2015 Quinta do Vesuvio

The 2015 Vintage Port Quinta do Vesuvio is a blend of Touriga Nacional 60%, Touriga Franca 30% and Sousão 10%. It comes in at 113 grams per liter of residual sugar. This is beautifully balanced, but still a "wow" because of its terrific fruit. It is packed with luscious and intensely flavorful fruit, laced with some dark plum and baked cherry nuances. The concentration is good—not exceptional, perhaps, but it shows fine precision on the delicious finish, too. As is the case with most 2015s, it is also rather elegant and very fresh, the fruit lifted and well defined, never sloppy. It tightens noticeably with air, proving that its backbone can't be discounted. It should age very well but be approachable a bit on the younger side, too. It could certainly use time in the cellar, the more the better if you like complexity, but it should be in fairly decent shape around 2030 or so. I personally would like to leave it another 10 years beyond that, but that's up to you. If you insist on diving in sooner, that's also up to you (and if you twist my arm, I will confess that the fruit is very attractive, perhaps even irresistible just now). This is one of the most intriguing Symington 2015s, perhaps my personal pick of the litter (although there are some competitors). It has some upside potential, too. If it never achieves more, it will still have you oohing and aahing throughout its useful life. This has been released. There were 11,400 bottles produced, plus some large-format offerings.

Extremely aromatic with violet, blackberry and blueberry character. Full body, beautiful center palate and length. Tight and focused. Goes on for minutes. Super quality. Try in 2026.

From 140 out of 400 ha of lots planted – varietally, not field blends – when they bought it in 1989. One of the Ferreiras planted monovarietal blocks in the 1970s so they have some of the Douro’s oldest monovarietal blocks. Touriga Franca responds best to vine age. 60% Touriga Nacional, 30% Touriga Franca and 10% Sousão. North-facing vineyards, so very good in 2015. All foot-trodden – very unusual! 1,000 cases. Blackish purple. Very exciting and heady nose. Extremely luscious nose – pure hedonistic pleasure! Massively ripe nose and then rigorous palate. Cool finish. Such energy and minerally finish. The sweetest wine in this collection but so much tannin that you don’t really see it. So complex and clean. Lots of tannins! (JR)