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This question by Rubby

Rubby wrote:Ronnie,
Do you have any pointers for me, where I could find descent Port at a reasonable price? I've already found some places, but it's never enough. Never enough.

And which UK seller do you have good experiences with, shipment wise?

in this thread gave me the idea that it would be a good idea to start a new thread where we can all list our recommendations for retailers / online shops etc. for buying port. Here are some of my sources.

In / around Utrecht:
Van Dongen, Nachtegaalstraat - This was my local wine store, and I loved going in there for a talk and buying some nice gems now and then. Enthusiastic about Douro wines and selling almost the complete Crasto line-up, both wine and port. Furthermore a lot of Kopke, and a good selection of Vintage Ports going back to the '80's. Not cheap, but sometimes good deals.

Henri Bloem, Adriaan van Ostadestraat - The regular port selection here is insanely expensive, except for the Niepoort LBV's that are worth buying. But do try to get on their mailing list, because the their Vintage Port futures offers are generally very good.

Van Wageningen & de Lange, Oudegracht (a/d werf) - Imports Churchill and has a good range of older ports. I'm not quite fond of his service though.

Op de Terp, Groenekan - A strange and messy shop, but the cellar is great, and if you're lucky you'll find some good buys here (although the best ones are probably already taken --- by me ---). Good selection of Vesuvios, but no 1994.

Le Bouchon, Bunnik - Nice little store, with an amazing cellar. Very good selection of (also older) vintage ports and also very much worthwhile if you're into German wines. A big shame he didn't want to sell his magnum of Charme 2005...

De Bussumsche Wijnkoopery, Bussum (near the train station) - This shop also runs a website (bestofwines.nl) but it seems not everything they have in the shop is on the site. You'll have a lovely time browsing the ports in the messy lay-out, and you'll find some rare gems here.

Sligro, Industrial complex Nieuwegein Buy your Pocas ports here. Very cheap and usually very good value. They might also still have some Fonseca and/or Taylor 2000 for about 50 euro.

De Witte Os, Zeist - Member of the Gastrovino group and thus selling Quinta do Noval. Portwise no bargains (as everything is fixed in the 'chain'price, but your chance of buying Noval in the neigbourhood. Some real gems in the wine section though, varying from old Bordeax to special Portuguese dry wines.

That's all around Utrecht I guess (there is also "De Traverse" in Utrecht Central Station, but I never dared to buy anything other than LBV there, with all those shaking bottles in the heat...) I'll add some more addresses outside of Utrecht, and of webshops later.

Maybe the British can add some good addresses in the UK. I'd be most interested as well.

Edited to add De Witte Os

As this may well become an importat reference thread, jdaw1 has fixed the spelling in the title.

Good webstores for buying port in the Netherlands:

www.hansjorissen.nl - After the death of Hans Jorissen, his wife Karen has continued the business. A mouthwatering collection. Don't expect bargains, but the prices are fair compared to the world market.

[url=hhtp://www.vintage.nu]www.vintage.nu[/url] - The website of a shop in The Hague that also supplies the Lemongrass Restaurant (well known for its extensive wine list with very, very fair prices). The collection of port is limited, but you'll be tempted to add some Bordeaux to your order.

www.winenose.nl - A web-only seller, with a good collection. Fair pricing. But somehow I never placed an order, so I can't comment on service.

www.bestofwines.nl - The webshop of the Bussumsche Wijnkoopery. If you look for something that isn't listed, it might be worth sending them an e-mail as I know the selection in the shop is more extensive.

www.antique-wines.net - The website of 'Het Nederlands Wijnantiquariaat' in Amsterdam. Some very special ports on the list, but you'll have to haggle about the price, because the ones on the list are apparently "only an indication" (and a pretty steep one IMO).

And as an aside, if you're looking for prices on wines, a Dutch guy developed www.freewinesearcher.com, a site that has more or less the same functionality as wine-searcher, without having to pay to see all results. Very useful.

Westchester County, NY
Suburban Wines & Liquors - and in particular, regulars should sign up for their frequent shopper card to get an extra discount. They store properly and sometimes have good (but not great) sales.

Dodd's Liquor City - Reasonable prices, had a big selection (til i bought it all) but I am not 100% confident about their storage.

Westchester Wine Warehouse - Typical discount liquor shop, sometimes has good port at good prices.

