The Complete Guide to Port Wine Styles Residual Sugar

To make your journey through the world of Port wine styles easier, we’ve created this clear and easy-to-read overview of all Port wine styles, now updated to include the 50-year-old categories, along with their residual sugar levels.

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Easy overview on all port wine styles with their residual sugar levels. (range)

1. Ruby Ports

Ruby Ports are youthful and fruit-forward, showcasing vibrant red and black fruit flavors like cherry, blackberry, and plum.

• Ruby: Basic, non-aged Port with bright, fruity flavors.
  Residual Sugar: 80–110 g/L

• Ruby Reserve (Premium Ruby): Higher quality, aged slightly longer (up to 5 years), offering more complexity.
  Residual Sugar: 90–120 g/L

• Crusted: A blend of unfiltered wines, bottled early and aged in the bottle for structure and richness.
  Residual Sugar: 90–120 g/L

2. Tawny Ports

Tawny Ports are aged in wooden barrels, allowing gradual oxidation and imparting nutty, caramel, and dried fruit flavors.

• Tawny (Basic): Aged 2–3 years in barrels, lighter and softer than Ruby.
  Residual Sugar: 100–120 g/L

• Aged Tawny (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 Years): Aged for decades with each label indicating the average age. The 50-year-old Tawny is a recent addition, offering unparalleled depth and elegance.
  Residual Sugar: 100–140 g/L

• Colheita: A single-vintage Tawny aged for a minimum of 7 years in barrels.
  Residual Sugar: 100–140 g/L

• Very Very Old Tawny Port (VVO Tawny): A newly introduced category for exceptionally aged Tawnies, typically older than 80 years, with extreme complexity and concentration.
  Residual Sugar: 120–160 g/L

3. White Ports

White Ports are made from white grape varieties and come in a range of styles, from dry to sweet.

• Dry White Port: Minimal sweetness, often used in cocktails or as an aperitif.
  Residual Sugar: 20–40 g/L

• Sweet White Port: Richer and sweeter, offering honeyed and floral notes.
  Residual Sugar: 90–130 g/L

• Lagrima (Sweet White Port): One of the sweetest styles of Port, often with a syrupy texture.
  Residual Sugar: 130–150 g/L

• Aged White Port (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 Years): Complex, nutty, and caramelized flavors with oxidative aging.
  Residual Sugar: 100–140 g/L

4. Rosé Port

Rosé Ports are light, fruity, and refreshing, with flavors of red berries and floral undertones.

• Pink Port: A modern style introduced to attract younger drinkers, offering a lighter and more approachable profile.
  Residual Sugar: 80–100 g/L

5. Vintage Ports

Vintage Ports are made from a single exceptional harvest and are considered among the finest Port wines.

• Vintage Port: Bottled young and aged in the bottle, with bold and concentrated flavors.
  Residual Sugar: 90–120 g/L

• Single Quinta Vintage: Similar to Vintage Port but from a single vineyard or estate, often produced in non-declared vintage years.
  Residual Sugar: 90–120 g/L

6. Late Bottled Vintage (LBV)

A single-vintage Port aged 4–6 years in barrels, offering a balance of depth and approachability.

• LBV (Filtered): Ready to drink upon release, with fruity and rich characteristics.
  Residual Sugar: 90–120 g/L

• LBV (Unfiltered): More structured and suitable for further aging, may require decanting.
  Residual Sugar: 90–120 g/L

7. Special Styles

These unique styles showcase the diversity and craftsmanship of Port wines.

• Garrafeira: A rare style aged first in barrels and then in glass demijohns for decades, resulting in a distinctive, complex flavor.
  Residual Sugar: 80–110 g/L

We hope that this gives you a clear, easy to read and understandable view on all port wine styles and their residual sugar level ranges. Whenever you are doing your WSET Level 2/3 or SDEN levels of wine courses, this may come in handy to understand this specific wine category - Port Wine.

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