All the winners from the Fortified Masters 2023

There is a host of exceptionally good fortified wines to be explored, at all price points. The judges in our annual competition discovered some shining examples that will excite connoisseurs and newcomers alike.

Fortified wines may have been slipping progressively under the radar for a few years, but customers have been missing out on a good thing.

As our 2023 Fortified Masters tasting demonstrates, these wines are fantastic and rather than being old-fashioned they are more post-modern, and well suited to contemporary consumer tastes.

These are often wines to sip and savour, as apértifs, but, as we discovered, many have the depth, structure and balance to match well with different foods. And, the styles reach far beyond the conventional wines of Jerez and Porto.

The Sherries we judged were remarkably high in quality. Palo Cortado, one of the rarest styles, tends to be nutty, gently salty with dried fruit, while Oloroso has the depth of toasted nut, raisin, dried apricot and burnt sugar.

Much of the excitement in this year ’s Fortified Masters came from the diversity of Ports. White Port showed well, and is excellent with a slice of lemon to freshen the wine. Ruby Ports are the mainstay of most Port houses, and costing around £15-£20 these wines deliver dark plum and cherry fruit balanced by fresh acidity and supple tannin texture. Ruby Reserves are rarely more expensive, and have a little more depth and interest. Late-Bottled Vintage expressions exhibited a significant step up, with more concentration and smokiness. At around £25-£30 these wines have the structure and flavour to hold for four to five years after bottling. As expected, the Vintage Ports were exceptional. Full-bodied, delicious, expensive, and worth keeping for 10 to 20-plus years, these are wines for celebration and indulgence.

The Tawny Ports we tried, aged in wood for various lengths of time, were intense but elegant. More concentrated flavours come from wines aged for 20-30 years, which exhibit better integration, layers and complexity.

Colheita Ports, effectively fine old Tawny from a single vintage, and aged in cask for a minimum of eight years, are exquisite and not always expensive, and are becoming better known in the UK.

Madeira, often overlooked, has a long and illustrious history; it was a delight to taste some fabulous, textured and complex wines in this competition. Sappy and savoury, the Malvasias we sampled included some delectable 15- to 20-year old expressions at £20-£25.

Vintage Madeira is high-priced, highly regarded, and indestructible, with the best lasting for more than 100 years.

This year ’s Global Fortified Masters reintroduces the almost forgotten Sicilian wine Marsala. The best of these wines are produced from Grillo grapes, then aged in casks to give dried orchard fruits, nuts, caramel and tobacco.

Australia has long been known for its exciting Muscats and those we judged showed grapey character, with prunes, dates and figs accented by earthiness and cinnamon spice. At prices of £10-£20, they are an unbelievable bargain.

With so much interest and diversity, fortified wines demand exploration and certainly deserve wider recognition in the global marketplace.

Sherry – Palo Cortado

Sherry – Oloroso

Port – White

Port – Ruby

Port – LBV

Tawny

Aged Tawny