2024 Churchill's - Vintage Port (750ml)

Johnny Graham left Cockburn's as a director in 1980 to launch the first independent Port house in Oporto in seventy years. The Graham's name had been sold to the Symingtons in 1970, so he adopted his wife's maiden name, Churchill. Today the family-run house controls its supply from grape to bottle, with Quinta da Gricha and Quinta do Rio in the Cima Corgo. Graham blends by taste alongside head winemaker Ricardo Pinto Nunes.

The 2024 Vintage Port arrives as part of the first general declaration since 2017. It is made from old vines averaging more than 50 years of age, with a backbone from the oldest vines of Quinta da Gricha, a north-facing Cima Corgo site with mineral-rich soils. The year brought a warm summer followed by a cooler harvest period, which suited long fermentations. In keeping with house practice, grapes are foot-trodden in granite lagares dating to 1852.

Dark cherry and black plum lead, joined by sweet red fruits, a touch of mint, soft herbs, lavender, and marzipan. The palate is dense and rich yet bright and fine-boned, with pleasing spice and a playful sweetness beneath its structure. The producer describes a rich purity of fruit that envelops the palate.