Vargellas Vinha Velha2011

Monumental wine, full of concentration, richness of fruit, great elegance in the mouth, with a silky texture, discrete fine tannins and a soft long and full finish. Sheer class that is almost disconcerting.

May just be the finest wine produced anywhere in the world in 2011’ Actually not as deep purple as some. More deep crimson. Complex and wild nose, sort of biodynamic kind of profile. There's something burgundian and devil-may-care about this wine. It's lovely for drinking already. How on earth are they going to persuade people to hang on to it?? The sort of singer who doesn't obey any rules; just belts it out and doesn’t mind whether the orchestra keeps up or not. Transparent and very distinctive.

Beautiful nose of flowers with plums and cherries; more like a fine table wine on the nose. Full body, medium sweet with super-refined tannins and a long, superb finish. All about finesse here. Only 310 cases produced of this foot-trodden wine from 19th century vines at the Vargellas estate.

As a reminder, the Vinha Velha is a selection of old vine fruit from the old vineyards at Vargellas. Comparing it directly with the Taylor’s, there is even more complexity and volume on the nose, with blackcurrant, dark plum and a more accentuated crushed stone aroma that lends it wonderful terroir expression. Like the Fonseca, it develops compelling marine scents after 30-40 minutes in the glass, like stepping over rock pools when you were a kid. The palate is medium bodied with sumptuous, sensual ripe tannins that layer the mouth. There is a palpable sense of harmony and composure to this Vinha Velha and there is a lot of horsepower, more so than the Taylor’s, on the multi-dimensional finish. The intensity of fruit means that it does not quite have the same degree of tension as the Taylor’s, but the depth and breadth of this young Port suggest it will be a seriously long-term fortified wine.

Wonderful purity of fruit, already fragrant and expressive; firm, long and linear.