Vintage Port Collection

Vintage Port is a premium fortified wine made from grapes harvested in exceptional years in Portugal's Douro Valley. Unlike other port styles, it is bottled unfiltered after around 18 months in barrel and designed to age for decades in the bottle, developing rich, complex flavours of dark fruit, chocolate, spice and leather over time. Only declared in outstanding years by individual houses, vintage port accounts for a tiny fraction of total port production and represents the pinnacle of the category.

Ruby port is youthful, fruit-forward and ready to drink immediately. Tawny port is aged in small oak barrels where oxidation gradually transforms the colour and develops nutty, caramelised flavours. Vintage port is declared only in exceptional years, bottled unfiltered and aged in the bottle rather than in barrel, developing extraordinary complexity over decades. It is the most collectible and prestigious port style and the one most likely to improve significantly with age.

Most vintage ports improve with 10 to 30 years of bottle ageing, depending on the producer and the vintage. Top declared years from houses such as Taylors, Fonseca and Graham's can age for 50 years or more in ideal conditions. Younger quinta single harvest ports are generally more approachable earlier. As a guide, a 2016 or 2017 declaration is best left until at least 2030 to 2035 before opening. For guidance on specific years see our vintage port year guide.

Yes, always. Vintage port throws a heavy sediment during long bottle ageing and must be decanted before serving. Stand the bottle upright for 24 hours before opening to allow sediment to settle. Decant slowly into a clean decanter, holding the bottle against a light source and stopping when sediment begins to move toward the neck. A young vintage port benefits from two to three hours in the decanter before serving. For the full process see our guide to decanting vintage port.

Store vintage port lying on its side in a cool, dark and vibration-free environment at 10 to 15 degrees Celsius. Avoid anywhere with significant temperature fluctuations such as above a radiator or near an oven. Once opened and decanted, consume within 24 to 48 hours as vintage port fades quickly with extended air contact. For more detail see our complete guide to storing port wine.

Yes, vintage port is one of the most meaningful and memorable gifts you can give. A bottle from the recipient's birth year or a significant year in their life carries a meaning no other present can match. Our birth year port collection includes expressions going back several decades. Every bottle is available gift boxed with a free personal message, with engraving available on selected bottles.