Why should you care? Two thousand nine is already shaping up as a controversial year for vintage port, as two of the most powerful forces in the port trade apparently disagree about the quality of the vintage. The Taylor Fladgate Partnership elected to declare Croft, Fonseca and Taylor as “classic” vintage port, while Symington Family Estates decided that 2009 did not merit such designation, except for a limited quantity of Warre. Instead, they bottled very small amounts of their single-quinta (i.e., single-estate) vintage ports from their top shippers, Graham and Dow. But in my recent tastings of 2009s, these single-quinta bottlings compared favorably to the finest classic vintage ports of the year.
What does it taste like? If Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos, from this shipper’s flagship property, doesn’t have the sheer fleshiness of texture of Graham’s classic vintage ports, it makes up for that in nobility. This beauty offers compellingly high-pitched aromas and flavors of black cherry, dark plum and violet; lovely focus allied with an almost candied sweetness; a wonderfully silky, refined texture; perfectly integrated acidity; and a very long, fine-grained finish featuring serious but suave tannins and piquant medicinal herbs. This splendid fortified wine should evolve in bottle for two or three decades, but it won’t hurt your teeth if you want to bite into a bottle now.
How much does it cost, and where can you find it? $58; Premium Port Wines, San Francisco, CA
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