1985 Wine and Port Vintage
Vintage Summary and Recommendations: 
Welcome to Vintage Wine and Port's 1985 wine page. Read on for our summary of the 1985 vintage, our top recommendations and region reports. Scroll down to see all of our wines currently available. If you cannot find what you are looking for please call us on 01425 837177 or Contact Us. We would love to help you with your wine choice!
1985 is unanimously regarded as a wonderful vintage for much of the wine world, especially in Europe.
Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône and Champagne all put out extraordinary vintages; some, like Champagne, are even regarded as a vintage of the decade. Safe to say, there should still be a wide range of 1985 French wine still drinking well today, particularly long-lived reds from the major growing regions. Italy was also exceptionally good. The Port vintage was universally declared and there will be many great Ports still drinking well today and quite likely for some time still to come. Any of these wines would make a fabulous 40 year old wine gift for an Anniversary or birthday.
Our Wine Expert currently recommends the following wines for this year:
This Year in History: Fun Fact: Walt Disney World received its 200-millionth guest.
Eurovision Winner: Norway with the song " La Det Swinge" by Bobbysocks
Top Grossing Movie: Back to the Future
Bordeaux: The 1985 wine vintage produced examples that are characterised by being well developed, rich and having a seductive complexity with an attractive perfume. A drought for much of August and September led to concentrated grapes at harvest. The wines have now generally gone through the peak of their maturity and should be drunk within the next few years.
Italian: 1985 was an outstanding vintage for Italian wines, one of the best in the last 50 years for Piedmont and Tuscany. The vintage produced wines of great consistency, and the best wines should be great.
Portugal:
The 1985 is a great classic Port Vintage, with concentrated, rich and potent wines. The year was a general declaration of vintage, the majority of Houses judging it to be up to their high standards. 1985 was a model year for the growth of the vines: a wet winter followed by a moderate spring led into an extremely warm June and a hot July and August. The harvest took place under perfect weather conditions, and the fermentations went well also. From the very start shippers were predicting outstanding wines. The resulting ports are characterised as being forward with enormous structure, and staggering depth, dimension, and length. They are at the peak of their maturity and will remain so for another 10-15 years. Spain: 1985 was a near-perfect vintage for Spanish wines, with a warm summer and a perfect ripening season. The wines produced are generally easy-drinking wines of medium intensity. About 10% of wine went into Gran Reserva production.
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21 products found.
Burmester, 1985
Burmester Colheita In gift tube Special Offer | Was £129 | Now £99
The 1985 vintage is widely recognised as a classic year in the Douro, with ideal weather conditions throughout the growing season. A warm, dry summer followed by a well-timed harvest produced grapes of excellent ripeness and balance. While many producers declared Vintage Ports, the vintage also yielded remarkable wines for extended cask ageing. This Colheita captures the essence of that year with over three decades of development, offering an elegant alternative to its Vintage counterparts.
Winemaking
Hand-picked at optimal ripeness, the grapes were destemmed and crushed, then fermented in traditional granite lagares under controlled temperatures (28–30°C). …
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Price: £99.00
Stock: 81 in Stock
Burmester
40 Year Old 'TORDIZ' Tawny Port in Gift Tube
IWSC (2025) - Gold Award
*** Gold Medal at the 2025 International Wine Challenge ***
Bright brown colour, with greenish nuances. Presents a bouquet with intense aromas of dried fruits, delicate spices notes and a sweet touch of honey. In the taste it is full, unctuous and velvety. This wine overflows seduction and an enormous refinement. A feeling that is extended in the long and complex finish.
