I’m trying to put together a list of ports that would include 10 year, 20’s, 30’s, colheita, tawny, ruby, etc. in .375L formats. I’m looking for great values that over-deliver. QPR is what I’m after. The reason for the title “Super Seconds” is, try to follow me on this parallel: most often times the best of the best carries a hefty price tag, consider 1st Growths price vs. 2nd wines of the same label. Or, what about second place Olympians. Everyone remembers the 1st place, gold medal winner, how can you not, he/she is the one gets all the endorsements and is all over the media. Now, back to the 2nd place guy, the one that finished half a second behind, that had a great performance and ALMOST won. The guy that any other given Sunday might have gone home with the gold. Well, this is what I’m looking for in regards to ports. A little something that my guests and patrons would be head over heals for, that doesn’t carry the price tag that fame and fortune demands. Any help in this would be very much appreciated as I am ill-versed on the subject.
I understand the analogy to Bordeaux 2ds, but you might want to consider changing the thread title if you want Port people to stop by.
Edited and thanks for the recommendation.
Yep, that title change did the trick.
I understand the premise, but don’t find the correlation works with Port. There is a “slight” premium usually, but not a massive one when looking at Vintage Port’s first growths and then the 2nd-3rd tier players. However, there is a modicum of price difference, yes.
It is even less prevalent when talking about 10/20/30/40 year old Tawny Ports or even LBVs. There you will find a mixed bag where sometimes the larger producers with the big names can achieve economies of scale which enables them to keep their pricing lower than some of the small boutique producers.
Additionally, I’d suggest you look into names that are not as widely popularized AND Single Quinta Port producers in any of the aforementioned categories of Port. Also in “off years” which usually equates to some very good years that just were not good enough for a general declaration by the majority of companies, then, the big producers, use their Single Quintas or second labels to make some mighty fine value wines.
Names to seek out: Quinta do Portal, Porto Quevedo, Quinta do Vesuvio, Quinta do Bomfim (Dow’s), Quinta de Vargellas (Taylor), Quinta do Malvedos (Graham’s), Quinta do Panascal (Fonseca … even Fonseca-Guimararens their 2nd label), and old stalwarts that offer good values and are making better wines in recent years like: Sandeman, Gould Campbell, Ramos-Pinto, Cockburn’s.
That should give you a good head start. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
I agree with Roy on the lack or correlation between lesser known names and lesser price when looking at aged tawny ports and colheitas. However, when looking to vintage ports, you can see a reasonable discount in good years for wines that are not Fonseca/Taylor/Dow/Graham. My top QPR in vintage port is Gould Campbell. I’ve never seen this wine fail to deliver in vintage years and the pricing is always deeply discounted compared to the “big” four.
Roy mentioned Quinta do Portal, but one cannot over emphesis the sheer quality and QPR of all their products.
If you love and appreciate dessert wines, then Port, in general, is one of the biggest QPRs in the wine world. As Roy and others have said, you don’t need to avoid the big names in order to find great wine for the money.
Eric wrote:
Roy mentioned Quinta do Portal, but one cannot over emphesis the sheer quality and QPR of all their products.
Precisely the reason I listed that one first Eric.
I’ve been to that property every year since 2003, at least once a year if not more, (as you know) and they just keep getting better and better and better. During harvest 2010, our guests bought more wine just at Portal than I’ve seen purchased on entire tours of ours. Others may not realize the impact of that statement, but I know you do.
I can’t wait to get back there and load up again on the 2000 Reserve. I need some magnums of that one!
For others reading this … want a bargain on an off the charts VP that nobody else touts? 
1999 Quinta do Portal Vintage Port - a freakin’ rock star!
See what I mean about me, myself being not too savvy about ports. I wanted to make a comparison between Port and Wine and within that premise I stumbled. Thank you all so much for the input thus far. I am looking forward to learning so much more that the 'zerkers always bring to the table.
Roy’s already given some good advice so I’ll echo what he already said.
Compared to Bordeaux or Burgundy, Port prices tend to be relatively consistent across the board with far smaller price differences for the same vintages or types of Ports. Don’t be afraid to check out some of the lesser known Port producers such as those already mentioned as many of them make some fantastic stuff and tend to be a little cheaper than the well known names. Of course you could always stop by that lovely Port website* listed on my signature line below and get lots of advice on what to spend all your money on
*disclaimer, I moderate the forum there.
Apparently, and according to W-S Pro, nobody else sells it in the US either. Do you have good advice for sourcing port as well (outside of going to Portugal, which I at least think of as the most pleasant option)?
I agree with the others that pointed out that even top VPs remain relatively well priced. However, I think a top VP deserves (maybe “needs”) at least 20 years of age on it. But then, you can often find good older vintages at auctions for rather reasonable prices. They also need to breathe a lot when serving them, and personally I also prefer a cool serving temperature to deepen the fruit, but not so cool that nuances of flavor are lost.
A port that will drink well earlier…
Warre Late Bottled Vintage Port - very much VP-like in style, and one of the best LBV I have found, made in a “traditional” style, and with a regular cork. I have not been too impressed by other LBV Ports, as they tend to be a bit soft and undistinguished, I think.
At the “bargain” level you could try…
Dow’s Boardroom Port - a tawny style that is quite nice when allowed to breathe in the fridge for a week or more!
Graham’s Fine Tawny - a bit less tawny, also in the $20 range, and also nice when quite cool and when it’s been open in the fridge for a week!
JP, you’re going to have trouble finding 375ml in anything but some Vintage Ports (the distributors simply don’t stock them). There are a few Reserves like 6 Grapes and Bin27 that I’ve seen around and the Warre’s Optimas are 500ml. There are some back vintages of some of the Symington Ports available but you’ll have to beg Glazer’s to bring them in for you.
I’ll second Roy’s advice on single quintas being the best way to find value but you have to hand-sell them because often guests only know Vintage and LBV. For Tawny, I’ve always poured Ferreira 20yr Duca de Breganze from Broadbent (Virtuoso). The stuff is incredible and while not cheap is a bit less than Taylor/Fonseca/Graham. I’m also a big fan of Niepoorts (Avante). The basic Tawny will hang with most 10yrs and the Ruby is great too. Beyond that they get expensive but they are really good.
I haven’t tried the Portals (not sure who handles them) but considering the comments above they sound worth investigating. We have a bunch of them at C-14 so I guess Lance likes them which is good enough for me.
I think the best way to go is to not load up on a bunch of different ports as you’ll be tying up inventory on something that doesn’t move much. I would rotate through a selection of different ones and see what stands out. That way you can keep your guests interested while you learn about different houses styles.