QUINTA DO VESUVIO Vintage Port 2017 Bottle

Description

Quinta do Vesuvio 2017 Vintage Port is a striking release that embodies the estate’s prestige, scoring 97-99 points from The Wine Advocate. This vintage is lauded for its freshness, luscious fruit, and powerful yet juicy finish, resulting in a spectacular wine with concentrated flavors and a long, engaging aftertaste. James Suckling gives it 95 points, highlighting the berry and graphite aromas coupled with a sweet, tangy profile featuring dried oranges and dark berries. Jancis Robinson awards 18.5 points, noting its beautifully pure black fruit character enhanced by sweet baking spices and fine, textured tannins. Vinous rates it at 92 points, praising its floral bouquet and smooth palate. This vintage promises exceptional aging potential and is expected to develop beautifully until 2075.

*****

THE WINE ADVOCATE 97-99 points
Drink Date: 2030 - 2075
Very fresh, it also has luscious fruit, vivid fruit flavor and big power underneath. It coats the palate and is one of the fleshiest of the wines in the Symington stable this issue, but its best feature is the delightfully juicy finish. It's delicious, long and kind of spectacular. Tight, it also demonstrated the ability to expand in the glass. Then, it showed off the pure power. The combination of lots of fruit, lots of power and endless flavor to go with the endless finish mean that this is a rather stunning follow-up to recent vintages. It is going to need some time. I did (again) like the Capela, its sibling this issue, better—I tend to lean toward structure more than fruitiness—but at half the price, I and other bargain hunters might be content here. Stylistically, this certainly has plenty of virtues of its own, and it will likely be accessible a bit earlier.

JAMES SUCKLING 95 points
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.

JANCIS ROBINSON 18.5 points
Dark purple with purple rim. The fruit character is less wild here than in the Graham’s and Stone Terraces, more domesticated black fruit and yet just as pure and still with fine bergamot from the Touriga. Sweet baking spice on the palate leading in to highly textured tannins, as if the texture itself was spicy, but fine like layers of paper. Dense, packed with potential and less approachable than the Dow’s and Warre’s, less obviously sweet on the mid palate. But the long finish is sweet and utterly pure fruit. Wonderful persistence. (JH)

VINOUS 92 points
The 2017 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port was picked from August 28, the earliest on record and the Symingtons single out the Touriga Franca as the foundation of its quality for imparting all-important freshness. It has a fragrant and more floral bouquet compared to its peers, not as intense as either Warre’s and Cockburn’s with scents of blackcurrant, Medjool dates, raspberry preserve and raisin, well defined, although you are convinced that this Vesuvio is holding something back. The palate is smooth with lace-like tannin, very well judged acidity, quite powerful and dense with a voluminous black plum and blackcurrant finish with hints of espresso and mint. This is a fine Vesuvio although, it lacks the profundity of its peers in this vintage. Total production 1,200 cases. - Neal Martin