2024 Vintage Port Preview Tasting

[Glenn E.]

This year I had the opportunity to attend the 2024 Vintage Port Preview Tasting jointly hosted by The Fladgate Partnership, Quinta do Noval, and Symington Family Estates. They've been doing these together for general declarations since the early 2000s. It was a whirlwind tour all around - they were in New York City on Tuesday, Chicago on Wednesday, and in San Francisco on Thursday. I flew down to San Francisco and then back home in the same day.

Since 2024 was such a quality year, we had a lot of samples to taste through. But not a lot of time... so my impressions are closer to "snapshots" than actual tasting notes. It should also be noted that many of these Ports were literally only bottled 2 weeks ago, so they haven't had much time to settle down. I typically prefer to taste "new" Vintage Port after it has had a year in bottle, because a lot changes in that first year.

There were 2 parts to this event - a "walk-around" tasting and a sit-down Master Class. In addition to the 2024 VPs that were presented during the sit-down, the walk-around had a similar number of additional Ports of varying age.

Master Class Ports (in order as presented)

2024 Cockburn Vintage Port
C: dark purple with magenta overtones
N: rich grape, some stem, some blueberry, and a faint honeysuckle floral note
P: smooth and elegant, with beautiful balance. Good tannins. Body drops out late on the palate.
S: 93 points. An excellent Port that will mature nicely in the mid to long term.

2024 Croft Vintage Port
C: dark magenta with a pink rim. Does not seem as dense as very young VPs usually are.
N: faint black pepper and green grape. Smells like it's going to taste somewhat astringent.
P: Relatively linear fruits in the red to red-purple range. Neutral-ish sweetness. Firm, fine tannins.
S: 92 points. The palate seemed a bit disjointed, so this could improve significantly over that first year.

2024 Dow Vintage Port
C: intense dark purple. Very inky. Magenta at the rim.
N: firm fruits over a slight stemmy note. Black tea. Some "grape bottle cap candy" notes.
P: noted as 40% Touriga Nacional. Relatively neutral sweetness (3.4 baume). Built for the ages. Driest Symington Port presented, but to me not as dry as a Dow can be. Which for me is a good thing.
S: 94 points. Buy for your children.

2024 Fonseca Vintage Port
C: deep, rich red/magenta. Not as dense as I expected from a Fonseca, but still very dark.
N: Grape stem, some blue fruits, and some rich purple fruits. Also some black currant.
P: Big, rich, and somewhat hard or monolithic. Big tannins, but they start out hidden by the fruit. Far too young, meaning that this is built in a more classic style that isn't quite as approachable when very young as seems to be the current trend.
S: 94 points. Needs time. It's excellent now despite being far too young; it will be outstanding in the future.

2024 Graham Vintage Port
C: intense dark purple
N: violets, followed by black and blue fruits.
P: opulent, but lacks some body/depth in the mid palate. It's a thinner Port than I expected from a Graham. Some eucalyptus. Easy and pleasant to drink, but needs time. Like the Cockburn, this seems like it will mature nicely for the mid to long term.
S: 94 points. I would love to be able to score it higher, but there's a nagging feeling that something was left on the table with this Port.

2024 Graham's The Stone Terraces Vintage Port
C: inky purple, extremely dense, some red to red/burgundy overtones.
N: floral, some of which is violets. Fruits span black to purple to red, centering mostly in purple brambles. Lovely and complex.
P: rich and powerful, bold, exotic, seductive. Fantastic length. This is an astonishingly good Vintage Port.
S: 97 points. I could go higher, but don't want to appear to be the fanboy that I am, so I'm restraining myself. Must buy. ::grabby-hands emoji::

2024 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port
C: dark brick-toned purple
N: lovely, but somewhat withdrawn. Very faint stem. Mostly gentle purple-red fruits.
P: smooth, soft entry. Neutral sweetness, maybe neutral plus. (Revealed to be 98 g/l.) Excellent, but somehow leaves me wanting more.
S: 93 points.

2024 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port
C: very dark red/burgundy, some purple. Not quite inky.
N: fairly closed nose. What gets out is just sort of generically "young vintage Port" in nature.
P: Dense, almost chewy, with smooth firm tannins. Red/purple fruits including some deep, rich red currant but without the bitterness. Very nice Port, and very distinct from the regular Noval.
S: 94 points. One of my higher scores for a Nacional - I usually don't like them very much.

2024 Quinta do Passadouro Vintage Port
C: dark purple with magenta highlights
N: vaguely fruity with some stemmy notes
P: a bit disjointed. Tannins, fruits, even some vaguely floral notes as flavors, but it's not in harmony. I think it needs that first year in bottle to settle down - we're not doing it any favors tasting it so quickly after bottling.
S: 91 points.

