Vintage Port in Excelsis: 1924-1950

Port and Madeira. These fortified wines have been vinous passions of
mine for many years. I recently joined a small lunch at <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vinous-table-cloth-london-uk-aug-2024">Cloth</a>
restaurant in London to taste seven exceptional fortified wines from the cellar
of Raby Castle in County Durham in the north of England. Lord Barnard presided
over an astonishing treasure trove of fortified wines that had begun with his
forebears, who would buy pipes from the Douro Valley in Portugal. Barnard
passed away in 2016, and his widow decided to auction off the collection
through Christie’s, each bottle re-labeled with a back label designating its
origin. I mention this because it means these wines were kept in impeccable
conditions, unmoved for their entire lives. Such is the provenance that, as I’ve
heard, some of the Port houses have already purchased bottles to augment their own
libraries.

Let’s start with the Port, and I’ll tackle the two Madeira wines next
week.

My inaugural encounter with the rare 1924 Dow’s Vintage Port is a
wonder to behold. Pale amber/brick in hue, it has a fragrant bouquet that curls
its way around your senses like a wily feline, with beguiling aromas of
fireside hearth, Montecristo cigars and Earl Grey. There is just a vestige of
fruit remaining. The palate has exquisite balance, with brown spices,
gingerbread and just a hint of licorice. This centurion exudes stately
grandeur, albeit just beginning to fade with time. And yet returning to my
glass after one hour, it defies logic and gains intensity and depth, as if to
say, “I’m not done yet!” Ethereal! 99

The 1927 Dow’s Vintage Port came from a bottle that had been
rejected from the sale, as there was a tiny crack in the glass. This might have
caused the slight oxidation on the nose, yet the palate seems unaffected and
suggests even more concentration than the 1924. Slightly candied red fruit
open, with hints of menthol and a touch of allspice emerging on the finish. This
is still thoroughly enjoyable. 96+

The 1931 Vintage Port from Quinta do Noval might be the
best fortified wine ever made. Before you leap from your chair yelling “Naçional!”
remember that those un-grafted vines were only planted in 1925, ergo, the vines
that begat the regular bottling would have been older. There are various
bottlings of this Port, this particular one being “Fearon Block Bridges Routh,”
namechecked by Michael Broadbent in his “Vintage Wine” tome as being
“superlatively typical.” Where do I begin? It has a fragrant, haunting bouquet
with clove, bergamot, cigar humidor and light mulberry scents, later revealing pressed
roses that lend it a Barolo-like allure. These aromatics are mesmerizing. The
palate is perfectly balanced with amazing concentration considering its age,
lightly spiced with a soupçon of menthol. It is ineffably complex, utterly
profound, a heavenly elixir that is the apotheosis of fortified wine. Perfection.
100

The 1934 Vintage Port from Fonseca is a marvel. This is
quite backward on the nose and needs coaxing. Remnants of red fruit commingle
with mahogany bureau, woodbines and peat, becoming ever sweeter in the glass.
The palate has a lovely dash of cough candy on the entry and wonderful balance.
It’s a little more viscous than other Ports of equal antiquity, with an
understated yet quite penetrating finish that leaves you yearning for more.
Graceful from start to finish, this 90-year-old is reaching its peak! 98

To be honest, I have encountered perfect bottles of the 1948 Taylor’s,
but this was not one of them. It is a little surly on the nose and takes time
to fire up its engines, offering less fruit than previous examples. The palate
is a different matter, with cough candy, aniseed, crème brûlée and fig toward
the finish. That’s the real deal. It’s a truly great Vintage Port, but this
bottle was just compromised by the aromatics. 96?

The 1950 Vintage Port from Cockburn’s comes from a year
when most Port Houses did not declare. It has an airy, elegant bouquet with
light redcurrant scents, brown forest leaves and cigar smoke. It is not a
complex Cockburn’s, but I admire its feistiness and vigor. The finish is quite persistent,
with just a touch of oxidation lending frisson. 92© 2024, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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