Vintage Fortified is one of the great pleasures of the cellar, but because so few of us drink it often, some simple questions come up again and again.

Do you chill it? Do you decant it? What do you eat with it? And once you have opened the bottle, how long do you have? If you are new to the style, our guide to what Vintage Fortified is and how it differs from vintage port is a good place to start. Otherwise, here is everything you need to enjoy it at its best.

When to open it

Vintage Fortified is made to age in the bottle, and a young one is only at the start of its journey. A wine in its first few years will be powerful and fruit-forward, with firm tannins. Given time, it softens and deepens, the fruit turning from fresh to dried, the colour shifting from deep ruby toward tawny.

There is no wrong moment to open one, but if you are cellaring a young vintage, five years in bottle is a good first milestone, and many will reward twenty to thirty years or more. Older vintages are ready to enjoy now. If you are unsure where a particular wine sits, the drinking window on our tasting notes is the best guide.

Serving temperature

Vintage Fortified is best served at cool room temperature, around sixteen to eighteen degrees, or with the lightest chill on a warm day. Too warm and the alcohol dominates. Too cold and the aromatics close up. If your bottle has been sitting somewhere warm, twenty minutes in the fridge before serving brings it back into balance.

Pour a small measure. This is a rich, generous wine, and a little goes a long way. A tulip-shaped glass helps gather the aromatics.

Whether to decant

Younger Vintage Fortified benefits from decanting. An hour in a decanter opens up the aromatics and softens the structure, letting the wine show its best.

Older vintages need a gentler hand. Over years in the bottle, these wines throw a natural sediment, and you want to leave it behind. Stand the bottle upright for a day before serving so the sediment settles, then decant slowly and carefully, watching the wine against a light and stopping when the sediment begins to reach the neck. The reward is a clean, bright pour and none of the grittiness in the glass.

What to serve with it

The classic match, and it is classic for good reason, is blue cheese. The richness of the wine and the salt and sharpness of the cheese balance each other beautifully. Dark chocolate is the other natural partner, especially something high in cacao that echoes the wine's own depth.

Beyond that, think of rich, savoury and sweet in equal measure. Christmas pudding, fruitcake, a board of hard cheeses and dried fruit, or simply a quiet glass on its own after dinner. Vintage Fortified is a wine for slowing down.

How long it keeps once opened

This is the question we hear most, and the good news is that Vintage Fortified is more forgiving than a table wine. The higher alcohol and natural sweetness act as gentle preservatives.

Once opened, re-cork the bottle and keep it in the fridge. A younger Vintage Fortified will hold its character for around five days, sometimes a little longer. Older vintages are more delicate and are best enjoyed within two or three days, since the qualities that time gave them fade more quickly once air gets in. Either way, bring it back to cool room temperature before pouring.

If a little is left and you would rather not waste it, it makes a wonderful addition to a rich gravy, a sauce for game, or a dark chocolate dessert.

Serve it cool, decant it with attention to its age, match it with something rich, and take your time.

If you would like to explore the style, our current release and a selection of older milestone vintages are available now through our annual allocation, a chance to taste how these wines change and deepen over the years.