How to Buy Port Wine: Your Guide Buying for Your Cellar
Updated
Learning how to buy Port wine starts with its distinct styles, how they age, and what to expect from vintages. Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine from the Douro Valley. It is typically sweet, with an alcohol content usually between 19% and 22% by volume. Key styles include Ruby and Tawny. Vintage Port is a high-craftsmanship Ruby Port designed for long bottle aging. Ruby Ports, like Vintage Port, age reductively in bottles and develop complexity over decades. Tawny Ports age oxidatively in barrels, gaining nutty flavors and a golden-brown color. For auction purchases, factor in buyer's premiums. Sotheby's charges 24% on all hammer prices for Global Wines & Spirits, plus a 1% Overhead Premium, Sotheby's states. Christie's charges 25% for Wine, Spirits and Cigars. Proper storage in a cool, dark place is crucial for bottle-aged Ports.
What are the main types of Port wine?
Port wine, a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley, comes in various styles. Maturation broadly sets those categories. Wines matured in sealed glass bottles undergo "reductive" aging. Those matured in wooden barrels experience "oxidative" aging. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (IVDP) further classifies ports into "normal ports" (standard ruby, three-year-old tawny, and white) and "Categorias Especiais," which encompass all other types.
Red Ports are primarily divided into Ruby and Tawny. Ruby Ports are generally younger and spend a few years or less in barrels. The group includes regular Ruby Ports (often called "Fine Ruby"), Ruby Reserve Ports, Late Bottled Vintage Ports (LBVs), Crusted Ports, and Vintage Ports. Tawny Ports are typically aged in barrels for much longer before release. With the exception of the least-aged tawny Ports, they carry an indication of age in 10-year increments, from 10 to 50 years. Colheitas are a specific type of tawny Port, made from grapes of a single year's harvest and barrel-aged.
White Ports come from white grapes. The category includes regular, young White Ports (often called "Fine White"), White Reserve Ports, barrel-aged White Ports with age indications similar to tawny Ports, and White Colheitas. Rose Port is a newer variant, first released in 2008 by Poças and Croft. It is technically a ruby port fermented with limited exposure to grape skins to achieve its rose color.
How do Port wine styles differ in aging and character?
The aging process significantly influences a Port's character. Wines matured in sealed glass bottles, such as Vintage Ports, undergo "reductive" aging. They lose color slowly and become smoother on the palate with less tannin. In contrast, wines matured in wooden barrels, like Tawny Ports, experience "oxidative" aging. Color falls faster and volume drops through evaporation, resulting in a slightly more viscous wine with "nutty" flavors.
Vintage Ports are high-craftsmanship Ruby Ports. They age in barrels or stainless steel for a maximum of two and a half years before bottling. They are then designed to age for another 10 to 40+ years in the bottle. They maintain their dark ruby color and fresh fruit flavors, gaining complexity over many decades. Unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Ports are typically bottled with conventional driven corks and require decanting. They can improve with additional years in the bottle and age nearly as long as Vintage Ports. Filtered LBVs are ready to drink without decanting and usually come in stoppered bottles. However, many wine experts believe the filtration process can strip away much of the wine's character. Crusted Port, a blend of several vintages, is bottled unfiltered. Like Vintage Port, it needs decanting before drinking.
Tawny Ports, made from red grapes, mellow to a golden-brown color through gradual oxidation and evaporation in wooden barrels. They are sweet or medium dry and are typically consumed as a dessert wine. Reserve tawny port has been aged for about seven years. Tawny Ports with an indication of age (10, 20, 30, or 40 years) represent a blend of several vintages. Colheita port is a single-vintage tawny port aged for at least seven years in wooden barrels before bottling. That sets it apart from a Vintage Port, which spends only about 18 months in barrels. Garrafeira is a rare vintage-dated style. It combines oxidative maturation in wood (usually three to six years) with further reductive maturation in large glass demijohns (at least eight years) before bottling.
What should I know about Port vintages?
The term "vintage" has a specific meaning in Port. Most producers limit their year-labeled bottlings to only the best years, typically a few per decade. When a port house determines its wine is of sufficient quality for a vintage, it sends samples to the IVDP for approval. It then declares the vintage. In exceptional years, almost all port houses will declare their wines. In intermediate years, producers of blended vintage ports might not declare their flagship port. They may still declare the vintage of a single quinta, or single estate. For example, Quinta do Vesuvio has declared a vintage every year with the exceptions of 1993, 2002, and 2014.