This 40-year-old wine owes its name, Tordiz, to the confluence of the Torto and Mendiz rivers. It is obtained from wines that have been carefully aged in small oak casks and later blended in a small upstanding oak vat dating from 1864. …
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Price: £119.00
Stock: 30 in Stock
Maynard's Port
40 Year Old Tawny Port in Decanter
Multiple Award Winner
Multiple Award Winner
*** IWC Gold award Winner ***
*** 90 Points Decanter ***
*** 93 Points Wine Spectator ***
Rated as Outstanding by Wine Spectator and awarded Gold at the International Wine Challenge, Maynard’s 40-Year-Old Tawny Port represents the pinnacle of aged Tawny craftsmanship. Now available once again in the UK through Vintage Wine & Port, this extraordinary bottling honours Walter Maynard—the first established English Port shipper in Oporto—and reflects decades of slow maturation in seasoned oak casks. Each bottle is presented in its own elegant gift box, making it an exceptional choice for collectors and special occasions. …
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Price: £79.95
Stock: 1 in Stock
Palmer Port
40 Year Old Tawny Port
Was £89.95
Special Offer £74.95
Exclusive to Vintage Wine and Port
Tasting Notes: The Palmer 40 Year tawny is a careful blend of many traditional grape varieties from selected vineyards in various areas of the Douro Demarcated Region, patiently aged to resemble the taste of a port that was aged for 40 years in old oak casks. The 40 Year old has a pronounced aroma intensity that is very rich with nuts and baked cherry. There is further complexity of nutmeg and cream. On the palate the wine is very balanced between acidity and sweetness that gives a luxurious mouthfeel. Lovely richness of fruitcake, fig, baked plum, caramel and toffee. There are also notes of plum, cherry, cooked strawberry. …
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Price: £74.95
Stock: 35 in Stock
Quevedo
40 Year Old Tawny Port in Gift Box
95 Points - Wine Enthusiast
The 40 year old Port combines the talent of 3 generations. João, Oscar Sr. and Cláudia combined their effort in the cellar to blend this balanced, intense and complex very old Tawny, pairing the concentration from Port wine aging in the Douro with the elegant style of Quevedo’s Tawny.
Produced using Hand-harvested, sustainable and dry farmed grapes, fermented in traditional Granite (vats) lagares. Aged and matured in seasoned chestnut casks and unfiltered.
Tasting notes
The colour is amber with green hints.
The aroma is a complex and intense expression with notes of citrus marmalade, dry fruits, nutmeg, marzipan and almond essence. …
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Price: £119.00
Stock: 22 in Stock
Quinta da Devesa
40 Year Old White Port in Gift Box
50cl Bottle
WAS £89.95 Spacial Offer £74.95
92 Points- Wine Advocate
The Quinta da Devesa 40-Year-Old White Port is a rare and distinguished expression from the Douro Valley, showcasing the estate's dedication to traditional winemaking and sustainable viticulture. Crafted from a blend of indigenous white grape varieties, including Côdega de Larinho, Rabigato, and Malvasia Fina, this port is aged in oak casks for an average of 40 years, resulting in a complex and refined profile.
In the glass, it exhibits a golden white colour with slightly greenish hues. The nose is rich and layered, offering aromas of orange, vanilla, wood, nut, and honey. On the palate, it is full and fresh, with notes of dried fruit, caramel, and spices, culminating in a long, sweet, and vanilla finish. …
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Price: £74.95
Stock: 17 in Stock
Quinta da Devesa
40 Year Old Tawny Port in Gift Box
75cl Bottle
94 Points - Wine Advocate
The Quinta da Devesa 40-Year-Old Tawny Port is a distinguished expression from the Douro Valley, reflecting the estate's dedication to traditional winemaking and sustainable viticulture. Crafted from a blend of indigenous grape varieties, including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, and Tinto Cão, this tawny port is aged in oak casks for an average of 40 years, resulting in a complex and refined profile.
In the glass, it exhibits a deep mahogany hue with amber reflections. The nose is rich and layered, offering aromas of dried fruits, honey, balsam, cloves, shaved ginger, fig, and marjoram. …
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Price: £89.95
Stock: 43 in Stock
Kopke
40 Year Old Tawny Port in Gift Box
Decanter Silver Award ( DWWA 2025 )
This Kopke 40 Year Old Tawny Port is a beautifully balanced and richly complex wine, perfect for savouring on special occasions. Its intricate layers of flavours and aromas make it a delightful experience for the palate, showcasing the masterful aging process and the quality of the port.
