2018 Vintage Port

This property contributes approximately 25% of the wine to Dow’s Vintage Port while Quinta do Bomfim usually sits the 60% mark. Senhora da Ribeira is thought of as the aromatic high notes whileThis property contributes approximately 25% of the wine to Dow’s Vintage Port while Quinta do Bomfim usually sits the 60% mark. Senhora da Ribeira is thought of as the aromatic high notes while Bomfim is the heart, so it is interesting to bear this in mind while tasting this wine. Firstly, this could not be a more different proposition to Vesuvio. Plum and mulberry fruit abounds and this is a seriously exotic and perfumed wine with violet and mint notes. It is red to Vesuvio’s black. It is buttoned up as opposed to expansive and the co-fermented Sousão and Alicante Bouschet bring freshness and vivacity to the whole making it a more piercing wine than Vesuvio’s blanket of dark fruit flavours. This effect also appears to heighten the spice and oak elements, and while there is no doubt that Vesuvio has these elements in spades, Senhora da Ribeira wears them like filigree on a lustrous cape as opposed to burying them deep into her soul. Pure, punchy, expressive and a few shades lighter in both colour and tone than Vesuvio this is certainly a more classically shaped wine. While I am a sucker for Vesuvio’s expressive ‘night sky’ of flavour, there is undoubtedly a fascination building for the Senhora’s ‘breaking dawn’. Drinking range: 2030 - 2055 Rating: 18+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jul 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)

The 2018 Quinta do Vesuvio has a plush bouquet of black fruit laced with clove, nougat, boysenberry jam and white pepper. I would have liked a little more precision here. The palate is medium-bodiedThe 2018 Quinta do Vesuvio has a plush bouquet of black fruit laced with clove, nougat, boysenberry jam and white pepper. I would have liked a little more precision here. The palate is medium-bodied with impressive spicy attack on the entry - cracked black pepper and bitter orange, touches of liquorice and mint towards the well structured finish. Moderate length. A quality Vesuvio that deserves several years in bottle. Drinking range: 2030 - 2065 Rating: 93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 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)