2007 Churchill's - Crusted Port Bottled 2007

Churchill's was founded in Porto in 1981 by Johnny Graham and his brothers Anthony and William, and named for Johnny's wife, Caroline Churchill. It was the first new Port shipper to be established in generations, built specifically to bring small quantities of distinctive, traditionally made wines to the British market, and it remains led today by winemaker Johnny Graham.

Crusted Port is an old English style, invented by British merchants at a time when Port arrived in bulk to be blended and bottled to their own specification, and Churchill's is among the few houses still producing it as a distinct category. This bottling blends the best wines from two consecutive vintages, kept together in oak for up to two years before bottling unfiltered in 2007. Because the wine receives no fining or filtration, it continues to mature in bottle and will eventually throw a heavy sediment, the "crust" that gives the style its name.

The wine shows a garnet color with a violet hue and a fresh, resinous nose reminiscent of young Vintage Port. On the palate it is complex and elegant, combining cherry fruit with dark chocolate through a well balanced finish. Decant carefully to leave the sediment behind, and serve alongside roasted almonds, dried fruit, or a mature cheese board.