Portuguese Wine

Juicy, with still-youthful plum, cherry and blackberry compote flavors, flanked by hints of ganache, licorice and bramble, which keep the finish lively. Drink now through 2023. — JM

This house tends to produce quite full-bodied, rich, alcoholic, spirited vintage ports that never have a great deal of complexity or finesse but offer meaty, chocolaty, spicy, full-bodied, alcoholic flavors at the expense of elegance.The... Read More

Potentially one of the most compelling wines of the vintage, this inky black/purple-colored 2000 exhibits notes of scorched earth, melted asphalt, blackberry liqueur, and a pungent, penetrating intensity that reverberates in the... Read More

Croft never seems to get much publicity since the wines, while always very good, sometimes even excellent, never quite reach the superb level of the top houses in Oporto. However, Croft seems to do surprisingly well, often rivaling... Read More

Croft never seems to get much publicity since the wines, while always very good, sometimes even excellent, never quite reach the superb level of the top houses in Oporto. However, Croft seems to do surprisingly well, often rivaling... Read More

The 2016 Vintage Port is a field blend originally seen about a week before bottling. It comes in with 104 grams of residual sugar. Not a lot has changed except that it seems even more approachable and much better balanced now.... Read More

This is the last excellent Delaforce. It is a big, rich, ripe wine, still a little clumsy. Red with a deep ruby center, with an intense, roasted, earthy berry nose, medium-bodied, with hard tannins and silky, sweet, ripe fruit... Read More

Always a delicious and very good Port. Lovely aromas of strawberry, currant and spice, with a hint of flowers. Medium-bodied, with a sweet and balanced palate. Silky and fine.--Dow vertical. Drink now. -JS

Always very good, with wonderful spice, cherry and berry character and hints of raisin and chocolate. Medium-bodied and sweet, with a long, silky finish.--Dow vertical. Drink now. -JS

Pale brick colour with fragrant scents of mossy wood, potpourri, cinnamon and dried mulberry plus a whiff of espresso. A mature, well balanced Port comes through in the mouth with high acidity cutting through the lingering dried... Read More

This is an extraordinary house that seems to have been particularly successful with its vintage port since 1977.The 1977, still a baby, is fabulously scented, very rich and concentrated, and has a potential longevity of at least... Read More

This is an extraordinary house that seems to have been particularly successful with its vintage port since 1977.The 1983 is rich, concentrated, very fruity, and magnificently perfumed, suggesting that it is going to mature early,... Read More

This is an extraordinary house that seems to have been particularly successful with its vintage port since 1977.The 1985 is dark-ruby/purple with a rather closed one-dimensional aroma. On the palate, this Dow is restrained, but... Read More

The 1994 Vintage Port is set for re-release. It has about 92 grams per liter of residual sugar. It's a beauty, with all that Dow power and structure that I've loved over the years--even after some hours of decanting. Intensely... Read More

The 2016 Vintage Port, bottled in May for release in October 2018, is mostly a 48/31 blend of Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional, with various other grapes and some very old vines for the rest. It comes in with 111 grams of residual... Read More

The 2016 Vintage Port, bottled in May for release in October 2018, is mostly a 48/31 blend of Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional, with various other grapes and some very old vines for the rest. It comes in with 111 grams of residual... Read More