Ferreira Port Vintage 2018 750ml

#16 TOP 100 CELLAR SELECTIONS 2020. This impressively structured wine shows a perfect balance between its powerful, spicy fruits and firm tannins. Dense tones of dark berries and smoke are rich and flavorful, bringing the wine to a perfect conclusion. It's immensely ageworthy. Drink from 2030.

The 2018 Vintage Port is a roughly equal blend of Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional with 10% a field blend from old vines and a smaller dollop of Sousáo, coming in with 103 grams of residual sugar. My favorite of the three Sogrape offerings just now—if the Sandeman comes into good balance a decade on, it might be the winner—this is an elegant Port with stunning fruit and excellent structure too. Perfectly put together and seeming drier than its statistics would suggest, this is a potential beauty. It is more expressive than its siblings (including the Offley and Sandeman). If it is not as rich as the Sandeman, it is fresher, more precise and more lifted. It should hold well. When tasted the next day, it tightened up with additional aeration, but it was still approachable. I loved its purity, in particular, at that point. It now has to prove it can evolve and age. It should. There were 19,333 bottles produced. This was tasted from a tank sample in a half bottle.

Touriga Franca is the main variety here (45%), balanced by Touriga Nacional (40%), old vines (10%) and Sousão (5%). Deep, dark, opaque in colour; restrained, tight-knit with underlying brooding tannins and ripe cherry fruit; broad, ripe morello cherry fruit on the palate backed by ripe, expressive fine-grained tannins leading to a firm, tight-knit finish. This is the best Ferreira Vintage I have tasted for many a year and should be a long-term keeper. I would love to try it again in 20 years. 14,500 bottles declared. Drinking Window 2033 - 2065.

Polished and suave in feel, with a hint of dark tea curling up from the core of steeped plum, blackberry and black currant preserve flavors. Lots of juicy energy coiled up through the finish, where graphite and licorice-snap notes assert themselves. Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca. Best from 2030 through 2045. 1,610 cases made, 200 cases imported.

The 2018 Vintage Port from Ferreira has a potent nose with dense black cherries, crushed violet, allspice and black pepper scents, touches of curry powder emerging with time. The palate is well balance with succulent, saturated tannins, a fine bead of acidity and a little more precision towards the finish compared directly against the Sandeman. Very spicy on the finish that lingers for 45+ seconds on the aftertaste. Give this 5-6 years in bottle.