Let’s explore White Port together.
Port or other fortified wines are not my area of expertise. However, that’s why I like to write about new varieties, regions and styles of wines. It pushes me to go through the process of researching and really focusing on what I’m tasting. I’ve already looked at some Chilean fortified “Ruby Port” and “Tawny Port” styles as well as French fortified wines like Banyuls in the Cotes Catalanes. There’s also fortified PX and Sherry from the Jerez region in Spain (although I’ve only posted about unfortified Sherry). However, I haven’t covered Madeira or White Port. This is partly because I have even less experience with them than the previously mentioned wine types.
What is White Port?
At the most basic level, White Port is Port made with exclusively white grape varieties instead of red varieties like they use in Ruby or Tawny Ports. White Port is the least well-known of the Ports. They weren’t even allowed to be called Port until 1986. You’re more likely to find top vintage or well-aged Madeira as a fortified white than White Port.
Still, like top Madeira, White Ports can be different levels of sweetness. There’s very sweet (lagrima), sweet (doce), off-dry (meio seco), dry (seco) or extra dry (extra seco). However, unlike Madeira, White Ports are still usually blends while the top aged Madeiras are usually monovarietal white wines. The varietal also lets you know the level of sweetness for Madeira with Malvasia being the sweetest style and Sercial being the driest version.
Although Madeira has small-scale production, for me it’s been harder to find old White Port because it was mostly small producers who demanded it be allowed to be called Port, and so it was mostly they who had kept old White Port in their cellars at a smaller scale compared to the amount of old vintage Ruby or Tawny Ports from big houses.
For this post, I found an entry level Non-Vintage “Fine” White Port to taste. Besides different levels of sweetness, there are different levels of aging. “Fine” or “Classic” White Port means it’s aged around 3 years in large wooden vats or even stainless steel tanks. The “Reserve” Whites are aged around 7 years in oak. Then you may find wines labeled with the number of years they’ve aged in oak like 10 Years Old, 20, 30, etc. Finally, there are “Colheita” or vintage White Ports, which are aged a long time in wood.
Tasting Notes
NV W. & J. Graham’s Fine White Port
Traditional white varieties like Códega, Malvasia Fina, Rabigato and Viosinho. Sweeter than the previous White Ports I’ve had which were drier, creamier and more oxidative with nutty flavors. Those were all either aged longer in wood, like at the 10 year level, or labeled as “dry.” They were closer to Sherry or Tawny Ports in style. The “Fine” category means the emphasis is on the fruit and less oxidation given it could even be aged in stainless steel tanks. Doing some research, it looks like Graham’s uses a combination of oak and stainless steel. It reminds me more of a semi-sweet Vermouth but without all the botanicals. Round and smooth with a bit of savory notes on the back end. Easy to drink on its own or with tonic. The alcohol is kept in check at 19%. Not super complex though. My guests who had never had White Port also loved it and found it a little too easy to drink. Therefore, it’s a good entry level into White Port and perfect to use in cocktails too while the 10+ year aged ones are more contemplative. I’m not rating this because I don’t have enough experience White Port to compare, but it’s a wine genre I’d definitely like to explore more.