Late Bottled Vintage (2013)

About this wine

Offley Late Bottled Vintage 2013 is a fortified red Port from Portugal’s Douro, made from a classic blend that includes Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, and Sousão. It was fermented with strong extraction, including robotic lagares and temperature controlled tanks, then moved to Vila Nova de Gaia for aging in large oak vessels before final blending. Late Bottled Vintage Port is from a single harvest and is generally bottled later than Vintage Port, commonly around four to six years after the vintage, which helps it feel more settled on release. In the glass it shows a deep ruby color and an intense nose of ripe red and black fruit, with pepper and clove, plus balsamic notes that read as cedar and tobacco box. The palate is full bodied, with lively acidity and round tannins, carrying red fruit through a long, elegant finish, and the house technical figures place it at about 20 percent alcohol with around 100 grams per liter of residual sugar.

About the grape

Touriga Nacional is a native Portuguese grape long prized in the Douro for deep color and powerful structure, it is often planted in low yielding, small berried clones and trained with severe pruning or Guyot to concentrate flavors, and in this Offley LBV it typically supplies backbone and aromatic lift. Touriga Franca developed in the Douro as a more fertile sibling to Touriga Nacional, it thrives on schist soils and warmer sites and is used here to add supple fruit, floral tones and mid palate friendliness to the blend. Tinta Roriz, known elsewhere as Aragonez or Tempranillo, has a long Iberian history, adapts to a range of altitudes and soils, and brings acid frame and spicy, savory elements that stabilize the vintage Port. Sousão is a teinturier variety valued in northern Portugal for its intense pigment and high acidity, it is often planted on cooler or more exposed sites and is included in this bottling to boost color and freshness during aging.

Quick facts

• ⏳ Offley’s LBV 2013 was bottled as a Late Bottled Vintage, which means it spent 4–6 years aging before release so the 2013 harvest would have been bottled several years after vintage for extra polish.
• 🏛️ The Offley house that made this LBV traces its roots to London in 1737, so a bottle of Offley 2013 carries a brand story nearly three centuries old.
• ⛰️ Grapes for Offley’s top Ports often come from Quinta do Sairrão high in the Cima Corgo at about 600 meters altitude, giving the wine intense fruit and crisp acidity.
• 🫙 The 2013 Offley LBV was bottled without cold stabilization in some batches, allowing a natural sediment to form over time—classic Port theatre when you open and decant it.
• 🩸 Alongside Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz, the inclusion of Sousão in the blend contributes the deep inky color and lively, spicy acidity that helps this LBV age gracefully.

Palate profile

Producer

Offley began in 1737 when William Offley founded a London wine merchant that quickly became an important importer of Port into the United Kingdom. By 1787 the firm was already noted as one of the most significant English houses operating in Porto. In the 19th century the house became closely linked to Joseph James Forrester, who joined in 1831 and later earned the title Baron of Forrester for his pioneering work mapping the Douro Valley. Offley has long matured and shipped its wines from lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia, alongside the Douro vineyards that supply its fruit. The brand entered a new phase after it was acquired by Sogrape in 1996, with a renewed focus on quality and modern, fruit driven Port styles.