Tasting Notes
Deep amber with mahogany highlights, indicating aging. Its aromas include dried fruits, caramel, toffee, butterscotch, roasted nuts, vanilla, and spices. The palate is smooth and luscious, with a pronounced sweetness and well-integrated acidity. The texture is velvety and full-bodied, offering a luxurious mouthfeel. …
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Price: £119.00
Stock: 4 in Stock
Messias
40 Year Old White Port in Gift Tube
50cl Bottle
The Messias 40 Year Old White Port showcases a remarkable light amber colour with hints of mahogany. The nose unfolds with layers of complexity, offering rich aromas of caramelized nuts, and apricot, interwoven with delicate notes of vanilla bean and aged honey. On the palate, it’s an indulgent experience, with flavours of rich butterscotch, and toasted almonds. The wine’s age is evident in its silky texture and extraordinary depth, while a vibrant acidity provides balance and freshness. The finish is long and opulent, with a lingering sweetness and a touch of spice that leaves a memorable, luxurious impression. …
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Price: £89.95
Stock: 10 in Stock
Quinta Das Carvalhas
40 Year Old Tawny Port in Gift Tube
WAS £119 Special Offer £99
The Quinta das Carvalhas 40 Year Old Tawny Port is not just a wine; it’s an experience. Whether you're gifting it to someone special or indulging in it yourself, this wine promises to deliver a memorable and luxurious tasting experience that reflects the very best of what the Douro Valley has to offer.
Tasting notes
Deep amber colour with a golden rim. A a luxurious blend of complex aromas, including hints of honey, nutmeg, vanilla, and subtle oak, all of which are indicative of its lengthy aging process. A 40 Year Old Tawny that boasts intense flavours of dried fruits like figs and apricots, alongside notes of toasted almonds, caramel, and rich spices. …
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Price: £99.00
Stock: 67 in Stock
Croft Port, 1985
Vintage Port
150cl- Magnum bottle
Includes Magnum Gift Box
Full and robust, this is a classic Croft style with sweet berry aromas. After many years slowly maturing in the cellar, it is now ready and drinking extremely well. Bottled in an impressive 1.5L magnum its size makes it ideal for sharing and perfect for marking 1985 anniversary celebrations, milestone birthdays, weddings, or as a prestigious gift for wine collectors. The magnum format not only enhances ageing but also elevates any occasion with its grand presentation.
Tasting Notes:
This vintage displays rich aromas of dried fruits, …
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Price: £149.00
Stock: 12 in Stock
Dow's, 1985
Private Cellar Release, Vintage Port
We are delighted to announce the release of a very limited number of bottles of Dow's 1985 Vintage Ports, drawn directly from Symington Family Estates’ private cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia.
1985 was one of the great classic vintages of the late 20th century. Textbook conditions throughout the growing season – balanced vine growth, a warm dry summer and near-perfect harvest weather – produced concentrated and powerful wines with remarkable ageing potential. Now, after four decades of cellaring in ideal conditions, these Vintage Ports have gained immense complexity and are offered at a glorious stage of maturity. …
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Price: £281.00
Stock: 2 in Stock
Graham's Port
40 Year Old Tawny Port New Edition
Decanter (DWWA 2025) Gold
RRP £219 Special Offer £185
Graham's 40 Year Old Tawny. A truly remarkable wine cared for across generations. A great testament to the arts of blending, cooperage, and ageing. Aged for an average of 40 years in seasoned oak casks, our 40 Year Old Tawny is a testament to time and patience. Composed of wines put aside generations ago, this is an incredible wine with an amazingly long finish, indicating both its age and immense quality.
Graham's 40 Years Old Tawny is made from wines of the very highest quality which, following careful selection, are matured in seasoned oak casks of until their peak of maturity is reached. …
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Price: £185.00
Stock: 5 in Stock
Hooper's Port, 1985
Vintage Port
The 1985 Hooper's Vintage Port is a traditional fortified wine from Portugal's Douro Valley, produced by Richard Hooper & Sons. This vintage is recognized for its deep color and rich flavors, characteristic of ports from that era.
Tasting notes describe the wine as having a medium purple-ruby hue with aromas of fresh raspberry and chocolate. On the palate, it offers full-bodied flavors with plenty of raspberry, silky medium tannins, and a fresh finish . Another review highlights its surprisingly opaque and purple appearance, tightly knit but compact structure, fine depth of fruit, and full body, though it seems to tail off in the finish . …
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Price: £89.00
Stock: 12 in Stock
Niepoort Port, 1985
Vintage Port
From the outstanding 1985 vintage. The excellent Niepoort is one of the smallest producers of port. Their ports are sought after by collectors and port lovers.
"Niepoort is to Vintage Port what Krug is to Champagne. They are both small houses in a world dominated by large competitors but they are producing outstanding wines which very few can match." (James Suckling, Vintage Port).
