I recently had a bottle of 2003 Warre’s “Bottle Aged” LBV Port. I really enjoyed it and found it to be a significant step up from other readily available LBV’s on the market (Dow’s, Fonseca, Smith Woodhouse, Taylor Fladgate). Wondering whether this particular bottling is just better, or if it’s the 7-8 years of bottle age vs. the more typical 2-3 that you’ll find from the others?
Do any of you cellar your LBV’s? Seems like 5 years is enough to show some improvement if anything can be taken from this example. Do you hold them for longer than that and do they continue to improve?
The only downside I noticed was that it faded (very slightly) after a week or so, being the best on the first few days.
I’m not sure what “significant step up” means to you, but many of the LBVs on the market are worthy of ageing. I started playing with that about a year ago. While I’m laying down a number of currently available LBVs, I’ve been acquiring older LBVs as they come available. I’ve been very pleased at the results.
As an example, here are my notes from CT on the 1991 Dow LBV:
1991 Dow Porto Late Bottled Vintage > - Portugal, Douro, Porto (2/16/2014)
Popped and poured. A decent amount of sediment upon decanting. Brownish red in color. Palate of plums, pomegranate, and cassis, with only a little alcohol heat that quickly dissipated. Unmistakable Dow dryness with at best medium sweetness. Very interesting for what it is, a 23 year old LBV that is usually consumed with a couple of years of bottling (in this case, 1997). It’s a very pleasant drink. It would be fun to do a side-by-side with the 1991 Dow vintage port, which I’ll do someday soon.
Day 2 showed noticeable improvement, with the nose coming on and the palate showing more fruit The sweetness is coming on a little more. The color has also taken on a bit more red. Overall, quite unexpected. > (88 pts.)
Overall, I believe most quality LBVs are worthy of improvement by ageing. There’s a body of thought that the unfiltered ones are better for ageing, but the Dow’s I noted above is filtered and has seen no ill effects.
I’ve had that '03 Warre’s in the last six months and my experience was similar to yours. Generally, I’ve had pretty good luck, at least between 10 – 15 years. I prefer Warre’s and Fonseca, but others have been great wines and phenomenal QPR.
At least anecdotally, I’ve been happier with the unfiltered LBVs, and will shy away from the filtered counterparts. I go through all of 12-15 bottles of port a year, so take that for what it is-- mere anecdotal confirmation of conventional wisdom.
Oddly enough though, I took a chance on a '01 Dow LBV that I found sitting on a local shelf the other day. Unlike the 1991 mentioned above, there was no sediment whatever, and while it was still tasty, it was also a bit thin/tart. Storage conditions were less than optimal for sure, which could have been an issue.
I had a frankly superb Niepoort LBV 75 at the Niepoort estate in Douro this summer. Yes, they age, and most reward ar least 5 years in the cellar in my experience (though obviously an enormous generalization)
LBV’s fall into two camps, filtered and non-filtered (the old term was bottle matured).
Filtered LBV’s aren’t meant to age and are best within a few years after release on the market by the producer. Now, they won’t go bad after that but these types aren’t designed to be aged. Enjoy them with their fresh young fruit.
Unfiltered LBV’s can age quite a long time. I’ve had LBV’s back to 1935 that were still very good, albeit like a good VP very different than when they were young. Warre’s LBV’s are held back and released later, 8 years after harvest (4 prior to bottling and 4 more in bottle), than most unfiltered LBV’s. That’s just a preference that the Symington Family prefers for that product. I’ve had producer library stocks of Warre’s LBV’s going back to the 70’s and while enjoyable were past their peak.
As unfiltered LBV’s are like their VP counterpart, vintage and producer variations will dictate their age ability. But for an upper end producer like Warre’s you typically can cellar for 15-20 years after the vintage with no ill effect.
John - when I say significant step up, I just mean I thought it was better quality - nice rich fruit, silky smooth tannins and great balance overall. If I were to put points on it, 92 rather than 87-89 from other LBVs I’ve had.
There was a good amount of sediment, so I’m assuming the Warre’s was non-filtered. I’ll have to start specifically looking for that.
I really enjoy vintage port, but I have a tough time with the cost, not to mention none of mine have any age. Not that this LBV was the same as a top quality VP, but this was the first time I thought one came close, and for approx 1/3 the cost. I really enjoyed it and look forward to searching out more.
This 2007 Krohn LBV [Porto] seems to be a late bottled vintage port that benefited from aging. It was in cask 4 years prior to 2011 bottling, and I received it in 2015, opening the first one over the weekend. Unlike commercial - typically filtered - LBV’s, this has a driven cork and heavy sediment on the bottle interior. I find the nose to be fig, clove laden and hot with alcoholic vapors, which do not temper over a couple of nights. On the palate it remains tannic and structured, even after 15 years. This producer is better known for vintage colheitas and has more market presence in Northern Europe. The 2007 was bottled up before the shipper entered the Fladgate partnership, so it may not reflect the style they present to the market today. In this era, bottles were painted/embossed with their information; now they have a conventional paper label. The 2007 shows rich cocoa and black fruit flavor, 30+ seconds of concentration, and for those who want a chewy baby VP, this fits the bill. I rarely see Krohn in my region, and only received this when a (defunct) merchant substituted this for what I had actually ordered. I have mixed feelings about whether I’d want to try other LBV’s from this house, but perhaps it’s moot, if Krohn’s LBV are not imported stateside. Overall: I’ll slot this into the A- line of my ledger on the merits of its depth/structure, but perhaps those who care more for elegance/balance might downgrade it.
