you could put out a request for people to bring a bottle of 1976 port, if they have one.

[Fluoxetine]

A good idea - Annoyingly, I lived in London (NW6) from 2009 - 2013, prior to my move to Dublin where I stay now.

That said, I am in the UK often with work, so could perhaps attempt to tie in with a suitable offline.

I think I'll also go with the 1976 Niepoort Colheita that AW77 suggested, as a back-up plan.

Many thanks again.

[djewesbury]

You are the third Irish TPF member after myself and Justin K. We need to organise an evening.

[Fluoxetine]

You are the third Irish TPF member after myself and Justin K. We need to organise an evening.

Definitely sounds appealing - Although I probably need to educate my palate first, given my previous penchant for supermarket / off the shelf LBV's!

I thought I had secured a bottle of the 1976 Niepoort Colheita, but unfortunately the vendor had sold the last one he had just last week, and hadn't updated his website yet.

I've ordered a bottle of the 1976 Krohn Colheita, as Glenn suggested, so hopefully it's in stock.

Many thanks again.

[djewesbury]

You are the third Irish TPF member after myself and Justin K. We need to organise an evening.

Definitely sounds appealing - Although I probably need to educate my palate first, given my previous penchant for supermarket / off the shelf LBV's!

An excellent idea. That's what we're all trying to do. Please take a look at any of the reviews from one of our blind tastings, and examine the list of guesses. You will see that we also need to educate our palates.

[CPR 1]

you could try this:-

http://www.bidforwine.co.uk/auctions/show/85781

Others would be better placed to comment on Bid for Wine generally as I havn't used them myself

[DRT]

I have always found Bid For Wine to be ok, but you normally end up paying a pretty high price considering it is an auction site.

The same seller has 4 bottles of Warre 1970 for sale. If funds permit try to buy those at the same time and he will probably combine the postage cost.

Good luck!

[Fluoxetine]

Many thanks for pointing me in the direction of Bid For Wine - While I acquired that '76 Krohn Colheita last week, I'd definitely be tempted by a '76 VP.

I'll keep an eye on the price, and if it stays on the right side of sensible I may well have a bid...

[Andy Velebil]

Another option, especially if you enjoy tawny Ports, is the 1976 Krohn Colheita. It can be a bit difficult to find especially now that Krohn has been purchased by Taylor, but it is well worth seeking out and should be easily within your budget. (It was recently on sale at Premier Cru in California for $60/bottle with a regular price of $99.)

+1 a super good older Colheita

[Fluoxetine]

I have always found Bid For Wine to be ok, but you normally end up paying a pretty high price considering it is an auction site.

The same seller has 4 bottles of Warre 1970 for sale. If funds permit try to buy those at the same time and he will probably combine the postage cost.

Good luck!

Thanks again to CPR 1 for pointing out the auction - I was successful in my bid for the '76 Taylor's Quinta De Vargella, acquiring it for just over £50; I probably overpaid, given the mediocre reviews, but I'm happy to now have a proper 'birth year' VP to enjoy when the time comes.

[Alex Bridgeman]

'76 Vargellas is a decent port and £50 is a decent price. Just wait and see what retailers ask for this next year!