2024 Quinta da Romaneira Vintage Port
C: very dark red and purple
N: somewhat boisterous and lively. a faint note of butter adds richness.
P: layers of fruit and an almost savory note. Lots of body and depth. Neutral sweetness. (Revealed to be 96 g/l.) Very small/limited release according to Christian Seeley. If you like a slightly drier (but still sweet) Port, this might be your Port.
S: 93 points. Could have easily been higher with just a touch more sugar for me. Others will love it as-is.

2024 Taylor Vintage Port
C: dark purple, not especially dense. Knowing the brand, it is surprisingly not dense.
N: generically grapey with some minerality. A bit "cold" if that makes any sense.
P: again generically grapey with a late spiciness that might be alcohol heat. mid palate lacks body much like the Cockburn and Graham. Lots of late firm tannins and a very long finish. If only the mid palate were more solid.
S: 92 points. I suspect this will show better after it's had a year (or more) in bottle.

2024 Taylor Sentinels Vintage Port
C: dark red with some purple, not particularly dense
N: fruity, but stained by a light tar note
P: soft and rich. Lots of black fruit flavors. Easy and ready to drink. David Guimaraens says that this is essentially the Taylor version of Fonseca Guimaraens, and that while it is branded Taylor it really isn't a true Taylor because it comes from Terra Feita, Junco, Eira Velha, and Casa Nova. There's no Vargellas in the blend, and in his opinion a Port can't be a true Taylor without Vargellas. So Sentinels is essentially a second label for Taylor in the same way that Guimaraens is for Fonseca.
S: 92 points. While stylistically very different than the regular Taylor, it's equally yummy.

2024 Quinta do Vesuvio
C: inky purple, intensely dark. Might be the darkest, inkiest Port of the tasting.
N: rich, opulent, and fruity. Smells like a "big" Port and makes you eager to take a sip.
P: beautiful, fruity, rich, powerful. But oddly somewhat un-Vesuvio. Drinks very nicely right now, but is going to age forever. It's hard to know since they are 30 years apart, but this might be the best Vesuvio ever taking that title from the 1994.
S: 97 points. As with the Stone Terraces, I could go higher but don't want to fly my fanboy flag too prominently.

2024 Warre Vintage Port
C: dark purple, but not quite inky
N: nicely fruity, but like the Taylor Sentinels there's a faint tar note lingering behind the fruit.
P: round, fruity, and very nice. Very juicy, but not boisterous. Just lovely and elegant. Faint licorice note. Easy drinking right now, but will develop well into the mid term. Revealed to be 1/3 old vines.
S: 93 points. Of all the Ports in the sit-down tasting, this one seems least likely to live forever. But it will certainly out-live me.

Walk-around Tasting
I didn't even try to take notes or score during the walk-around, but I did get a few impressions.

2024 Graham's The Stone Terraces - the very first Port tasted on the day, and it was ethereal and almost cold in nature.
2022 Taylor Sentinels - seemed soft and easy to drink, but more like a Sandeman Vau Vintage than a Taylor.
2024 Taylor Sentinels - the contrast between the 2022 and 2024 was striking, as the 2024 is much bigger and more floral.
2024 Quinta do Vesuvio - seemed almost meaty at this time, with lots of substance.
2024 Capela da Quinta do Vesuvio - fruiter and more floral than the Vesuvio, but also less substantial.
(this is when the sit-down Master Class happened)
1995 Quinta do Vesuvio Library Release - bold, rich, and beautiful. Reminds me why this Port was my first love of Vesuvio, not the 1994.
2003 Graham Library Release - the LR is still too young, unlike the regular release which is delicious. Let these LR bottles lie.
2024 Smith Woodhouse - disappointing that this wasn't in the sit-down, as it is a big, impressive Port.
2024 Quinta de Roriz - a nice Port, but outclassed in this setting. It does remind me of the 1999 which I've used as a reference for years.
2003 Quinta do Noval Nacional - a beautiful, balanced Port. It does remind me of the regular 2003 Noval which I love.
2017 Quinta do Noval - nice, but kind of generic in this setting.
2017 Quinta da Romaneira - also nice, but also not good enough to be called great.
1985 Warre - elegant and beautiful, nicely rich and smooth. Warres have been surprising me lately.
2003 Fonseca - too young, much like the 2003 Graham Library Release. Needs years to soften a bit and open up.

[Eric Ifune]

Nice!
Wish I could have attended.

[Eric Menchen]

Nice!
Wish I could have attended.

+1