Ports

Vale do Meao was founded by the first lady of port, Antonia Adelaide Ferreira, and is still owned and worked by her family. 2012 was a cooler vintage and the yields were low. This has led to ports that are powerful but with a lovely lift to them, a good keeping vintage that is still approachable now.

A Late Bottled Vintage from Niepoort, aged for between four and six years depending on the quality of the vintage. It is designed for drinking without ageing in bottle, and is bursting with black fruits, plums, cinnamon spice and nutmeg. It's a great after-dinner drink and pairs really well with a big piece of medium-strong hard cheese.

The 1980s heralded some fantastic wines and 85 was no exception. This Dow's is rich and opulent with plums, blackberry compote and secondary notes of fig and dried spices.

A 2015 Quinta De Vargellas Port from Taylor's, this offers notes of plums, forest berries, nutmeg, anise, cacao, summer flowers and wild herbs throughout the palate.

A limited-edition 1982 Quinta Dos Malvedos bottle-aged Port from Graham's, laid down to rest after being bottled in 1984.

A 30-year-old tawny port from Graham's, matured in oak casks for a concentrated flavour with more restrained sweetness than in younger wines.

A bottle of Taylor's 10-year-old tawny port in a gift tube. The name tawny port comes from the colour the wine turns after wood ageing and the style gives a nuttier taste of port. Delightful with Stilton, or indeed on its own as a post-prandial drink.

The 1994 vintage port from massive wine house Fonseca. This one is a bit on the brash side still, but looks like it will age excellently. One to hide in the cellar for a while.

A limited-edition Port from Taylor's, inspired by the 'bladder' shaped bottles manufactured in England between 1715 and 1740, with a flat-chestnut shape. Carefully selected for Taylor's aged tawny Port stocks, the Historic Edition Port has a rich, well-balanced character. Mature aromas of plum, fig, sultana, marzipan and butterscotch fill the nose, with hints of cigars, cedarwood and leather underneath. The palate offers notes of rich fruit cake and fresh plums that linger into the finish.

A late-bottled-vintage port from Dow's, made from grapes harvested in 2001, and aged in wood for a number of years before release. LBV was introduced as a way to drink vintage port earlier (and cheaper) and is ready to be drunk upon release.