Dow's, Vintage Port, 2017

We love Dow’s. It’s always a little stricter and drier than its stablemates but nevertheless it’s always built around elegance and finesse over opulence and sweetness. Forest fruit, pine needles and bitter chocolate vie with broader more serious tannins (or perhaps they are just more exposed) in this full bodied, structured incarnation. More powerful and less ethereal than the 2016 but still incredibly long and classy, and true to type. The overall feel is one of a dark, brooding profile with dustings of dry earth, rock and a firm finish. As always, Dow’s Vintage is a blend primarily from two properties: Quinta do Bomfim near Pinhao and Quinta da Senhora in the Douro Superior. “In my opinion it has the potential to rank alongside the Dow’s all-time greats” – Charles Symington