Recent widely declared vintage years include 2017, 2016, 2011, 2007, 2003, 2000, 1997, and 1994. The quality of the grape harvest in 2011, 2016, and 2017 was attributed to ideal rainfall and temperature. Advances in winemaking technologies and improved weather forecasts during harvest have increased the number of years in which a vintage can be declared. It has been over thirty years since there was a year with no declarations at all.
Vintage Port is made entirely from the grapes of a declared vintage year. It accounts for only about two percent of overall port production. The complex character of aged Vintage Port largely comes from the continued slow decomposition of grape solids in each bottle. These solids are undesirable when consumed, so Vintage Port typically requires a period of settling before decanting and pouring. You can explore specific vintage information for Douro wines and Vintage Port to inform your buying decisions.
How do auction fees impact the cost of Port wine?
When you acquire Port wine at auction, the hammer price is not the only cost. You will also pay a buyer's premium and potentially other fees and taxes, as Sotheby's and Christie's London Conditions of Sale, Wine both set out. These additional charges can significantly affect the total price you pay. For a comprehensive understanding of the process, consider our guide on how to buy wine at auction.
Here are examples of buyer's premium rates from major auction houses:
| Auction House | Category | Buyer's Premium Rate | Additional Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sotheby's | Global Wines & Spirits | 24% of all hammer prices | 1% Overhead Premium on all hammer prices |
| Christie's | Wine, Spirits and Cigars | 25% of the hammer price | VAT payable on the premium at the applicable rate |
| Bonhams | Wine and Whisky | 24% of the hammer price | VAT at the current rate of 20% will be added to the Buyer's Premium and charges |
These rates exclude local taxes and any applicable artist resale rates, Sotheby's states. VAT is typically added to the buyer's premium. For lots offered "in bond" (‡ symbol), no excise duty or clearance VAT applies to the hammer price if you choose to take them in bond. However, VAT does apply to the buyer’s premium. If you choose to take these lots duty paid, your invoice will include excise duty at current rates. It will also include clearance VAT on the duty-inclusive hammer price. Christie's cannot cancel or refund these charges, Christie's London Conditions of Sale, Wine states.
It is your responsibility to determine and pay all applicable taxes, including VAT, GST, sales, or compensating use tax. For international shipments, you are also responsible for customs regulations and declarations. You must determine whether wines can be shipped into a jurisdiction and obtain any required permits or licenses, Christie's London Conditions of Sale, Wine states. Christie's, for example, will not be obliged to cancel your purchase and refund the purchase price if your lot cannot be exported or imported. The same applies if a government authority seizes it for any reason. Always factor in these potential costs when calculating your maximum bid using our landed cost calculator.
How should I store and serve Port wine?
Proper storage and serving are essential to preserve and enjoy your Port wine. Like other wines, store Port in a cool, dark location at a steady temperature, such as a cellar. If the bottle has a cork, lay it on its side. If it is stoppered, it can stand upright.
Port wines that are unfiltered, such as Vintage Ports, Crusted Ports, and some LBVs, form a sediment (or crust) in the bottle. They require decanting. Decanting also allows the Port to breathe, mixing the wine with oxygen. A traditional method for opening vintage Port uses port tongs. You heat them over a flame, apply them to the bottle's neck, then cool them with cold water to cause a clean break. This avoids using a corkscrew on an older cork, which might otherwise break apart and crumble into the wine. For more details on fill levels and condition, refer to our guide on wine ullage levels explained.
Serve Port between 15 and 20 °C (59-68 °F), with the exception of white Port, which can be served chilled. Tawny Port may also be served slightly cooler.
Once opened, Port generally lasts longer than unfortified wine. It is still best consumed within a relatively short period. Tawny Ports may keep for several months once opened, because their longer barrel aging exposes them to significant oxidation. Old Vintage Ports are best consumed within several days of opening. Young Ruby Ports, such as Vintage Ports and LBV Ports, can be kept open for several weeks, or even months when very young. For more information on protecting your collection, consult our guide on how to store wine.
To make informed decisions on your next Port acquisition, track its market performance and compare prices. Use our watchlist to monitor price history on the live fine wine market index.