I realize I must check if I have any bar top sealed ports (cluelessly) hidden away from this year. Although more serious, conventionally closed LBV can keep, as this exemplifies.
2003 was a generally declared vintage so I’d suggest that the overall quality of the fruit was a little higher across the board, and not just what made it into the Vintage port.
All of the 03 LBVs that I have had, have been excellent. I drank a lot of Taylors 03 LBV but I did think that my last couple of bottles of that were not quite as good when consumed around 2014 or 2015. Now that’s a filtered LBV, but I do own a couple of the Quinta Do Noval 03 LBVs that I haven’t been in a hurry to open as I am very confident about how they will age.
Don’t judge a port by its closure. I have done a lot with tasting old LBVs, meaning 20-30 year old wines, and it didn’t matter whether the bottle was closed with a T-cork or a traditional cork. The early-to-mid 1990s Dows that I’ve had that were all excellent, such as the 1991 Dow I posted on in 2015, were filtered LBVs stoppered with T-corks.
Certainly unfiltered wines will have a better chance of ageing well. But I wouldn’t stay away from a filtered LBV.
Back on corks briefly. The only issue I have with old bottles with T-corks is that the plastic top will frequently break off from the cork. The corks themselves are a bit of a PITA to remove with a corkscrew when that happens.
LBVs are held by the winery and released when ready to drink. Not saying that a few extra years wont aid more development but they are good to go on release.
As mentioned upthread, I went looking for older LBVs under a bartop, intending to consume them given that 15 years could be pushing this seal. I opened the 2007 Cockburn’s LBV [Porto] last night, understanding that others have had “ok” experiences with these seals lasting 20+ years, but all things considered, I’d rather just move them to the front of the drinking queue, as this was already a teenager. For my tastes, this Symington bottling is softer, more commercial than the Krohns. Rum raisin ice cream on the nose, then some cinnamon, with a touch of saddle too. On the first night, some hotness on the finish, but it eventually rounds out. There is not the same structure as the last 2007 LBV I had, but I suspect most won’t mind. On the palate I find it sweet, but balanced, with fruit leaning toward red / cherry side. I’ll give this a B+ or so.
I know its weird to be drinking port (of any kind) mid summer here…but the weather is atypical and there was a light drizzle today* and it’s only in the high 70’s. For my region, this is 20-30F below normal, so positive chilly!
most years there is no rain between April and October which leads to lazy behavior with car sunroofs and patio accouterments.
LBV’s are initially held by producers because Portuguese law requires it for this category of Port. Most producers release it as soon as they legally can. So I am not exactly sure what point you are trying to make with your assertion.
That said, you are simplifying LBV WAY too much. There are many examples that really need 10-15+ years in the cellar to develop and morph into a beautiful mature LBV. Those generally being the unfiltered type (formerly called Traditional/Bottle Matured).
I love these…but I have to say there is a wide range in quality, sometimes down to the individual house/vintage. Some houses might not “declare” a vintage, and put wonderful wine into their single quinta or LBV. Sometimes it’s just a huge, high quality vintage. It would be a great service if some group of tasters regularly sampled what is out on the market and reported any extraordinary results. Critics help but also are pretty subjective when it comes to port (in my opinion).
I have read enthusiastic notes on some current LBV and gone out to buy a case…they do age wonderfully and if you hit one of those exemplary bottlings you can publish a thread about drinking your three cases of LBV Taylor or whatever over several decades. And those that are less than successful? You can always poach fruit in them.
I will precede my comment by gracefully stating that your more experienced with Port.
Like you mentioned Portuguese law requires produces to hold LBV designated port. This ranges from 4-6 years and a producer can release within this window depending on when they feel the LBV is ready or when financially necessary. Many of the top producers such as QdN will hold until the 6th year. I don’t think I am simplifying LBV “WAY too much”. It’s a category generally meant to be consumed and in some instances will benefit from extra cellar maturation but is not always necessary. LBV category rose to prominence as an alternative to Vintage Port due to VP’s decline in the restaurant sector for the fact that it is less expensive, doesn’t need to be decanted (filtered versions), and can be consumed younger. Please share the many examples that really need 10-15+ years as I would like to seek out and taste. From my limited time in Vila Nova de Gaia I have yet to find a Port House that enthusiastically recommends to age their LBV for 15 years.
This is what the manufacturers say, but at the end of the day, what does “ready to drink” really mean?
For my palate, newly released LBVs aren’t any more “ready to drink” than their VP counterparts. Like most of us on this board, we enjoy the secondary and even tertiary flavors that years in the bottle can produce. The LBVs are every bit as capable of producing that.
It’s sort of like champagne. Producers claim their non-vintage stuff is ready to go on release. But there’s an incredible amount of benefit to letting them age for five years.
Not Andy, but Crasto routinely recommends aging their LBV’s. Many think their LBV’s are actually better than their VP’s. Noval’s LBV’s also benefit significantly with age as does Warre’s traditional. I’m still sitting on both their 2003’s.
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