Port advice?

[karohemd]

I'd like to bring my parents a nice bottle of port. Any recommendations?
My maximum budget is £20.

UPDATE: Thanks for all your advice. I'll see what I can find.

Comments

[mazzarc.livejournal.com]

I believe Andy is the authority on Port....ask him. Even tho he doesn't drink anymore.

[riksowden.livejournal.com]

Dowes is good, take a look for their late bottled vintage, very good...

[serpentstar.livejournal.com]

I was just going to suggest a Dow's LBV too. Or else spend a bit more and get a vintage, but they're problematic 'cos you have to really drink the whole bottle in one day -- I quite like the versatility of an LBV.

[bibliogirl.livejournal.com]

Taylor's 10-year-old is quite pleasant (it's our standard "party port")

[omentide.livejournal.com]

I think my favourite port is Acco.

Though Istanbul is also nice.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Very helpful, thanks. :oP

[puddingcat.livejournal.com]

Warre's is nice.

[sesquipedality.livejournal.com]

Kind of hard. At 20 quid, you're just above the LBV cachet, but not quite into vintage territory. Any LBV in the 10-15 pound range should be acceptable quality. Sainsbury's had an excellent Taylor's LBV at half price last week. There's not really anything I'd recommend in the 15-20 quid cachet, since there's not really going to be an appreciable difference between that and a 10 pound bottle. Avoid Warres Ottima like the plague. Nice bottle, unpleasant taste.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

My parents (or I) aren't exactly connoisseurs or know their port so a nice LBV should do the trick.

[spencerpine.livejournal.com]

Marks and Spencer's is fantastic. Really. It depends on how much you care about the label, but a lot of the major supermarkets do really good own-brand port.

ah yes, any port in a storm...

[whiskeylover.livejournal.com]

I quite like the Warres Ottima, but I suppose tastes differ.

Quinta Do Noval do quite a nice 1998 unfiltered LBV (available at the Oddbins, Regent Street for £10).

Other than that, Grahams, Warres, Taylors and Dows all have very reasonable bottles, and if your budget is limited to £20, you could always opt for a half bottle of vintage.

Personally I have always been a great fan of the Fonseca 1975 vintage (which retailed at £20 some years ago in Edinburgh), but I haven't seen any of that around for ages.


But for the money, I think my recommendations would be either a Dow's crusted port (quite heavy and sweet) or a Niepoort Colheita (a bit lighter, but still exceedingly nice)