2018 Vintage Port

The 2018 Quinta de Senhora da Ribeira, the Douro Superior quinta, is a blend of 45% Touriga Franca, 40% Touriga Nacional and the rest Alicante Bouschet and Sousão combined. It comes in with 106 gramsThe 2018 Quinta de Senhora da Ribeira, the Douro Superior quinta, is a blend of 45% Touriga Franca, 40% Touriga Nacional and the rest Alicante Bouschet and Sousão combined. It comes in with 106 grams per liter of residual sugar. Of the Symington group this issue, nothing is more intensely flavorful as this. It is certainly a step up on its Bomfim sibling this issue in concentration. Some in this set of Symington releases are equally perfumed. Some might be equally or more powerful. Nothing is more expressive except the Vesúvio, which is a bit of an outlier in this group. With violets up front and plums on the finish, it is delicious and sexy, until the hammer falls. There is plenty of power too. The next day, it shuts down. A few days later, it was drinking fairly well. This is one of the two Ports being released now, en primeur, by the Symingtons (the other being the Vesúvio). The question here will be when this comes into better balance. I'd sock it away until nearly the end of this decade, but it might be approachable sooner. There were 510 cases produced, a bit more than Bomfim, but still pretty small. Drinking range: 2027 - 2065 Rating: 92-94 Mark Squires, robertparker.com (Jun 2020)

What a pleasure to taste and compare alongside the Taylor's. This is gorgeous. Very Fonseca, full of weight and richness. So spicy - and completely captivating. The family decided that this wasWhat a pleasure to taste and compare alongside the Taylor's. This is gorgeous. Very Fonseca, full of weight and richness. So spicy - and completely captivating. The family decided that this was really close to a full Fonseca declaration. yet it is missing one crucial element - fruit from a quinta in the Alto Douro which would have tipped it over the line to a full, classic release. You can sense the class here - for a Guimaraens - this really is good. Rich plum, soft fig and black-fleshed berry notes hit the palate in a beautifully melded middle - soft tobacco and wild herbs too but with a gentle rub to the texture. An appealing wilder note - you just want another sip. David Guimaraens explained one of the reasons this was not a full Fonseca is because he did not feel it had quite the long-term potential of a classic declaration - this may be true - but there is plenty of future here, and it will give great pleasure over the next 20-30 years.L&S (Jan 2021)

This is upfront, plump and joyful in 2018. Very much the opening act in the trio from Fladgate where it is a charming, immediately accessible vintage release that will be a pleasure to drink in itsThis is upfront, plump and joyful in 2018. Very much the opening act in the trio from Fladgate where it is a charming, immediately accessible vintage release that will be a pleasure to drink in its teenage years. Rounded soft and sleek on the palate. Gentle spice and easy flow. You step up quite dramatically when you get to the Guimaraens and the Taylor is from a different planet! Yet this has great appeal and will be a wonderfully enjoyable vintage port - at an unbelievably fair price - for 20 years.L&S (Jan 2021)

Warm orange blossom fills the nose - extraordinarily vivid smell of blackened orange skin then delicious garrigue like herb notes and wild flowers too. Superb. Heady and inviting. Palate isWarm orange blossom fills the nose - extraordinarily vivid smell of blackened orange skin then delicious garrigue like herb notes and wild flowers too. Superb. Heady and inviting. Palate is beautifully rounded and polished in feel - well packed with an explosion of flavours. Rose petals and sweet purple berries. Then shavings of dark chocolate too. It’s all here and all delicately presented but remarkably intense. Great level of sweetness to the fruit and then so much high toned prettiness. Violets and lilac scents - and just enough savour of earthy herbs and dark dry chocolate nibs. A startlingly good vintage port. Will be a really fun journey to go on as this evolves. Bags of charm and intrigue.L&S (Jun 2020)

While Charles Symington and the family concluded that the overall quality of the vintage was not sufficient for a blanket declaration it is clear that very small quantities of top wines from theirWhile Charles Symington and the family concluded that the overall quality of the vintage was not sufficient for a blanket declaration it is clear that very small quantities of top wines from their various estates are thrillingly concentrated and utterly delicious and so these Single Quinta Vintage Ports will represent 2018 very strongly indeed. I can sense that legions of parents with new-born babies will breathe a collective sigh of relief. 2018 Quinta do Vesuvio is superbly aromatic and perfumed with tender, juicy, black-fruited tones augmented with spiciness, mintiness, woodsmoke and masses of energy. There is always a wildness and savagery which I adore in Vesuvio and these traits are heightened in 2018. But while these flamboyant notes are eye-catching, the fruit still holds court and it presents a seemingly forward and uncommonly appealing wine. Less muscular and more pliable than expected this immediacy is both alluring and attractive. With less grunt and more suave, honed fruit, this is more a gentleman rogue than Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man. Forward and thoroughly alluring this is a delicious wine which will flatter in its youth but I know it has the power and poise to run, hence the ‘+’ in my score, and I don’t doubt that it will make the 30-year mark with ease. Drinking range: 2028 - 2050 Rating: 18.5+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jul 2020)

Lots to like here, with a mix of crushed plum, raspberry paste and blackberry compote notes that work in harmony while fruitcake, bramble and apple wood accents fill in on the juicy finish. HasLots to like here, with a mix of crushed plum, raspberry paste and blackberry compote notes that work in harmony while fruitcake, bramble and apple wood accents fill in on the juicy finish. Has excellent range and depth. Drinking range: 2030 - 2045 Rating: 94 L&S (Dec 2020)

Although this was declared in the usual way, the family decided to hold back the Taylor 2018 release until January 2021. This marks an unprecedented 'third year on the trot' for a Taylor declarationAlthough this was declared in the usual way, the family decided to hold back the Taylor 2018 release until January 2021. This marks an unprecedented 'third year on the trot' for a Taylor declaration - and they are the only house to do so we were delighted to taste it over zoom with them yesterday.
As Adrian Bridge said: “Although a Classic declaration normally only happens about three times a decade, the exceptional run of years has meant that Taylor’s is able to make a third in a row. This is very unusual but our principle is that we only declare a Classic Vintage when the quality is there and this is dictated by the year, not by any other consideration."
The wine certainly warrants a full declaration. Brimming with the classic Taylor finesse and perfect poise. There is a cool line to open up then a delicate feel of beautifully ripe fruit just there - just lurking in this well-honed wine. Power and depth are here but it is so genteelly delivered this is a real treat. Already this has appeal but in 15 years it will really begin to motor and then onwards for 30 years or more. Fabulous for the cellar, and certainly a historic release. Drinking range: 2032 - 2060L&S (Jun 2020)

Juicy and muscular, with a ball of plum paste, warmed fig compote and black currant reduction flavors that need time to unwind. Ample graphite- and bramble-accented grip underscores the fruit on theJuicy and muscular, with a ball of plum paste, warmed fig compote and black currant reduction flavors that need time to unwind. Ample graphite- and bramble-accented grip underscores the fruit on the finish, while a ganache note finds room to strut its stuff in the end. Should be one of the longer-lived wines of the vintage. Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Cão, Sousão and Tinta Roriz. Drinking range: 2030 - 2055 Rating: 97 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Dec 2020)