What are the main styles of Port?

Red Port

Basic Ruby - Basic Ruby Port is medium bodied, with medium, soft tannin and a generic combination of red and black fruit flavours. Generally, they are best when drunk young.

Basic tawny - These wines are often made by light extraction during fermentation which gives them a paler, browner colour expected of a good tawny port.

Reserve Ruby and Reserve Tawny - These are higher quality wines than basic Ruby and Tawny. Reserve Tawnies must be aged in wood for a minimum of six years, whilst there is no ageing requirement for Reserve Ruby Ports. The reason they are better is because they are subject to approval by the IVDP’s tasting panel.

Tawny with an indication of Age - These Ports have been aged for long periods of time in wooden barrels. An age of 10, 20, 30 or 40 years (and from 2022, 50 years) can be stated on the label. It is worth knowing that these ages are not actually the minimum time of ageing, rather it is to indicate the average age of the blended vintages in the wine, which can be both younger and older that the age specified. To make sure it is worthy of the age label, it is also taste-tested.

Colheita - These are single vintage Tawny Ports that undergo seven years of ageing (or more) in small barrels before release. The bottle will state both the vintage as well as the year of bottling.

Vintage - Producers must state their intention to release a Vintage Port in the second year after harvest. Then, the young wine must be approved by an IVDP tasting panel. This means that there are some years where the vast majority of Port producers will declare a vintage. These grapes are almost always from quality plots, which can range into incredibly expensive prices. Vintage Ports only undergo a maximum of three years in large old wooden vessels before extensive bottle ageing. This is what they are really all about.

Young Vintage Ports tend to be deeply coloured and full-bodied with high, high tannins. As they age, this weighty tannin mellows and they develop flavours that indicate age (forest floor, dried fruits etc).

Single Quinta - These are vintage wines from one year that is made only from the grapes of one estate, or "quinta". Take Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas as a popular example.

Crusted - These are non-Vintage Ports that spend 2 year in wood before bottling. They become "crusted" because they are not fined or filtered causing a deposit or ‘crust’ to form in the bottle.

Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) - These are wines from a single year and must be bottled between four and six years after harvest. The grapes used for LBVs are not as high as for Vintage Ports. Unlike Vintage, many LBV Ports are filtered and so don't always require decanting.

Rosé/Pink Port - This was invented by Croft in the late 2000s. Much like Rose wine, the grape must is only left to macerate for a few hours to minimise colour extraction. These were aiming to chase the modern audience of Port drinkers.

White Port - White Ports come in a range of styles, with varying degrees of sweetness and oxidation. Non-oxidised wines tend to display aromatic fruity and floral notes and are meant for early consumption. Highly oxidised wines become honeyed and nutty with age. White Ports may qualify for the same labelling terms as Tawny Ports: ‘Reserve’, with an indication of age of 10, 20, 30 or 40 years old or Colheita .