New to Port

[boozyswarez]

I would like to try a bottle of Port this Christmas and have seen offers in the supermarkets on Taylors Port.

What is the difference between First reserve & Select reserve and Late bottled Vintage.

Are there any other makers of Port, available in the supermarkets, I should look out for?

Thanks

[ajfeather]

What fun you will have. I am sure someone can give you a better answer than me on the subtleties you have queried

I would recommend getting a Taylors and Noval LBV and then comparing them, Taylors is on offer in some supermarkets right now and Noval might be too. Both are fun and accessible.

[g-man]

by law the LBV has to see 3 years in barrel if it has the labeling of such.

I believe the taylor lbv is typically 4? depending on vintage.

the Select reserve is really a ruby that sees the min 2 years of barrel before release.

I've never seen the first reserve

[RAYC]

If you really wanted to treat yourself, i would recommend the following:

- 1 bottle of Sainsbury's Taste The Difference Vintage Port 2003
- 1 bottle of Sainsbury's 10 year Tawny

That will give you a nice difference in styles (one wood-aged port, one bottle-aged port), and both of these wines are produced by the Symingtons (who own a number of big Port Houses / Brands such as Graham, Dow, Warre and Vesuvio). If it fits your budget, the Sainsbury's Taste the Difference 2003 really is fantastic.

The others i'd personally look out for at the supermarkets right now would be:

- Warre 2001 LBV at Waitrose
- Sandeman 2007 LBV at Waitrose
- Croft 2004 LBV half bottles at Tesco (if you can still find them!)
- Cruz 2002 LBV at Sainsbury's (great value when on sale for £8ish)
- Graham Crusted 2003 / 2004 at Tesco

I'm of the opinion that there's a reasonable jump in quality from the various "reserve" ports and LBV / Crusted that more than justifies the price. However, if you wanted a good "reserve" port, I'd look out for:

- Noval Black at Ocado
- Fonseca Terra Prima at Waitrose / Ocado
- I think Zelandkh also has good experiences with the Dow Master Blend that is often on offer at Tesco (though i have never tried)

If you go for one of the Taylor's ports you have seen, i'd recommend the LBV.

[Glenn E.]

To celebrate #PortDay last year, we held blind tastings of Ruby Reserve Ports in several locations around the world. Due to availability we couldn't offer exactly the same lineup at each event, but in every event where it was present the Taylor (Fladgate) First Estate won or tied for the win. As I recall that was 3 outright wins, 1 tie, and 2 events where it wasn't available. There were 6-12 Ports in the various lineups, and since the original goal was to compare Noval Black and Graham's Six Grapes those two were present in just about every tasting.

When the results were relayed to the Port industry they all thought we were crazy, but the tastings were all blind or double blind so the results are solid. It's a first-rate Ruby Reserve.

In the U.S. you can often get an LBV for only a couple of dollars more per bottle, though, so that's usually a better deal. Taylor's LBVs are quite good too, though. I believe the 2007 is their current release.

[Roy Hersh]

I'd suggest nearly any vintage of Smith Woodhouse LBV's. They age their LBV in wood for four years, (regardless of vintage nowadays) and then hold back once bottled, for an additional four years. So you are buying a LBV with eight years of age for the same price as all others that are 4-6 years old. Seek out the 1999 SW LBV or excellent 1995 if you can still find either. The 2000 is also good, but the other two are killer.

[RAYC]

I'd suggest nearly any vintage of Smith Woodhouse LBV's. They age their LBV in wood for four years, (regardless of vintage nowadays) and then hold back once bottled, for an additional four years. So you are buying a LBV with eight years of age for the same price as all others that are 4-6 years old. Seek out the 1999 SW LBV or excellent 1995 if you can still find either. The 2000 is also good, but the other two are killer.

If you see them in the supermarkets - agreed. But i think unlikely, unfortunately.