best budget port

[seikopath]

whats the best port generally available? im talking around a tenner a bottle here, none of that gentlemans club carte blanche stuff

[catflem]

Grahams or Taylors LBV's are quite drinkable.

You should be able to find them for just over a tenner.

[Steve264]

Sorry, I'm in the wrong place - read it as "budget porn"

[IANAN]

You can have a pretty good night in Marseilles at a very reasonable price.

Gets beret.

[Carlton-Browne]

I was going to suggest Churchill's Crusted Port but the price seems to have crept up a little since I last bought a bottle; their white port is the best available too. I like Churchills because they are independent unlike the almost ominpresent Grahams Symington clan. I can also strongly recommend Quinta do Javali but I think you'll find it difficult to get in the UK; we had to import some direct from the maker but I managed to get some friends to take a case or two which made it less painful.
http://www.churchills-port.com/
http://www.quintadojavali.com/ (Site appears to be down for maintenance which probably means for a couple of years :roll: )

Anyway thanks for posting this as in searching for the website of Quinta do Javali I have discovered that there is a port forum. I've just registered :drunken: .
http://www.theportforum.com/index.php

[aldfort]

I'd plump for a LBV - Grahams or Taylors both OK (as has been said)

Unless you actually want to decant it. In this case ask your local wine merchant (Oddbins or a good independant not the Thresher type places) what he has in the way of crusted ports. It's not really mainstream nowadays but you never know you might get into it. I think you might pay more than a tenner though.

There is much written on the art of decanting and it needs a very steady hand. If you go this route allow the port to stand for 2-3 days more or less where you plan to decant it. When you come to do it don't jiggle the bottle, remove the foil and cork as carefully as you can (no jiggling). Decant slowly into a clean and dry decanter. Some people find a small night light candle below the neck of the bottle assists with seeing the sediment as it start to flow into the neck. Stop decanting before the sediment gets into the decanter. Expect to waste at least a glass or two from the bottle. (This %-age will improve as you get better at it.) Decant before your guests arrive but not too early in the evening. (Before you change and shower is always a good plan though :D )

[RobboMedic]

I used to look out for Warres Warrior when it was on offer for a fiver...

But I found a fantastic little gem called Otima 10, which is a light port designed to be drunk cold from the fridge...
Last time I bought a bottle it was about £11.
Definately worth a try. :wink:

I Bloody love the stuff... :drunken:

[mffw]

Most types of lower priced ports ( LBV , Tawny , Ruby ) are normally filtered before bottling , a quinta or declared vintage will be bottled unfiltered so need decanting.

[galewis]

I'd plump for a LBV - Grahams or Taylors both OK (as has been said)

Unless you actually want to decant it. In this case ask your local wine merchant (Oddbins or a good independant not the Thresher type places) what he has in the way of crusted ports. It's not really mainstream nowadays but you never know you might get into it. I think you might pay more than a tenner though.

There is much written on the art of decanting and it needs a very steady hand. If you go this route allow the port to stand for 2-3 days more or less where you plan to decant it. When you come to do it don't jiggle the bottle, remove the foil and cork as carefully as you can (no jiggling). Decant slowly into a clean and dry decanter. Some people find a small night light candle below the neck of the bottle assists with seeing the sediment as it start to flow into the neck. Stop decanting before the sediment gets into the decanter. Expect to waste at least a glass or two from the bottle. (This %-age will improve as you get better at it.) Decant before your guests arrive but not too early in the evening. (Before you change and shower is always a good plan though :D )

Or do as I do, and use a filter (food grade cheesecloth or linen). Then you don't have to decide a day in advance which port to drink, as you don't need to stand the bottle up. You'll also get more to drink as you'll simply be able to pour the whole bottle through the filter. No fuss, no waste. It's the time in the decanter that's important with port, not how it's separated from its sediment.

Gary

[Mr Stoat]

To my eternal shame if I have friends round that don't appreciate decent port then I'll offer something a little more modest but still very drinkable - Marks and Spencers Tawny or Ruby, both just under a tenner IIRC. Not sure who supplies M&S but most likely Grahams.

Optima can be had for that price too, but bear in mind they come in slightly smaller bottles than standard.

[rfrazier]

I'd plump for a LBV - Grahams or Taylors both OK (as has been said)

Unless you actually want to decant it. In this case ask your local wine merchant (Oddbins or a good independant not the Thresher type places) what he has in the way of crusted ports. It's not really mainstream nowadays but you never know you might get into it. I think you might pay more than a tenner though.

There is much written on the art of decanting and it needs a very steady hand. If you go this route allow the port to stand for 2-3 days more or less where you plan to decant it. When you come to do it don't jiggle the bottle, remove the foil and cork as carefully as you can (no jiggling). Decant slowly into a clean and dry decanter. Some people find a small night light candle below the neck of the bottle assists with seeing the sediment as it start to flow into the neck. Stop decanting before the sediment gets into the decanter. Expect to waste at least a glass or two from the bottle. (This %-age will improve as you get better at it.) Decant before your guests arrive but not too early in the evening. (Before you change and shower is always a good plan though :D )

Or do as I do, and use a filter (food grade cheesecloth or linen). Then you don't have to decide a day in advance which port to drink, as you don't need to stand the bottle up. You'll also get more to drink as you'll simply be able to pour the whole bottle through the filter. No fuss, no waste. It's the time in the decanter that's important with port, not how it's separated from its sediment.

Gary

I was once giving a party for some students, and it was pretty late. A bottle of wine had finished, and I asked one of the students to fetch a bottle from the other room. He came back with a bottle of 1963 Quinta do Nova[1]l. Opened. Well, we drank it. It is the first (and only) time I've used teeth as a filter. :)

[1] Not the Nacional, thank God.


Best wishes,
Bob

[rocket-roy]

Grahams or Taylors LBV's are quite drinkable.

You should be able to find them for just over a tenner.

+ 1

Taylors LBV's now on offer in Sainsburys at £9.99 usually £12.99

Problem with port is that it is so drinkable that you can down a bottle easily. Pay back time is not the hangover but when I go to the loo in the morning.

[exonian56]

There are a few good brands in supermarkets nowadays, Warres (whoever mentioned Optima is right - a good place to start for those who may think they do not like port). Steer clear of ruby port and some tawnies are nasty as well. LBVs can be good as well and Grahams, Taylors, Dows, Croft are all quality brands but you can pick up a vintage or two like Fonseca (very good indeed) at some supermarkets from years that may not be the great vintages - but that would cost! Difficult to get something good for a tenner but there are always offers around.

And decanting is simple as mentoned. The best thing I have found for decanting good vintage port is a piece of fine muslin. No messing around with pouring etc., and it works perfectly. We usually open 1-2 bottles a year. Last year it was Warre's 1960 and Dow's 1963. This year Graham's 1955 at Christmas.

Chin Chin!

[seikopath]

thanks for the recommendations, i usually flirt between taylors / dows and grahams lbv. i used to drink the stuff extensively, until i worked out that caning a bottle every three days actually cost me more than paying for central heating. at one time i had about 5 bottles on the go simultaneously, and in the course of my extensive taste testing research, iirc the humble morrisons own label fared comparatively well. i did have a small bottle of warres otima once, an absolute peach but unfortunately its in the next price bracket up, too expensive to drink regularly. currently im making do with a taylors lbv, holding its own nicely against the tang of lavazzo rosso that is currently my other poison de choix. tescos have an own label lbv , vintage '93 on the shelves at the mo, at 9 notes a pop, i think ill give that a go next time im in there.