Vintage Port Guide
What To Drink and What To Give
Vintage port is a wonderful wine. As well as being the world’s most affordable fine wine, vintage port makes a great wine gift, especially when it comes anniversary wines. For those of you with special anniversaries coming up in 2025 – be it a 70th birthday, a 50th wedding anniversary or a 40th celebration – you’ll be spoilt for choice in terms of the vintage ports that are on offer.
To help you get the wine that’s right for you, here is MWH Wine’s guide to which vintage ports to drink in 2025. Whether you’re looking to treat a loved one with a special wine gift, or are just looking to indulge yourself, in this guide you’ll find everything you need to enjoy a memorable drinking experience.
If you are looking for a specific vintage port, then please do get in touch by calling Mike on 0118 984 4654 or by emailing MWH Wines here. A recognised authority on these wines, he’ll be happy to advise you on which vintage port is right for you.
1955 Vintage Port: Still going strong
1955 is arguably one of the greatest post-war years for vintage port. 26 shippers ‘declared’ (made a vintage wine), the largest number since 1927. Tasting something like Taylor’s 1955 as we did last year, it’s easy to see why so many producers felt the vintage warranted declaration. The vintage saw some excessive heat with temperatures hitting over 40°C (104°F) in July and August but the long growing season ensured that by the time the harvest began in September the grapes were healthy concentrated and bursting with juicy fruit. Like many of the great port vintages, 1955 produced wines that were built for the long haul. The giants of the Douro, shippers such as Taylor’s, Fonseca, Graham and Dow, created exceptional wines that are now in their prime but will continue to provide immense drinking pleasure over the coming years.
What do the 1955 vintage ports taste like?
At 70 years of age, the 1955s are wearing well. Most are now ruby in colour with a pale tawny rim. Typically, they offer aromas of black and white dried fruits, with a touch of liquorice, ginger and dried apricots. On the palate, they are still mighty wines, the flavours now running to butterscotch, chocolate, pears, hazelnut paste and cherry liqueur. At the end comes some sweetness – cherry jam – plus a wave of sweet and savoury autumnal fruits, minerals, and smoke.
What are the best 1955 vintage ports?
In a vintage as good as 1955, pretty much everything is good – we’ve never tasted a poor 1955 vintage port. Our top five would probably be:
- Taylor’s 1955
- Fonseca 1955
- Quinta do Noval 1955
- Coft 1955
- Graham 1955
View our complete list of 1955 vintage ports.
1975 Vintage Port: At the peak of its powers
For years the 1975 vintage ports were marketed as ‘light’ and ‘approachable’. These have always been slightly misleading descriptions, ones that don’t do the wines justice. That said, 1975 vintage ports have always been relative bargains, especially when compared to the 1970s and 1977s.
1975 was a fine year, but rain in September dampened spirits and pushed the harvest back into October. This delay gave the wines greater elegance and charm and added complexity as the grapes were given longer on the vines. Now at the peak of their powers, they are graceful, nuanced, subtle wines that should be drunk now and over the next 3-5 years in the main.
What do the 1975 vintage ports taste like?
At 50 years of age, the 1975s are now fully mature. Many are pale with a tawny hue like a wood port, with a nutty, dried fruit bouquet that’s offset by citrus and vanilla spice. Gentle and subtle, these are mellow wines that offer a combination of fruits of the forest, almonds and dried pears that makes them perfect with nuts or creamy cheeses.
What are the best 1975 vintage ports?
- Graham 1975
- Dow 1975
- Taylor’s 1975
- Quinta do Noval* 1975
- Coft 1975
*The Quinta do Noval 1975 is a fine wine. In all honesty, though we would not recommend it's sibling, the Quinta do Noval Nacional 1975. While it is one of the best vintage ports from 1975, at around £900 a bottle it is by far the most expensive and while we believe that wines like the Quinta do Nacional 1963 is worthy of its high price, the 1975's cost is due to its extreme rarity.
View our complete list of our 1975 vintage ports.
1985 Vintage Port: Mighty and magnificent
The 1985 vintage ports have always been favourites of ours. Their combination of ample fruit and generous extract meant they drank well young, but their steely backbone ensured they would have a long, long life. A bitter winter and a long, cold, damp spring didn’t bode well. However, the hot summer provided the winemakers with perfectly ripe fruit that was harvested from the 30thof September until mid-October. All the 1985s are now mature, but the quality of the wines is such that their ‘drinking window’ will be open for many years to come.
What do the 1985 vintage ports taste like?
While they may be forty years old, many of these wines don’t look a day over twenty. Most have retained much of their reddish-purple colour and offer bouquets of soft red and black fruits – berries and cherries – with mint, chocolate, and spices. In the mouth, they are rounded, plump, and full of energy. Mouth-filling flavours of brambles, blackcurrant conserve, chocolate, black treacle, charcoal, wild herbs, mint, leaf tea, the flavours go on and on… Drink now with cheeses or fruit desserts or squirrel away for another couple of decades.
What are the best 1985 vintage ports?
- Quinta do Noval 1985
- Taylor’s 1985
- Warre 1985
- Fonseca 1985
- Dow 1985
View our complete list of 1985 vintage ports.
1970 Vintage Port: Pure joy!
While it’s not an anniversary year, if you’re looking for a real Christmas cracker of a port or something to enjoy in 2025, look no further than a 1970 vintage port. Perfect growing conditions produced wines that were full-bodied, ripe, and powerful with, to quote Michael Broadbent in The Great Vintage Wine Book, ‘a seemingly endless plateau of maturity.’ We’ve been fortunate enough to drink many 1970 vintage ports from several shippers and they have always been superb. Generally cheaper than the 1963s and more joyful than the (still) austere 1977s, they are glorious examples of vintage port.
What do the 1970 vintage ports taste like?
These wines have held up brilliantly and they’ve matured slowly while retaining much of their original fruit and vitality. The best wines are still cherry red, with complex aromas of blackberries, cherries, mint, and chocolate. In the mouth, they offer a combination of power and grace, with a rich seam of stewed black fruits given life by red berries and support by firm, yet rounded tannins. I remember tasting the Taylor 1970 alongside the 1977 in 1995, and it was astonishing how vigorous it was even in comparison to the huge 1977. These are wines to enjoy now and for years to come. Bravo!
What are the best 1970 vintage ports?
- Taylor’s 1970
- Graham 1970
- Croft 1970
- Quinta do Noval 1970
- Warre 1970
- Delaforce 1970
- Martinez 1970
- Offley 1970
Frankly, pretty much any shipper of 1970 port will be a winner. View our complete list of 1970 vintage ports.
Like some vintage port help?
We hope you have found this Vintage Port For 2025 Guide of interest. If you are looking for a specific vintage port, then please do get in touch by calling Mike on 0118 984 4654 or by emailing MWH Wines. A recognised authority on all kinds of port, he’ll be happy to advise you on which wine is right for you. You may also enjoy reading our Definitive Guide To Vintage Port.
