The one idea that explains Port: almost every style is defined by where it ages and for how long. Ports aged in wood slowly turn amber and nutty. Ports aged in bottle stay deep red and throw a sediment. Learn that, and the labels start to make sense.
The definitions below follow the IVDP, the official regulator of Port and Douro wines. The tastings are ones the producers publish, checked on September 17, 2026.
Table of Contents
Sweet or dry?
Port can be very sweet, sweet, semi-dry, dry or extra dry. The winemaker sets that by choosing when to interrupt the fermentation: stop early and more of the grape’s sugar remains. Most Port you meet is sweet, which is why Taylor’s Chip Dry, a dry white aperitif Port the house says it first blended in 1934, is a useful surprise.
Red Ports aged mainly in bottle
Ruby Reserve
Full-bodied and deep ruby red, usually a blend of good wine from the year, made to be young, fruity and intense but rounded.
Late Bottled Vintage (LBV)
A Ruby Port from a single year, bottled after four to six years in wood. Most are ready to drink when you buy them, though some keep ageing in bottle, so check the label. Taste it at Taylor’s, in Burmester’s €23 Prova Premium, or with Churchill’s €25 lodge tour.
Vintage
The only Port that does most of its ageing in bottle. It comes from a single harvest, is bottled two to three years after the vintage, and then develops for 10 to 50 years before it is at its best. Single Quinta Vintage is the same, from a single estate. Graham’s Private Boardroom Experience pours three Vintage Ports from 2007, 1994 and 1985.
Crusted
A blend with very intense color and a full body, kept in bottle for at least three years before sale, where it throws a deposit, the crust. Churchill’s bottle vs cask tasting includes its Crusted 2019.
Ports aged in wood
Tawny Reserve
Aged in oak, combining youthful fruit with some maturity, medium golden brown in color.
Tawny with an indication of age: 10, 20, 30 and 40 Years Old
The age on the label describes the character of the blend. A 20 Year Old is reddish to golden, with toasted vanilla, dried fruit and delicate oak; a 30 Year Old brings honey and spice with dried peach, hazelnut and vanilla; the 40 Year Old is the most concentrated and complex. The best way to understand them is side by side: Burmester pours the 10, 20 and 30 for €35, and Sandeman adds the 40 for €53.
Colheita
A Tawny from a single harvest, aged in cask for at least seven years, golden red to tawny depending on its age. Poças’ Golden Years tasting (€45) pours Colheitas from 1996 and 2005 next to a White Colheita from 2015, and Graham’s Cellar Master’s Trilogy pours Single Harvest Tawnies from 1961, 1974 and 1997.
White Ports
White Port with an indication of age comes as 10, 20, 30 and 40 Years Old: golden, with dried fruit, candied orange peel, bread, honey and spice, and fresher than a Tawny of the same age. A Reserve White is aged in wood for about seven years.
| Style | Ages mainly in | Typical character |
|---|---|---|
| Ruby Reserve | Bottled young | Young, fruity, intense |
| LBV | Wood, 4 to 6 years | Single year, ready on purchase |
| Vintage | Bottle, 10 to 50 years | Single harvest, throws sediment |
| Crusted | Bottle, 3+ years before sale | Blend, throws a crust |
| Aged Tawny | Wood | Dried fruit, nuts, vanilla |
| Colheita | Wood, 7+ years | Single-harvest Tawny |
| Aged White | Wood | Dried fruit, candied peel, honey |
Storing and serving Port at home
Fonseca gives the clearest advice for Vintage Port: store it lying down so the cork stays moist, then stand the bottle upright before opening so the sediment settles. For everything else, including how long an open bottle lasts, see how to store and serve Port, and for decanting, how to deal with wine sediment.
Taste several styles in one sitting
Canto Cooking is a commercial partner of Pinot Squirrel and we earn from bookings. Winery and lodge prices on this page come from each producer's own website.
White, Tawny, LBV and a second White from four houses, each with a chocolate or cheese pairing.
Canto Cooking · 4.9 on Google and TripAdvisor
“Best of the Best” Port Tasting with Artisan Chocolates
- Four 40 ml Ports: Sandeman Fine White, Graham's Mature Reserve Tawny, Taylor's Late Bottled Vintage, Ferreira Dona Antónia White
- A chocolate or cheese pairing with each glass
- Optional upgrade: Quinta do Vallado 20 Year Old Tawny
Check dates & bookPrice checked 17 Sep 2026
More ways to taste, with prices: Port tasting in Porto, every option compared.