The cellar

Top-rated fortified wines

Every wine

The highest-rated fortified wines we have reviewed, one per producer.

5.0 Sicily Marco De Bartoli Vecchio Samperi Marco De Bartoli 5.0 Douro Valley Quinta do Noval Nacional Quinta do Noval 5.0 Jerez & Sherry Reliquia Amontillado Bodegas Barbadillo 4.9 Jerez & Sherry Amontillado VORS Bodegas Tradición 4.9 Jerez & Sherry Apóstoles Palo Cortado VORS González Byass 4.9 Douro Valley Taylor's Vintage Port Taylor's Port 4.8 Douro Valley Dow's Vintage Port Dow's Port 4.8 Sicily Florio Marsala Vergine Riserva Cantine Florio

Region by region

Fortified wine, region by region

7 regions, with their best fortified bottles and the estates that make them.

Wine and cheese

Cheese with fortified wine

Every cheese
Queso de cabra payoya Our pick Payoyo describes its semicured goat cheese as very creamy, nutty, slightly acid and savoury. A dry Amontillado, aged first under flor and then in contact with air, has the depth to meet it, and sherry.wine names semi-cured cheeses for Amontillado. Amontillado, Jerez & Sherry: Reliquia Amontillado · Amontillado VORS · Quo Vadis? Amontillado VORS
Queijo Terrincho Velho Our pick The Velho is hard, strong and yellowish, with a rind rubbed with a paprika paste. A ten-year tawny is nutty and mellow, and its sweetness softens that strength; the wine records pair these tawnies with aged cheese. 10 Year Old Tawny Port, Douro Valley: Taylor's 10 Year Old Tawny · Graham's 10 Year Old Tawny · Calem 10 Year Old Tawny
Pecorino Siciliano Our pick A long-aged, medium-sweet Marsala Riserva, with nutty, dried fig and orange notes, balances the salt and heat of an aged ewe's milk pecorino, and its nutty depth echoes the cheese's slow ripening. Marsala Superiore Riserva, Sicily: Florio Targa Riserva 1840 · Marco De Bartoli Marsala Superiore Riserva 10 Anni · Pellegrino Marsala Superiore Riserva 10 Anni
Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage Our pick Besides tannic reds, French Wikipedia suggests sweet wines and vins doux naturels for this blue, naming Sauternes, Banyuls and Maury. Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise is a Rhône vin doux naturel, and its sweetness sets off the salt of a mild, creamy blue rather than a sharp one. Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, Rhone Valley: Domaine des Bernardins Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise Vieux Millesimes · Domaine de Coyeux Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise Reserve · Domaine de Coyeux Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise
Comté Our pick Macvin is a sweet mistelle, grape must stopped with marc and rested in oak. Its sugar and warmth answer the salt and roasted hazelnut of a well-aged Comté, and the cheese's savoury crystals keep the sweetness in check. Macvin du Jura, Jura: Bourdy Macvin du Jura Francois · Stephane Tissot Macvin du Jura Blanc · Mouillard Macvin du Jura
Mató Our pick ACREFA lists a sweet liqueur or spirit among mató's usual partners. An off-dry Garnacha vi ranci, aged oxidatively in small oak casks, brings a nutty rancio note and a touch of sweetness to the cheese's plain milk. Vi ranci, oxidatively aged Garnacha, DOQ Priorat, Priorat: Arrels Vi Ranci

Plan the trip

Taste fortified wine at the source

Tastings and tours in the regions above, and somewhere to stay.

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