The 2024 Port Vintage

After 7 long years in Vintage Port purgatory, we have a full declaration. All Port shippers are unanimous in their praise of the small but beautiful 2024 crop. Having tasted the final wines, it is impossible to argue with them. The last time Port fans had to wait this long between full vintage declarations was the ten years between 1935-1945, while the world waged war. 1945 certainly proved to be worth the wait, and it would appear, albeit at a nascent stage, that the 2024s could go down as another legendary vintage.

They are powerful but agile and detailed, with unimaginably long flavours that reverberate on the palate. Layers of decadent and creamy fruit, wafts of wild herbs, sweet baking spice and alluring minerality, floral tones and dark chocolate are all wrapped in the most serene texture. Their tannin profiles are sweet and ripe, awash with heady freshness, indicative of a vintage not overwrought by heat. As ever, in a full declaration, there is clear demarcation in house style; Graham’s hedonistic sweet opulence, Taylor’s taut poised composure; Dow’s magisterial drive and structure, Warre’s floral, schist-flecked elegance; and Fonseca’s darkly ornate profile. They are all represented exactly as you’d want them, framed within a vintage style that provides power and brightness in equal measure. The watchwords for the vintage are “aromatic”, “balanced” and “refined”.

After a slew of extreme heat vintages in the Douro between 2018 and 2023, the 2024 was both a figurative and literal oasis in the desert. Charles Symington described it as “an alignment of the stars”. A rain-drenched winter replenished the water table and saturated the soils, steadying the vineyards for Spring, when the weather became clement but not hot. The summer came with balmy temperatures, with June and July delivering hot weather but never extreme heat (for the region), or long-lasting heatwaves (for context the record high in 2022 was 47.0 degrees on July 14th). Occasional 40-degree days were seen in late July and early August but in mid-August, moderation returned and remained for the rest of the growing season. Average temperatures were around 32 degrees, with none straying above 35. These warm summer days were buffeted by cool nights, around 18-19 degrees, dipping as low as 12 degrees in September, which is rare in the Douro, to say the least. The vintage was, in a word, perfect.

Comparing vintages can be a fool’s errand, as no two years are exactly alike, but it can give a steer as to how the Ports might age. From a viticultural point of view, with almost no head winds to navigate there are resemblances to 2007, 2011 and indeed 1945. Stylistically it is impossible to compare a young port to something like a 1945, but there were references made, again, to the 2011 and to 1994 as well as a nod to 2016, but perhaps with even more cut and drive. Lovers of these traditional, age-defying wines will certainly want 2024 in their cellar. In youth, you will be surprised as to how wonderful they taste on release, especially when served lightly chilled.

For full tasting notes and prices for the Fladgate wines (Taylor’s, Fonseca & Croft), the Symington stable (Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s, Vesuvio, Cockburn’s, Smith Woodhouse& Quinta Roriz), and Quinta do Noval please explore the attached PDF. Formats are available for most wines, but quantities are limited. To order or discuss the wines further please click the links or contact your account manager.