10 best ports for a taste of the Portuguese wine: From vintage ruby to tawny

Best: Overall

Organic wines have been a big growth area in recent years and fortified wines are now following the trend. Fonseca's Terra Prima was the first port to be made entirely from grapes grown organically in the Cima Corgo area of the Douro Valley. Aged in oak vats, it has a full-on fruitiness with rich dark fruit and blackberry flavours, a lush sweetness and a long and satisfying finish.

Best: Unfiltered port

A traditional unfiltered late bottled vintage from Sandeman that has enjoyed an extra two years of ageing, giving it a richer and more rounded flavour. Lots of dark fruit here along with sweet cocoa notes and hints of spice and tobacco. Enjoy it with a chocolate-based dessert such as profiteroles or a soft and creamy cheese. It’s ready to drink now but there will be sediment in the bottle and it will need decanting.

Best: Ruby port wine

Looking for a suitable Christmas gift? Then this ruby port in its own stylish decanter could fit the bill. Ruby port is among the younger styles of port with a fruitiness and vitality that impresses plus a silky smoothness that’s the result of ageing in oak. Obviously no need to decant. Just serve directly from the bottle for an impressive seasonal treat. It was retailing at around £15 at the time of writing, and rest assured that Portugal Vineyards does deliver to the UK.

Best: Flagship port

It’s more than 200 years since Leith wine merchants Robert and his brother John Cockburn set up a branch of their firm in Porto. This vintage port, made from grapes harvested in the year of Cockburn’s bicentenary, is one of their flagship wines, and rightly so. Sourced from their quintas (vineyards) at Canais, Vale Coelho and Cachao do Arnozelo, it’s bursting full of rich and sumptuous fruit flavours, with damson and cherry to the fore. If you can resist the temptation, leave it unopened. It should taste even better in a few years' time.

Best: For pairing with blue cheese

An aged tawny is made from red grapes that have been slowly matured in oak casks where the wine gradually oxidises, resulting in the characteristic tawny colour. The flavour also becomes richer and deeper with notes here of fig, dark berries and dark chocolate. A wonderful drink for long winter evenings, it pairs superbly with a blue cheese or a rich chocolate dessert or can be enjoyed simply on its own.

Best: For exclusivity

Pricey perhaps, but you’re paying for something rare and precious here. While most tawnies are sold as blends ranging from 10 to 40-years-old, a colheita (meaning “harvest” or “crop”) is made from grapes from a single vintage. Like other colheitas, this example from Noval’s own vineyards deep in the Douro Valley has been matured in oak casks for at least seven years until it’s decided that the port is ready to drink.

As you’d expect, the flavours here are big and impressive with elegant but lasting notes of black fruit, nuts and caramel. It’s produced in limited quantities, so get it while you can.

Best: Crusted port

A crusted port is a blend of several different vintages which is bottled without being filtered. As a result a deposit or crust forms in the bottle so that it has to be decanted before serving. But don’t let that put you off. What you’re getting are the best characteristics of several of the finest vintages in a single bottle. This example, bottled in May 2015, has continued to mature, resulting in a full-bodied and generously-flavoured port with a rich nuttiness and vibrant notes of plum and dark fruits. 

Best: For an aperitif

Here's a tawny port that has been aged for at least 20 years in oak casks, with lashings of rich and intense dried fruit, fig and nut flavours backed by enticing notes of spice and honey. In its elegant glass-stoppered bottle it looks good too. Serve it slightly chilled as a splendidly impressive aperitif or pair it with some rich starters or freshly prepared fruit.

Best: For saving

Warre’s is the oldest UK port company established in Portugal with a history that dates back to 1670. Its 2016 vintage was blended from mixed vines from its Cavadinha and Retiro vineyards containing as many as 30 to 40 different varieties, some of which are between 80 and 100 years old. The yields from these vineyards are small but the resulting taste and the flavour is huge, with ripe plum and black fruit notes and hints of spice and blossom. Another one that you can drink now but will be at its best in the late 2020s.

Best: Modern-style vintage port

Despite its 20th-century date, this is actually a modern-style vintage port, designed to be drunk earlier than the more traditional vintage ports produced by Sandeman. Made from grapes picked at its top-rated vineyard at Qunita da Vau in the Douro Valley, it was fermented in stainless steel tanks before maturing for two years in oak casks. The result is a rich and luscious port with deep aromas of plum and red fruits, and a hugely attractive and enticing mouthfeel. Enjoy it by itself or with a rich chocolate dessert.