"The nose is smooth with ripe red fruits and a smooth, dusty, spicy tannic structural character (yes, Ports seem to convey structure by the nose too). The palate is smooth, elegant and spicy showing lots of expression, and a fair bit of fruit. …
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Price: £119.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Sandeman
40 Year Old Tawny Port
***95 Points- GOLD Winner- IWC 2024***
***95 Points- Gold - Decanter 2024***
Comes in Original Gift Tube
The Sandeman 40 Year Old Tawny Port is a luxurious and complex aged tawny port, known for its exceptional depth and sophistication. This port is the result of meticulous blending and extended aging in oak casks, which imparts rich flavours and a smooth, refined character.
Tasting Notes
Deep amber with golden and greenish highlights, indicating a long aging process. Its aroma is intricate, with notes of dried fruits, toasted nuts, caramel, honey, spice, vanilla, and oak. The palate is remarkably smooth, rich, and full-bodied, with a harmonious blend of dried fruits, toffee, caramel, cinnamon, nutmeg, and citrus. …
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Price: £149.00
Stock: 11 in Stock
Taylor Fladgate, 1985
Vintage Port
The 1985 Taylor’s Vintage Port is a superb expression of the house’s hallmark style—firm, structured, and capable of great longevity. While not quite as monumental as their legendary 1970 or 1994, the 1985 is a standout from this classic declared vintage, showing the balance and precision that Taylor’s is known for. Now approaching 40 years of age, it has entered a glorious period of maturity, offering power, poise, and aromatic complexity in equal measure.
The nose is deep and captivating, with concentrated aromas of blackberry compote, cassis, and dark plum, layered with violet, spice, and graphite. …
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Price: £119.00
Stock: 21 in Stock
Warre's Vintage Port, 1985
Vintage Port
Warre’s, 1985
Vintage Port
The 1985 vintage is one of the finest of the decade, and Warre produced a wine of exceptional charm and balance. Now with four decades of bottle age, it has reached a beautiful stage of maturity—retaining the house’s hallmark elegance while developing the fragrant, silky complexity that sets well-aged Warre apart. This is classic, understated Vintage Port at its best.
The nose is inviting and aromatic, offering a mix of rose petal, dried cherry, fig, and soft Christmas spices. Subtle notes of cedar, cocoa, and bergamot emerge with time in the glass, giving this wine an almost perfumed refinement. …
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Price: £99.00
Stock: 22 in Stock
Warre's Vintage Port, 1985
Private Cellar Release, Vintage Port
We are delighted to announce the release of a very limited number of bottles of Warre's 1985 Vintage Ports, drawn directly from Symington Family Estates’ private cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia.
1985 was one of the great classic vintages of the late 20th century. Textbook conditions throughout the growing season – balanced vine growth, a warm dry summer and near-perfect harvest weather – produced concentrated and powerful wines with remarkable ageing potential. Now, after four decades of cellaring in ideal conditions, these Vintage Ports have gained immense complexity and are offered at a glorious stage of maturity. …
more >>>
Price: £228.00
Stock: 3 in Stock
Dow's
40 Year Old Tawny Port ***92 Points- Wine Enthusiast***
Dows 40 Year Old Tawny Port A beautiful translucent amber-golden colour and an almost transparent rim with exquisite fragrances of delicate dry fruit coupled with a hint of fine marmalade. A luxuriously silk-like palate with polished elegance and notes of fruit preserves. The complex, long and slightly dry finish reveals nutty praline notes ending with a tea leaf flourish
Dow’s Port is one of the most famous names in the Port trade and today is owned and managed by the fifth generation of the Symington family. The family, whose experience dates back over 100 years, supervises all the vineyards, winemaking and ageing of this wine. …
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Price: £139.00
Stock: Out of Stock
Graham's Port, 1985
Private Cellar Release, Vintage Port
Delivery December 2025
We are delighted to announce the release of a very limited number of bottles of Graham’s 1985 Vintage Ports, drawn directly from Symington Family Estates’ private cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia.
1985 was one of the great classic vintages of the late 20th century. Textbook conditions throughout the growing season – balanced vine growth, a warm dry summer and near-perfect harvest weather – produced concentrated and powerful wines with remarkable ageing potential. Now, after four decades of cellaring in ideal conditions, these Vintage Ports have gained immense complexity and are offered at a glorious stage of maturity. …
more >>>
Price: £365.00
Stock: Out of Stock