The 2000 vintage for Port is being hailed as a great one, with almost all Port shippers "declaring"; in other words, deciding that their 2000 harvest was good enough to release a Vintage Port, the finest of all Port wines.

Most merchants will now be offering 2000 Ports for sale "en primeur", that is, the wines are still lying abroad in Oporto and won't be shipped until next Spring. At the moment you are asked to pay the basic price for the wines you want, with duty (£1.54 per bottle) plus V.A.T. (17.5% on the whole lot) plus shipping charges to be paid in a second installment, when the Port is delivered.

This is a standard arrangement for wines sold en primeur, and normally purchases must be by the case. Reputable dealers who are, or will soon be offering the wines, include fine wine merchants like Berry Bros & Rudd and Bibendum, and quality regional independent merchants like Edencroft, Luvians, Wineraks, James Nicolson of Belfast and Tanners of Shrewsbury.

Apart from collectors, the laying down of Port from the birthyear of children is a great tradition, so this is also a chance for parents of two year-olds to stock up. My hot tip is the fine firm of D. Byrne in Lancashire, which is offering a simple way to buy the wines, with prices which include duty, V.A.T. and shipping, and with no minimum purchase; you can buy a single bottle if you like. Byrne is also offering some of the keenest prices around:

Smith Woodhouse - £26.99
Gould Campbell - £26.99
Quarles Harris - £26.99
Niepoort Quinta do Passadura - £29.99
Delaforce - £29.99
Churchill - £31.89
Croft - £31.89
Niepoort - £33.39
Dow - £33.69
Warre - £33.69
Graham - £35.89
Fonseca - £37.89
Taylor - £37.89

Phone 01200 423152. Please tell them you saw the offer on wine-pages.com.