Some addresses outside of Utrecht (mainly Amsterdam):

Ton Overmars, Hoofdorpplein Amsterdam - Extensive collection going back to the '80's, good pricing (often the cheapest you'll find in regular retail), except for Fonseca, which is unusually expensive. Good offers on futures as well.

Cave Rokin, Rokin Amsterdam - Cosy little shop in Amsterdam city centre, packed with wine from all over the world, so you'll likely find some nice surprises here. Fairly good selection of ports, but don't expect real bargains.

Wijnhandel Quinta, Nieuwe Leliestraat Amsterdam - On one of the canals, you'll find this Portugal specialist. Look, laugh and don't buy. Although there are some nice wines from lesser known producers in stock, the pricing is ridiculous and the ports are stored badly. Some very old VP's (I believe there used to be a 1945 on the shelves) standing upright, in warm temperatures. You can literelly see the colour of the port change from the top to the bottom of the bottle.

De Wijnschuur, Amsteldijk-Zuid Nes a/d Amstel - Not a port specialist per se, but has a nice selection. And it is certainly worthwhile to make the detour to Nes, if only for the beautiful location on the Amstel river. But also because this store is very well stocked with wines that you will not find everywhere. The selection of Grand Cru Bordeaux is to die for.

De Wijnoogst, Vlaardingen - The shop is nothing special, but the selection of Vintage Ports is good.

Wines & Whiskies, Voldersgracht Delft - A nice little shop, where it's easy to stumble over the wines, as they are scattered everywhere throughout the shop. It's rather packed. You'll find the ports of the Douro Boys here (Pintas, Vale Meao, Vale d. Maria), amongst others. The owner has two passions: Port and (you guessed it) Whisky.

Le Bouchon, Den Haag - Doesn't have any ties with the store of the same name in Bunnik (as far as I know), and I don't recall the address, but google will do the trick. The selection of older Vintage Ports in the cellar is quite impressive, but you'll have a hard time finding out exactly what's there. The owner can be a bit reluctant when it comes to selling his beloved bottles. Oh well, part of the charme I guess. Prices are sometimes very steep, and sometimes reasonable. He does stock some very rare bottles, so it's definitely worth checking out.

Some UK merchants where I bought:

Berry Bros. & Rudd - Does BBR really need an introduction? Probably the most well-known and trusted of UK wine merchants. You can't go wrong if you buy here. Prices to match though.

Lea & Sandeman - Ordered once here. I was very pleased with the service (I ordered over the internet and arranged a pick up in one of the shops). The bottle turned out to be disappointing but that can happen with every bottle of old port.

Seckford Wines - This is the only British merchant from whom I ordered bottles and let them ship to the Netherlands. I was very happy with the immaculate service. Shipping from the UK to Holland is apparently difficult due to regulations, but we managed to work things out nicely. Highly recommended.

I'm sure that the British posters can add some good addresses. I would personally find it very helpful to know of some good auction houses as well.

RonnieRoots wrote:Some UK merchants where I bought:

Berry Bros. & Rudd - Does BBR really need an introduction? Probably the most well-known and trusted of UK wine merchants. You can't go wrong if you buy here. Prices to match though.

Of course, with Berry Bros., half the fun is going to their shop in St. James’, which dates back to the 18th Century and is built over a huge cellar complex. It seems a bit of a shame to buy on the internet if you have the remotest chance of getting to London!

Justerini & Brooks is one of the great names but Port is not their specialty. They no longer have stores so it is mail-order only. Expensive. Excellent service if you ring them with knowledgeable advisors. Will probably have a lot more in stock than the site suggests.


Corney & Barrow is another one in the same vein as J&B but they do Port, previously doing their own bottling. They send out a lovely catalogue if you ask for it. Known to have deep, dark cellars with stuff in them, not known how much or exactly what stuff, but stuff nonetheless. Class act.

S.H.Jones Actually has shops: one in Banbury and the other in Leamington (or "Royal Leamington Spa" as it likes to call itself). Limited on Port but has some odd bargains. Worth checking out if you are in the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire area.

KillerB wrote:S.H.Jones Actually has shops: one in Banbury and the other in Leamington (or "Royal Leamington Spa" as it likes to call itself). Limited on Port but has some odd bargains. Worth checking out if you are in the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire area.

For "Limited on Port..." read they have none according to their website!

