Vintage Port

I have not stopped wondering if I had an off bottle of the 2020. That said, this was certainly a completely different Port and a big step up, qualitatively. The silhouette of the aromatics is nothing alike, except for the immediately identifiable violet intensity. Beyond that, beautiful blueberry, macerated cherry, purity of grape adorned by black licorice and a hint of cocoa emerged a few days later. Slight more weight, for me, medium+ bodied, smooth and unctuous in the mouth, not too bold and with a few days of air time, softer and greater elegance texturally speaking. The acidity was a real bright spot here and lifted this Port with great overall balance, and with tannins so gentle and mild. The palate was the most significant strength of this Quevedo, great purity and briar patch blueberry and blackcurrant, a touch of kirsch with light chocolaty backdrop and again, the textural finesse that won me over with its enduring finish. This 2021 can be enjoyed immediately, it is fun to sip right now in its youth, but also will improve and peak circa 2048. 19.5% abv.

The 2021 Vintage Port is a blend of 45% Touriga Franca, 28% Touriga Nacional, 20% Tinta Roriz and dollops of others, unoaked and coming in with just 81 grams of residual sugar.
That’s a typical blend from the quintas, Quinta Vale d’Agodinho and Quinta Trovisca, winding up on the drier side. It is set to be bottled at its normal time in June of this year.
Simply delicious in its youth, this provides a wave of tasty fruits, mingling black cherries and blue fruits. It is pretty hard to resist and simply delicious. That said, there wasn’t a lot of depth or power, especially early on. This seemed lighter styled and well on the elegant side.
Even then, this compensated with the quality of the fresh, delectable fruit. It will be interesting to see if this can develop well too, as fine Vintage Port needs to do a little more than just taste great. When retasted the next day, it had a firmer finish, even a bit of a hard edge, while the exuberant young fruit seemed much more nuanced and complex. In fact, it began to seem a little stern, which was a quick transformation.
This doesn’t look poised to be a truly distinguished Vintage Port, but it may have more potential than I first thought. Give it a few years, at least, to see where it goes. It might be approachable young, but it will close down and reward some cellaring. Drink Date 2028 – 2050.