Cockburns Vintage Port 2017

Cockburns Vintage Port 2016

Opulent wild blackberries, the fragrance of violets, scents of flowers and wild herbs, rockrose, mint, and hints of spice, are bottled in their time capsule and left to mull over for years. The finish is long and persistent. It never really finishes, in fact, because just as it starts to, you’ll take another sip.

Vintage Port needs to lie down during its years of slumber after it has been bottled. Keep it in a cool, dark, dry place, where it can rest in peace. At about 15 to 20 years old Vintage Port will start to show the characteristics of slow aging in the bottle and it will taste really exceptional. By then it will have gained silky elegance and complexity. But you can enjoy it earlier if you prefer a more intense, fruity experience. It will go on for many years after that too.

Vintage Port should be served in generous wine glasses, not the small thimble-like glasses in which most of the aromas and flavors are lost. Fine white wine glasses would do the trick, for example, or indeed specific Port glasses from Riedel. Serve it slightly cooler than average room temperature, but not chilled. It will stay at its peak for a few days once decanted, just like any other great red wine.

Critical Acclaim

99 James Suckling

This shows fantastic graphite and dark-berry character with black-stone undertones and hints of dried roses. Full-bodied and very tight and precise. A good kick in the end. Love the polished tannins, which are totally folded into the wine. Reminds me of the 1947 Cockburn. Try in 2024.

96 Wine Spectator

This is quite primal, with lush plum, blackberry and açai berry reduction rolling through, pushed by warm licorice and Black Forest cake notes. A substantial bass line thumps on the finish, showing plenty of sparkly spice and incense details hitting the top range. Best from 2030 through 2050.

95 Wine Enthusiast

The wine has structure, swathes of juicy fruit and acidity along with fine tannins. It is certainly balanced with deliciously luscious fruit and a rich texture that is suggesting good aging potential. Drink from 2028.

93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2016 Vintage Port, bottled in May 2018, is a blend of 62% Touriga Nacional, 21% Touriga Franca and small portions of Sousão and Alicante Bouschet. It comes in with 106 grams of residual sugar. Fairly intense and even tighter than Graham's, this might be somewhat approachable in a few years, but it really needs to open up. It will require more time than the wines like Warre's and Smith Woodhouse in the Symington stable. Beautifully wrought, this looks like an impressive Cockburn's, more balanced and fresher than the stolid and jammy 2015 yet still with fine concentration to go with the freshness.

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