Some other vendors of port, some having been mentioned in the thread Port for sale by retailer:

• UK:
  • Wilkinson Vintners, huge inventory with many whole cases, though AHB said “consistently, he is 30-50% higher than I am buying some of the same ports that he lists†;
  • Elliston Southwick Fine Wines, sometimes with interesting bottles of good provenance, from whom I once bought something and had no complaints;
  • Wylie Fine Wines;
  • Michael Morgan;
  • Wadebridge Wines, Eddystone Road, Wadebridge PL27 7AL, tel 01208 812692 (recommended here by AHB).
• US:
  • Aabalat, though the unusual bottles are more than fully priced;
  • Benchmark Wine, who are better for American wines than port;
  • 67 Wines on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, with a good collection of Andresen colheita, and a Nacional 1963;
  • Soho Wines, with a resonably-priced set of mid- to lower-mid-range ports;
  • Astor Wines in New York;
  • Beekman Liquors in mid-town New York, who sold me very reasonably-priced Fonseca 1970;
  • IS Wines, selling Rainha Santa 1994 at a mere $48;
  • Warehouse Wines & Spirits, 735 Broadway at Astor Place, New York, NY 10003-6810, tel +1 212 982 7770; fax +1 212 982 7791. No website.

Yet more vendors can be found via www.dmoz.org/Shopping/Food/Beverages/Wine/.

benread wrote:

KillerB wrote:S.H.Jones Actually has shops: one in Banbury and the other in Leamington (or "Royal Leamington Spa" as it likes to call itself). Limited on Port but has some odd bargains. Worth checking out if you are in the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire area.

For "Limited on Port..." read they have none according to their website!

The website is rubbish, it doesn't have most of their other wines either. They do sell Port - promise.

RonnieRoots wrote:Good webstores for buying port in the Netherlands:





www.winenose.nl - A web-only seller, with a good collection. Fair pricing. But somehow I never placed an order, so I can't comment on service.

Great service, Ronnie.

I bought a bottle of Niepoort 1983 VP and Burmester 1985 VP from Martin Wolvers. Anyway a very kind man! Very good prices for Continental Europe, but I was not enthousiastic about the Ports, especaillly not for the Niepoort which was pretty medicinal, and I would have expected much more from both bottles. I wondered if there is probably a storing problem. On the other hand it's difficult to make a final estimation on the basis of 2 bottles.

Cheers
Michael

RonnieRoots wrote:This question by Rubby


Henri Bloem, Adriaan van Ostadestraat - The regular port selection here is insanely expensive, except for the Niepoort LBV's that are worth buying. But do try to get on their mailing list, because the their Vintage Port futures offers are generally very good.

My goodness! They had very good prices on pre relaese VP 2005 ( dear GBs, this estimation is on the basis of Continental Europe Prices ). Vesuvio 2005 was 30 EUR. And I passed.

I passed too. One of the problems there is that you always have to buy at least 12 bottles on futures. There was a group putting an order together, but we had to save for our wedding and move to Oman. Next time...!

Normally i use my private Port pusher, he had very good conections.

One for our American friends:

Bonhams 31st May

There are some interesting looking bottles of Port amongst the other wines for sale.

Garrafeira Nacional is well worth a visit if you ever go to Lisbon, but you can also order their wide selection over the internet. The port selection goes back to the 19th century. expensive, of course, but unlike many other Portuguese stores, storage conditions are good. Sometimes, you can find good deals, and it certainly pays off to subscribe to the weekly newsletter. The prices on Douro wines are very fair, even if you include shipping costs. On a downside: I experience a lot of problems with the website: it's slow, and logging in or completing an order can be a real pain. Sending an e-mail with your request works well though.

Because bman asked for some recommendations in Amsterdam, I rediscovered this thread. Still very useful, although a few things have changed.

Both Hans Jorissen and vintage.nu have stopped trading, sadly. And freewinesearcher now goes by the name of Vinopedia.com, it's still a very good alternative for Wine Searcher.

Three additions:

www.saint-vincent.nl ”“ Although the site is rubbish, there is a good selection of ports, including some gems like older Niepoort LBV's. Good service.

wijndomein.nl ”“ The wine site of Holland's biggest retailer Albert Heijn. Decent choice, mainly in the Reserve and LBV categories. They stock Smith Woodhouse LBV and Warre Cavadinha Vintage, which are both very nice.

www.wijnhuisjeuris.be ”“ A belgian site. An importer with a couple of shops and a webshop. Specialised in Burgundy and Portugal. Although the port selection is rather limited (some Niepoort and Morgadio da Calçada), the range of Douro wines is impressive, and prices very good. Also recommended for their good service.