Vintage Port is a style made from the best grapes of a single year harvest. It is considered the most prestigious and the highest quality port style. Vintage is not produced every year, but only when port houses decide that the wine is of sufficient quality.
Vintages make only about 2% of all port production, and in the best years, all port houses will declare a Vintage. The decision to declare a Vintage can be made after Portugal’s Port Wine Institute had approved it. Vintages are barrel-aged for two to three years and are not filtered before they are bottled.
The lees in the wine allow the wine to age in the bottle, and during this time, the wine will mellow and develop complexity. The best examples are usually matured for years, and in the best harvests, even for decades. Vintages are full-bodied and rich, with complex flavors and aromas that can vary depending on the age and the harvest year, but they typically display powerful expressions of spices, licorice, plums, and dark berries.
Younger styles can make an excellent accompaniment to small plates and charcuterie, while a classic pairing with older styles includes chocolate, nuts, figs, and aromatic cheese varieties. Some of the recent vintages include 2016, 2011, 2009, 2007, 2003, 2000, 1997, and 1994.
Serve with
Stilton
Stilton cheese is produced exclusively in the counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Leicestershire. It is one of the few kinds of cheese that freeze ... Read more
