Storing Sherry and Port

[malt_boy]

I was thinking of getting a few bottles of port to keep back for special ocassions, maybe some vintages and other ones like 10yo's etc. Does port and sherry keep well within its bottle just like some wines? Does the taste change for the time I keep it closed? Hope to find some good tips here.

[malt_boy]

Jeez guess I'll just google it...

[C57]

Well clearly if you are talking about buying vintage ports, yes they are like wines.
They can improve in bottle for years (many more than an average red) but of course, each will have its peak, beyond which it starts to decline.
So you are best to do your research on the particular vintage you are interested in (and even the house) before deciding what you will keep for a long time.

Sherry may be a different matter - I've not really heard about people keeping sherry for long periods.
A 10yo port I would expect to keep for a while but it's unlikely to be improving that much I suspect.

You really want TTD to comment here I think

[malt_boy]

Thanks.

[Pete Smoke]

There are a couple of small discussions on port on a couple of threads in this sub forum, you should check them out.


If i buy for the missus, she likes those that are ready to drink on release and don't require decanting ( she likes the odd crusted port though ). Check out the wiki entry for "port wine" - it's actually very good as there is huge variety on types of port and they all need to be treated differently.

[Troutleg]

As mentioned above Vintage port can improve over an extended period. Although it is all down to the Quality of individual producers and how good the Vintage actually was. Any port labeled 10 y.o. or 20 etc are Tawny ports which do not improve in bottle. they can be kept but will not change.

Most sherries will keep, apart from Fino's and Manzanillas which should be consumed as young and fresh as possible. The rest like Tawny ports will not improve in bottle.

Matthew

[The Third Dram]

The first aspect to understand concerning fortified wine is that it's, well, fortified. That is, spirit (grape brandy, often from the same locality in which the wine has been produced) has been added at some point in the processing regimen (usually during the fermentation process) to stabilize the wine. In the case of Port, this addition of spirit normally leaves varying degrees of residual (unfermented) grape sugar in the fortified wine.

Port destined to be bottled as Vintage Port usually comes from the very best lots of wine produced in very good to exceptional vintages. It accounts for a very small percentage of overal production, and normally spends a relatively short period of only 2 years in oak casks before being bottled. This procedure serves to retain great concentration of fruit, and renders such a wine a true candidate for long cellaring. Most Vintage Ports rarely even begin to open up before a decade to a decade and a half of time in the cellar, while the best wines from the greatest vintages can not only last, but improve, for many decades. Such examples count amongst the longest lived of all wines.

Bottles of Vintage Port should be treated like any fine wine, that is stored under proper cellar conditions in a stable position, the bottles resting on their sides so as to keep the corks moistened. You'll notice that bottles of Vintage Port invariably have little white paint brush marks near the bottoms of the bottles. These marks serve as indicators as to which side of the bottle has been orientated upward from the time of bottling.

When to open a bottle of Vintage Port? The key here is to understand the 4 key flavour/structural components that make up such a wine - the fruity characteristics derived from the grapes, the spirit that has been added to arrest the fermentation process and stabilize the wine, the tannins (some from the oak but, in the case of Vintage Ports, mostly from the grape skins themselves) and, last but not least, the underlying acidity. In a young Vintage Port, these components will have barely begun to integrate with one another, and will likely seem quite distinct on the palate. On the other hand, in the case of a mature Vintage Port, these components will have melded to a degree that makes them hard to distinguish from one another. Furthermore, the mature wine will have attained a proper degree of complexity and balance.

Vintage Port (unless your pockets are deep and you can afford to purchase an older vintage that's reached full maturity) requires patience! So why rush when you're finally ready to serve it? The most important 'trick' in serving a Vintage Port is to separate the wine from the accumulated sediment (the latter often considerable) in the bottle. There are fairly expensive Port decanting implements around (in which the bottle rests and is very slowly tipped by a hand crank mechanism) that work well. In lieu of them, I prefer to 'forecast' when I'm going to be serving a particular bottle, and try to stand that bottle upright a week (or at least a few days) before. This technique allows any loose sediment to slowly fall to the punt at the bottom of the bottle where, hopefully, it will remain during a gentle pouring stage. Transferring the wine into a decanter vessel for serving purposes also helps.

