Winemaker Notes
Deep obsidian purple core with a narrow mulberry rim. The nose bursts with powerful woodland fruit, layered with rich blackcurrant, dark plum and ripe cherries that leap from the glass. Subtle notes of black cherry interwoven with delicate hint of rose petal. The fruit shows elegance and restraint. On the palate, it reveals remarkable freshness and energy with an appealing precision and lift. Lavendar and gentle herbal tones all complement the flavors of damson and plums, building steadily to a long and persistent finish.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2024 Sentinels Vintage Port represents the third release. It comes from different quintas to those that constitute the regular Taylor’s, namely Quinta da Casa Nova and Quinta da Eira Velha. It has an intriguing bouquet that takes time to cohere, eventually revealing quite enticing black plum, allspice, clove and subtle marine scents that gain intensity with aeration. The palate is very ripe and forward, one of the most decadent of the Vintage Ports, but I cannot help feeling that it just tips over into raisin/prune-like notes that render the finish a bit heady. Let’s see how it ages in bottle.
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F. To learn more, see our full Port Wine Guide
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.