2017 Churchill's Late Bottled Vintage Port Douro

Churchill's Port was founded in 1981 by John Graham, who named the company after his wife, Caroline Churchill. Since day one, the house has targeted the British market with small quantities of distinctive wines, earning a reputation for quality that punches well above the typical LBV category.

This Late Bottled Vintage Port is sourced from the same Grade-A vineyards that produce Churchill's declared Vintage Ports — hand-picked fruit from Quinta da Gricha in the Douro Valley, foot-trodden in ancient granite lagares. The young wines are carefully selected and blended, then matured for four years in large oak vats where they shed harsh tannins while retaining full-bodied, rich fruit flavors. After those four years, the wine is bottled unfiltered and laid down in temperature-controlled cellars to finish maturing.

The extended fermentation in lagares limits the amount of brandy required during fortification, leading to a drier, more structured style of Port. The result is a wine with real Vintage pedigree — excellent intensity of fruit and finesse — produced in a similar style and quality as Vintage Port but ready to drink now and built to age lying down in bottle.

In the glass: solid black cherry color with a violet rim. The nose delivers dense aromas of blackberry jam with a mineral background, rich blackberry, and wild flowers with herbal undertones. The palate is smooth and complex, with juicy flavors of wild berries, black chocolate, mint chocolate, and cherry liqueur, finishing with excellent grip from firm tannins and well-defined acidity. Long, flavorful, and unfiltered — the kind of Port that makes you wonder why you'd spend double.