Looking for good, cheap port

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I am looking for some nice cheap bottles of port. Something that is ready to go now, and is in the sub-$30 range. Hope you guys can give me some info on what to look for.
 
Hardy's makes one called "Whiskers Blake." It's delicious, cheap ($14 IIRC) and goes great with cigars. I believe Cigardawg favors this for his everyday port as I do.

Wilkey
 
My ex used to drink an inexpensive port by Warres...I think it was called the "Warrior."
If I rememebr correctly, it was sub 30, and quite drinkable. Then again, I knew NOTHING of ports while we were together, and know barely more than that much now.
 
Taylor Fladgate 10 year-old Tawny, about $25, and is an amazing Port and great with a cigar. I had it back to back with their 20 year-old and I liked the 10 more than the 20.
 
Australian
Whisker's Blake ($14-$17) - Rated 93 by Spectator a couple of years back
Clocktower by Yalumba ($10-$12)
Galway Pipe by Yalumba ($20-$24)
Illapara (sp?) ($12-$15)

Portguese
Taylor Fladgate 10 yr Tawny ($20-$30)
Dow 10 yr Tawny ($20-$28)
Fonseca 10 yr Tawny ($20-$28)
LBVs from any of the above ($19-$24)

Those are some of my favorites. I've typically got 3-6 bottles of port in the house at any one time...love the stuff. :love:
 
cigardawg said:
Australian
Whisker's Blake ($14-$17) - Rated 93 by Spectator a couple of years back
Clocktower by Yalumba ($10-$12)
Galway Pipe by Yalumba ($20-$24)
Illapara (sp?) ($12-$15)

Portguese
Taylor Fladgate 10 yr Tawny ($20-$30)
Dow 10 yr Tawny ($20-$28)
Fonseca 10 yr Tawny ($20-$28)
LBVs from any of the above ($19-$24)

Those are some of my favorites. I've typically got 3-6 bottles of port in the house at any one time...love the stuff. :love:
Click to expand...

Hands down, my favorite inexpensive tawny port :thumbs:

:cool:
 
LBV ports from any of the major houses should be readily available for <$30.

My favorites so far:
Grahams 2000 LBV ($20-22)
Quinta do Noval 1998/1999 LBV ($18-22)
Warres 1994 LBV ($25-32)

The second two are unfiltered, so despite being LBV, they should improve slightly with age.

The Warres 1994 shows the full character of a Warres vintage port.

I have not tried vintage ports for Grahams or Noval yet, so I can't comment on them. But the Noval is my favorite of the bunch (a little more cab like body than most ports)
 
Most of the abovementioned ports have a strong finish and therefore a strong and sometimes unpleasant aftertaste. Also they are the most recognized names in our markets.
Try couple of my favorites:
1. Royal Oporto 1977 about 40.00 but well worth the price. This port is rather hard to find but more available in east coast. 1953 is about 150.00 and drinks like a fine congac. Simply superb with a flavorful habanos like Ramon Allones 8-9-8
2. Smith Woodhouse. No disappointment in any of their vintages and very reasonable.

Enjoy.

Jon
 
alpi57 said:
Most of the abovementioned ports have a strong finish and therefore a strong and sometimes unpleasant aftertaste. Also they are the most recognized names in our markets.
Try couple of my favorites:
1. Royal Oporto 1977 about 40.00 but well worth the price. This port is rather hard to find but more available in east coast. 1953 is about 150.00 and drinks like a fine congac. Simply superb with a flavorful habanos like Ramon Allones 8-9-8
2. Smith Woodhouse. No disappointment in any of their vintages and very reasonable.

Enjoy.

Jon
Click to expand...

Thanks Jon, but I've never had a unpleasant aftertaste with the Grahams LBV or the Whiskers Blake which are "good cheap ports" in my opinion. I agree with you on the Smith-Woodhouse ports :thumbs: , I've got a few of those laying down in the cellar for proper ageing.

This past weekend I went over to the Sierra Foothills to pick up some futures and visited a couple of my favorite wineries. I picked up a few bottles of the NV Montevina Zinfandel Port for under $20, I forgot how good this port actually is. To my palate this is more like a late harvest Zin than a port, but when I want something a little lighter it fits the bill perfectly. We also use this port in recipes calling for a late harvest Zinfandel or light fruity port, it pairs very well with a Chocolate Decadance or Pot de Creme.

:cool:
 
Wow! Lots of action on this 2 month old thread in the last week. Thanks for everyone's thoughts. I look forward to trying as many of these as possible.

Due to a previous mention from NorCal, I have had the Grahams LBV. I thought it was great with no harsh aftertaste.
 
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