Some advice needed

[imck]

Hi all

It is my partners 40th birthday this month and he is a lover of good port. I have been looking to buy him a 40 year old port, but obviously I want it to be a good one. So far the only ones I can find are Fonseca 40 year old tawny port, Taylors 40 tawny port and Grahams 40 tawny port.

Would anyone recommend any of these or perhaps a different one that I havnt found yet?

Thanks so much

Iona

[Alex Bridgeman]

From what I know, 1973 was a dreadful year for most wine and port producers in Europe. I certainly don't know of any good vintage ports from that particular year.

So your thoughts of a 40 year old tawny are probably very sensible! These are great wines but are slightly odd ports in that they are not what they say on the label. The wine inside the bottle has to "...have the characteristics of a wine which has been aged in barrel for 40 years..." rather than have an actual average age of 40 years. However, don't let this little quirk put you off. Any wine lover receiving a bottle of 40 year old tawny port as a 40th birthday present is getting a great bottle.

When I drink tawny port, I prefer it lightly chilled and would normally aim to finish a bottle over 2-3 weeks. It will last longer once opened than vintage port, but will start to lose vibrancy and structure if left open too long. It can help to prolong the life once opened if the bottle is kept in the fridge, (and it should be kept somewhere cool and dark before being opened).

Taylor, Graham and Fonseca all make very good 40 year old tawny ports. The Graham has a reputation for being slightly sweeter than the other two, Fonseca is probably my preferred of the three.

Have fun choosing - I hope your partner enjoys the present.

[jdaw1]

Most 1970 vintage ports wonderful! were bottled in 1972, but a few were bottled in 1973. Would the bottling date be sufficient?

[PhilW]

Hi Iona,

From the fact that your suggestions are all tawny ports, does this mean that style-wise your husband prefers Tawny (Tawny/Colheita) to Ruby (ruby/LBV/Vintage)? If so, of the three you mention I would choose the Grahams, though as Alex says they would all be very good. Depending on how much you want to spend, another (more expensive and harder to find, though possible) option for a real tawny fan could be a Dalva 1934 Tawny which was bottled in 1973.

If your husband prefers ruby/LBV/vintage port, then since 1971/2/3 were very poor years as AHB has mentioned, I would agree with JDAW and suggest going for a bottle of 1970; While not from 1973 it would be "over 40yrs old" and should be excellent port; I would personally recommend Fonseca 1970 which is both consistent and superb.

[imck]

Thank you all

It was not deliberate that they were all tawny, its just what I managed to find so far, however, as it happens I do think he prefers the tawny.
Thank you for the advice about keeping it in the fridge, I would perhaps only have thought to do that with white port which I prefer chilled. I was drawn to the grahams or the fonseca. I know taylors is a nice port as we have certainly drank a fair bit of it, but I did want something a bit more special.

I should have started doing my homework earlier than this, who would have thought chosing a bottle would be this tricky....?

xxx

[g-man]

Thank you all

It was not deliberate that they were all tawny, its just what I managed to find so far, however, as it happens I do think he prefers the tawny.
Thank you for the advice about keeping it in the fridge, I would perhaps only have thought to do that with white port which I prefer chilled. I was drawn to the grahams or the fonseca. I know taylors is a nice port as we have certainly drank a fair bit of it, but I did want something a bit more special.

I should have started doing my homework earlier than this, who would have thought chosing a bottle would be this tricky....?

xxx

a fantastic wine would be a 1974 Noval Colheita as I've found examples for that single year tawny to be stunning.

when it comes to tawnies noval 40 is more delicate and probably as sweet as the grahams and would also make a fine gift.

[mosesbotbol]

40 year old Taylor tawny is great stuff. Tough choice between a 1970 vintage and a 40 year tawny. If it has to be "40", go with the tawny. No gamble on whether it'll be corked, etc...