Sandeman Porto Quinta do Seixo — 14 Accolades

​Grippy, chewy and rustic, this sports lots of licorice root, roasted alder and apple wood and tar notes around a core of steeped plum and warmed fig fruit. Best from 2030 through 2050

​Ripe and fruity, this is already delicious, but that doesn't detract from the firm tannins and density of a wine that will age well. It has all the elements, with the fruit, solid tannins and a juicy aftertaste. Drink from 2025.

"From an extremely successful vintage comes only the second bottling of this single quinta Port, from Sandeman's Quinta do Seixo vineyard which covers 108 hectares in Cima Corgo. Grapes are sourced from various blocks of the vineyard, including a section with vines over 100 years old which provide 25% of the grapes for this wine. Fermentation took place in traditional granite lagares, and the wine was aged in ‘balseiro’ (very large old oak casks) at Sandeman’s cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia. It is a gorgeous, inky purple in colour, with a rich nose of blue fruit, plum and currants. Powdery-fine tannins support a plump, super-juicy palate of black fruits and sweet cherry, with hints of blue fruit, sweet spice, liquorice and chocolate. Very vibrant, with an elegant freshness that balances the alcohol and sweetness. This is still very youthful and tight, and should age for well over a decade. If you want to drink it sooner, a good double decant will not only remove the sediment butalso inject some much needed oxygen to open it up.
Drinking Window 2017 - 2035"

​The 2015 Port Quinta do Seixo is a blend of Touriga Franca (40%), Touriga Nacional (28%), old vines (15%), Tinta Roriz (12%) and Sousão (5%). It comes in with 100 grams per liter of residual sugar. In bottle for about two months when seen, this was opened (not decanted) about three hours in advance of tasting. It has a nice backbone, showing tight and a bit hard, but its relatively rich fruit counters with classic flavors. Many are pointing to Douro Superior for the best Ports in 2015, but this Cima Corgo offering has lovely fruit as well as the good concentration to balance the structure. This isn't the most elegant Porto, though; for that, try its sibling the Quinta do Porto, also from Sogrape (Ferreira). This might be approachable early, but you really need to let it sit for at least a decade or more for better results. Pricing was not available at the time this was tasted. There were 6,494 bottles produced.
There were 810 cases produced, and the price is right. That makes this a particularly great choice for bargain hunters—available and reasonably priced.

There is no general (""classic"") declaration here for 2017 (nor on Sogrape's Ferreira or Offley this issue) because, said winemaker Luís Sottomayor, the style was not what they wanted for their properties. It's not, he said, a question of quality. ""2017 is a wonderful year—but different..."" It seems to me to be a peculiar decision here and at Ferreira, which both instead produced single-quinta Ports. For my part, I can only say that there are a lot of producers in Porto who declare wines vastly inferior to this on a regular basis. Plus, vintage styles differ—that's the entire point of having vintage wines. Vintage wines are supposed to reflect vintage differences as their raison d'être. I would certainly have declared."

"#1 TOP 100 Cellar Selections 2019

This is going to be a major, impressive wine. All the elements are there: ripe blackberry fruit, powerful acidity, dense tannins and spice. It has the structure to live on for decades. Drink from 2030."

Warm and lush in style, featuring blueberry and açaí berry reduction flavors that glide over melted licorice and melted chocolate notes, revealing a seductive fruitcake hint on the rich finish. The grip of the vintage hangs in the background, resulting in a showy, fruit-bomb style. Best from 2032 through 2050.

"The 2017 Vintage Port Quinta do Seixo is a blend of 42% Touriga Franca, 31% Touriga Nacional, 15% Old Vines and Tinta Roriz and Sousão for the rest. It comes in with 108 grams per liter of residual sugar. Sandeman may not have made a declaration in 2017, but this single quinta is pretty fine, better than or equal to many who did. Powerful, pointed and inky black, not to mention full of flavor, this is beautiful. The mid-palate is not particularly fleshy, and might be a bit lean, but everything else is super. Some aeration did not help it along much—it remained powerful and penetrating, rather closed. This is very fine, but it does need to demonstrate some ability to gain more expressive fruit in the cellar. It may yet be entitled to an uptick. Be prepared to cellar it a bit, though. This was only in bottle about six weeks when seen.

There were 810 cases produced, and the price is right. That makes this a particularly great choice for bargain hunters—available and reasonably priced.

There is no general (""classic"") declaration here for 2017 (nor on Sogrape's Ferreira or Offley this issue) because, said winemaker Luís Sottomayor, the style was not what they wanted for their properties. It's not, he said, a question of quality. ""2017 is a wonderful year—but different..."" It seems to me to be a peculiar decision here and at Ferreira, which both instead produced single-quinta Ports. For my part, I can only say that there are a lot of producers in Porto who declare wines vastly inferior to this on a regular basis. Plus, vintage styles differ—that's the entire point of having vintage wines. Vintage wines are supposed to reflect vintage differences as their raison d'être. I would certainly have declared."