Most other sorts of Ports (Ruby, Late Bottled Vintage and Tawny) are ready to go from the time they're bottled, and will not improve with further ageing. Late Bottled Vintage Ports are nominally aged for 4 years or so in cask. Vintage Character and Crusted Ports, on the other hand, lie somewhere between those three and the Vintage Ports, in that they will throw sediment in the bottle. Single Vineyard Vintage Ports are often issued from small parcels of land known for their exceptional soil and exposure, and tend to be released in years in which the overall quality of the vintage doesn't quite warrant the release of Vintage Ports under a winery's primary banner. These can also be fairly long lived. Colheita Ports are somewhat analogous to Tawny Ports, except that they are produced from the harvest of a single year. Depending on how long a time they've spent in oak casks, they can vary quite substantially in style (the younger examples being close to Late Bottled Vintage Ports and the older examples being more like well aged Tawny Ports). As opposed to the cellaring of Vintage Ports, all of these types of Port (with the exception of Single Vineyard Vintage Ports) should be stored upright.

The longer that Port wines are aged in oak prior to being bottled, the more their essential fruity characteristics change from overt ripe berry fruitiness to a more subtle plum-like fruitiness. The wood maturation, with time, also imbues the wines with additional notes of vanilla, nuts and spices even as it softens the textural quality. Tawny Ports generally range in age from 10 to 40 years, with 20-year old examples often providing the optimum compromise between quality and price.

Sherry wines represent another entire universe, and are worthy of discussion elsewhere, as are the fortified (and much underappreciated) wines from the island of Madeira.

[The Third Dram]

OK... Madeira. When most of us think of Madeira, we only tend to focus on its well known role in reduction sauces. A shame, this, as a quality Madeira deserves far greater respect as a fortified wine of considerable merit in its own right. Let me point you toward a pair of articles I penned (for another web-site) on the subject of Madeira some time ago:

http://www.cigarweekly.com/magazine/lifestyles/05-21-2004/a-rich-pour---column-no.-2:-madeira---a-magical-and-majestic-wine-(part-1)

http://www.cigarweekly.com/magazine/lifestyles/07-16-2004/a-rich-pour---column-no.-3:-madeira---a-magical-and-majestic-wine-(part-2)

Hope you enjoy the read, and perhaps even elect to give a good bottle of Madeira a try!

[C57]

I love a good sercial, or a bual

[brendram]

Thanks for that extensive info on Port, certainly makes me curios to try it again. Care to make a few suggestions for the novice? Would be much appreciated.

[The Third Dram]

Quinta do Infantado Ruby Port (an easy drinking Port well above its 'classmates' in terms of quality)
Quinta do Infantado Late Bottled Vintage (very rich and structured)
Graham's 20 Year Old Tawny (along with Taylor Fladgate 20YO, a benchmark in its category)

Vintage Ports and Colheitas offer a much more complicated picture, depending on the specific wines in question and variations in Port house style from one example to another. That said, Smith Woodhouse usually represents an excellent value in Vintage Port in the best years.

[The Third Dram]

And a few more personal recommendations...

Offley Baron de Forrester Colheita (the longer aged ones are silky smooth, richly nuanced with notes of caramel and vanilla, and are best served around 12º-13ºC).

Offley Cachucha White Port (a remarkable value in a traditionally styled - that is, not very dry - white Port).

The Vintage Ports from Graham's, Quinta do Noval, Quinta do Vesuvio, Taylor Fladgate and Warre's can be fabulous. But here, you pay for the 'privilege'!

Let me, just for the 'heck of it', throw in a rather expensive alternative to those Ports... Madeira... Blandy's 1977 Vintage Bual, to be precise. Quite simply, one of the finest fortified wines I've ever tasted!

[mblanch]

It depends of the Sherry you are storing.

Finos and Manzanilla doesn't age well, so you better drink them as soon as possible and as fast as possible once the bottle is open.

On the other hand, Oloroso last longer and once the bottle is open you have still a few months until it start to get a bit like vinegar.

Finally Pedro Ximenez, Moscatel and old Oloroso last a lot on the bottle and also once you open them.

Anyway, my recommendation is to drink them as soon as possible: you can always buy new ones