ThePortForum.com

The 2017s were tasted on Tuesday 25th June 2019, at The Boot & Flogger.

Many thanks to the many shippers who sent bottles, and to Alex for organising.

Links:

• Review of the event as a whole;
• The 2017s:
  • Bulas 2017;
  • Burmester 2017;
  • Churchill 2017;
  • Churchill Quinta da Gricha 2017;
  • Cockburn 2017;
  • Quinta do Crasto 2017;
  • Croft 2017;
  • Croft Quinta da Roêda Sērikos 2017;
  • Dalva 2017;
  • Dow 2017;
  • Fonseca 2017;
  • Graham 2017;
  • Graham The Stone Terraces 2017;
  • Quinta do Javali 2017;
  • Kopke 2017;
  • Quinta das Lamelas 2017;
  • Martha 2017;
  • Maynard 2017;
  • Maynard Organic 2017;
  • Niepoort 2017;
  • Quinta do Noval 2017;
  • Quinta do Noval Nacional 2017;
  • Pintas 2017;
  • Poças 2017;
  • Portal 2017;
  • Portal Muros 2017;
  • Quevedo 2017;
  • Ramos Pinto 2017;
  • Ramos Pinto Quinta de Ervamoira 2017;
  • Quinta da Romaneira 2017;
  • La Rosa 2017;
  • Quinta da Sequeira 2017;
  • Skeffington 2017;
  • Taylor 2017;
  • Taylor Vargellas Vinha Velha 2017;
  • Quinta do Vale Meão 2017;
  • Quinta do Vallado 2017;
  • Quinta do Vallado Adelaide 2017;
  • Quinta do Vesuvio 2017;
  • Capela da Quinta do Vesuvio 2017;
  • Vieira de Sousa 2017;
  • Warre 2017;
• Sticky labels and TN pages (which caused some additions to the list of Port House abbreviations).
• Planing and arrangements.

A1: Smooth sweet apricot over rich red/black fruits. Noval like? Softly, richly tannic – balanced black fruit driven palate. Long, smooth finish. Excellent. (Grahams Stone Terraces)

Delicious! Red fruits on the nose. Loads of dark fruits - black cherries and plums, a little spice. Good tannin structure, strong but not dominating the fruit, wonderfully balanced. Having read some of the scores for this port I was unsurprised when this was revealed as the Stone Terraces. Excellent.

(Sighted tasting) Deep purple wonderful expressive nose of red fruit, strawberries, raspberries and violets a touch of pepper and spice. In the mouth an explosion of flavours, red fruits and a green pepper. Long, long finish with a touch of green pepper. First tasting of this wine and the first wine of the day. 98.

The 2017 Stone Terraces is fresh and exceptionally aromatic.What a powerhouse of a port! Great depth of aromatics with blueberry compote, black forest fruit, black and red cherry, rock rose and violets, eucalyptus and graphite. This concentration is apparent on the palate too, the tannins are robust and silky, the sweetness is perfectly balanced by the acidity, tannins and alcohol. It finishes long with layer upon layer of cloves, blueberry and violet. Defined- Concentrated- Exceptional. 19.5/20

Tasted blind. Very deep red; opaque. Big nose of sour fruit. Dense fruit on the palate, tasting slightly baked. Lots of tannins and purple fruit with a touch of high tones, the tannins being very firm. Baked fruit and brioche on the nice finish. Good length. 87-89/100.

When revealed this must surely have been a bottle exposed to heat or sunlight at some point in its short life.

Alex Bridgeman wrote: ↑07:37 Sat 06 Sep 2025 Tasted blind. Very deep red; opaque. Big nose of sour fruit. Dense fruit on the palate, tasting slightly baked. Lots of tannins and purple fruit with a touch of high tones, the tannins being very firm. Baked fruit and brioche on the nice finish. Good length. 87-89/100.

When revealed this must surely have been a bottle exposed to heat or sunlight at some point in its short life.

I'm surprised by this tasting note, Alex, given the rest of the notes on the Stone Terraces are extremely positive.

I was wondering whether his glass got switched.

winesecretary wrote: ↑17:16 Sun 07 Sep 2025 I was wondering whether his glass got switched.

Quite possibly - I noted the note below also didn't align with the rest of the tasting notes (but does align much better with these...):

2017 Maynard Organic

It is entirely possible. There were so many moving parts at the tasting.

IIRC, this was the tasting that was blinded using sticky labels...?

flash_uk wrote: ↑21:07 Tue 09 Sep 2025 IIRC, this was the tasting that was blinded using sticky labels...?

I think it was. Most of my tasting notes say that the wine was tasted blind - so I could easily have lost track of a glass or transposed a couple of producers when the reveal happened.