The aromas here are amazing: crushed blueberries and raspberries with wet earth and dried flower. Orange blossom. Tar and stone. Full body, very sweet but the powerful and fine-grained tannins balance the wine out. Tannins and fruit envelop your mouth with each sip. Great potential. Single vineyard port. 600 cases. Try after 2030.
97-99 The 2017 The Stone Terraces Vintage Port, from a specific plot, is predominantly Touriga Nacional. It comes in with 117 grams of residual sugar and was bottled about a month before this tasting after 18 months in seasoned oak vats. However, this was a pre-bottling sample, as the bottled sample was not quite ready to taste. I was—relatively—unimpressed with the first pour of this. The second pour was silk for texture coupled with pure power. This is relatively elegant in the mid-palate, but the muscle is very old-school. It is not jammy, but it is remarkably concentrated as well.
What's missing? The expression of fruit. At this point in its life, it seems already shut down hard. As brilliant as this seems today, it is very closed and likely to improve dramatically with time. Most of the score is for concentration and power, but the expression of fruit this year is harder to find (unlike the lighter 2016 at the same age). The depth and muscle are astonishing, and with this exuberant property, it's certain that the fruit will come out to play in time. It's an obvious projection, but in time, this is still likely to be the best of the trio of 2015-2016-2017 this issue. Let's start here and let it prove a few things in the cellar. It almost certainly will, as this powerful 2017 has endless potential. It is the one to bet on. In a year with many brilliant wines, this still has to be on the shortlist for "Wine of the Vintage." It's not in my top couple of slots so far, but it's certainly on the list I'd want for comparison in a decade.
The fourth release of this wine from these east and north-east facing traditional stone terraces at Quinta dos Malvedos. It has magnificent colour and an extraordinary nose, lifted and powerfully ripe with glorious overlying floral aromas. It has succulent berry fruit and massive concentration in the mouth - magnificent, the quintessence of the finest Douro fruit. Powerful, muscular tannins stack up to a broad and ripe finish, leaving a mouthwatering, almost Burgundian, freshness that seems to be one of the hallmarks of the best wines in this vintage. Outstanding. Just 6,360 bottles produced.
Packed with juicy, bramble-laced black currant, acai berry and fig notes, this features the vivid fruit and energy of the vintage. Graphite and tar flavors score the finish, giving this terrific cut and extra drive. Seriously long, with the fruit staying very persistent. This is built for the long haul and has a bit of a regal feel. Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca. Best from 2035 through 2060. 600 cases made, 52 cases imported.
The 2017 Graham’s The Stone Terraces Vintage Port is certainly a step up from the regular Graham’s. The Stone Terraces takes its name from the terraces at Quinta dos Malvedos where it was picked from August 28 until September 15. This is more complex on the nose with compelling aromas of damson, bilberry, hints of lavender, orange blossom and camphor. The delineation is wonderful. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannin, brilliantly-judged acidity that counterbalances the intense black cherry, boysenberry and blueberry fruit. There is superb grip here and conveys a sense of symmetry that leaves you yearning for the next sip. This is the more erudite sibling of the regular Graham’s that will deserve a decade in the cellar.
Winery Notes
The Stone Terraces Vintage Port has incredibly fresh and lifted aromas with the hallmark tropical fruit character. The wine is concentrated whilst being supremely refined with polished tannins and taut acidity combining to deliver sublime elegance and balance.
