Quinta do Vesuvio 2017

Finished aromas of crushed berry, graphite and stone. Full body, very sweet with a tangy almost sweet and sour character. Distinct flavors of dried oranges and dark berries. Medium tannin structure. Very ripe yet fresh. Try in 2025.

The 2017 Vintage Port is a blend of 33% Touriga Nacional, 35% Touriga Franca, 15% Sousão and 12% Alicante Bouschet, plus miscellaneous others filling out the blend. This was bottled about a month before tasting after 18 months in seasoned vats, but the just-bottled sample was not really ready. This was instead a pre-bottling sample. It comes in with 115 grams of residual sugar. 2030 - 2075

Very deep purploe in colour, with a powerful nose of roasted coffee, toast, and wild black fruits. The palate is very spicy, with piquant black pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg to the fore. There is lift and reginement, with an elegance and vibrancy in acidity and tempered sweetness. The tannins are succulent and ripe, integrating well into the fruit at this early stage. Long and fine on the finish.

A blend of the Tourigas with Sousão, Alicante Bouschet and Tinta Amarela: very different from the other Symington estate wines, lifted and aromatic on the nose with a touch of green leaf and ginger (Land of Green Ginger?) with a wild, herbal edge; lovely freshness on the palate, all the way through, not especially big with peppery tannins but showing near perfect purity, leading to a long linear finish. Should be approachable early but will last the course.