Vintage Port2024 Declaration
Wine Region
Douro, Portugal
Vineyard
Douro’s vineyards
It is easy to forget that the last generally declared Port vintage was 2017. Although there have been some rather good individual declarations since then, this is the longest period since 1945 without a general declaration.
2024 marks a return to classical Douro harmony — wines that whisper rather than shout. After years of heat-driven power, these Vintage Ports seduce with architectural precision: taut structures wrapped in pure, crystalline fruit, where the Touriga Franca variety finally reaches its apex alongside Touriga Nacional. This is elegance with backbone, refinement with staying power and the first ‘classic’ Vintage Port declaration in seven years — made not out of expectation, but because the wines truly demanded it.
A Vintage Port Declaration is always a landmark moment for any Port house. It marks the rare occasions when the Douro’s vineyards, winemaking and blending come together in perfect harmony to produce wines of exceptional character — wines with the structure and depth to age gracefully in bottle for many decades.
It might seem a very long-term proposition to hold Vintage Port for 20 years before the wines reach their best; yet it is a wonderful, reassuring feeling to know you have them. They have traditionally made excellent gifts to godchildren too, and indeed grandchildren — what an agreeable way to be remembered several decades hence.
MARC DITCHAM
SENIOR BROKER & BUYER
MAY 2026
THE WINES
Other formats (from halves to double magnums) are available on request, subject to confirmation and a possible premium. Please enquire with your C&B Sales Rep
Contact us at: [email protected]
TAYLOR’S
Taylor’s was founded over three centuries ago in 1692 and has been family owned and run throughout its history. Taylor’s is recognised as a benchmark for Vintage Port, its classic Vintages attracting the highest scores and auction prices. Known for their elegance, longevity and distinctive scented character, they are blended from the finest wines of the own or estates. These three famous properties Vargellas, Terra Feita and Junco occupy distinct geographic locations, and each contributes its own unique character and dimension to the subtle harmony of the classic blend. All these properties represent the best of innovation and tradition, combining the most advanced viticultural practices with traditional foot treading, still unsurpassed as a method for making Vintage Port.
TAYLOR’S 2024
The smallest ever release from Taylor’s with only 5,000 nine-litre cases produced. Deep purple-black with a narrow magenta rim. High notes of pure, intense woodland fruit with lively accents of fresh plum, raspberry and wild herbs. On a deeper register, exotic notes of cedarwood and jasmine provide an additional dimension of complexity. The wine has an attractive leanness and muscularity with sinewy, linear tannins that integrate seamlessly into the mid palate and then re-emerge to hold the wine in a confident grip. Energised by a racy acidity, the intense berry flavours continue to build into the long finish… the restrained vigour and stamina that are the hallmarks of the Taylor’s style.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5+
£396/ CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
TAYLOR’S SENTINELS 2024
A beautifully lifted nose. Hedgerow fruit with light cedar undertones. An immediate sweetness caresses the mouth, combined with scented sweet tannins. An almond/coconut richness enriches the mouth with pleasant freshness and a good striking hit of acidity. A really enjoyable cheap alternative.”
Corney & Barrow Score 17.5
£204/ CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
FONSECA
Established as a port company in 1815, Fonseca is noted for the stylistic consistency of its Vintage Ports, which have been made by five generations of the Guimaraens family since its foundation. Its Vintage Ports are noted for their expressive, luscious fruitiness, which develops great opulence and complexity with age, as well as a voluptuous roundness on the palate supported by velvety mouth-filling tannins. Although they are capable of ageing for decades, the exuberant fruitiness of the Fonseca Vintage Ports makes them immensely enjoyable when young. Fonseca undoubtedly belongs in the first rank of vintage port houses.
FONSECA 2024
3,900 nine-litre cases produced. The nose opens with very fine pure black fruit, a fusion of black cherry, cassis and blackberry jam aromas with notes of crushed mint, violets and undertones of ripe tropical fruit. The palate is supported by a vibrant acidity and taut, wiry tannins that provide structure but also texture and volume. The fresh berry flavours carry into the long finish. A finely crafted and perfectly balanced Port.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5
£396/ CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
CROFT
One of the original founding port houses, Croft traces its origins to 1588 when the company was established in England by Henry Thompson, a member of the Merchants Company of York. The Croft family, which joined the partnership in 1736 and gave the firm its present name, served the port trade with great distinction. A book published by the firm reveals much new research into the long and fascinating history. The reputation of Croft as a Vintage Port producer derives to a large extent from its ownership of Quinta da Roêda, one of the finest estates in the Douro Valley, and from such legendary wines as the Croft 1945, recognised as one of the finest of that landmark year.
CROFT 2024
1600 nine-litre cases produced. The nose displays the ripe strawberry and blackcurrant fruitiness and resiny notes of rock rose and eucalyptus. The palate opens with a surge of rich berry fruit flavour and is supported by a dense mesh of close-knit tannins. Exuberant fruit and heady herbal aromas, the wine is classical in its proportions. An elegant and aromatic Port. Perfectly poised between opulence and restraint.
Corney & Barrow Score 18
£318/ CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
GRAHAM’S
Founded by brothers William and John Graham in 1820, Graham's has developed an outstanding reputation for producing exquisite ports. Based on tradition and innovation, we strive to produce the finest expressions of our four Douro estates — ports that will live long in the memory. Made from the finest wines produced at four estates across the Douro Valley, with Quinta dos Malvedos being the cornerstone since 1890. Characterised by an opulent style, Graham’s Vintage Ports combine complexity and balance.
GRAHAM’S 2024
Classic expression of the Graham’s style: concentrated and opulent with layers of fresh, ripe, black fruit flavours. Aromas of mint and eucalyptus with chocolate notes and with that all so familiar lick of sweet coconut. Creamy on the palate with lots of saturated, strident fruit. The acidity is tight and delineated. Sumptuous and assured. Superb complexity, structure and balance.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5+
£348/ CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
GRAHAM’S STONE TERRACES 2024
Revealing exquisite tropical fruit aromas. Sumptuous and irresistibly seductive with layers of complexity. The broad, all-encompassing structure reveals supreme purity of fruit, luxurious tannins and uplifting acidity.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5+
£510/ CASE OF 3 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
*Limited quantity available with priority going to those customers purchasing a selection of other Symington Family Estate Wine: Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s, Cockburn’s, Smith Woodhouse
DOW’S
Dow’s Vintage Ports are produced from Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira, which have been farmed by the Symington family since 1912. It is the combination of the finest wines from these estates that gives Dow’s Vintage Ports their peppery concentration and powerful structure.
DOW’S 2024
Brooding aromas of blackcurrant and blackberry, with hints of bitter chocolate, black pepper and powdered schist. Concentrated on the palate with a compact, tight-knit structure that gradually reveals sumptuous blackcurrant, plum and liquorice flavours, held in balance by vibrant acidity and peppery tannins with Dow's trademark drier finish.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5
£348/ CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
WARRE’S
Warre (pronounced ‘war’) is the oldest of all British port houses, founded as a trading company by two Englishmen in 1670. It was in 1729 that William Warre joined the company, founding an important dynasty that influenced both the Port trade and the peninsula's military history. In 1905, Andrew Symington became a partner and the seeds of the Symington Family Estates were planted. Warre’s Ports are traditionally very elegant, with a great deal of finesse. Robotic ‘feet’ press the grapes at the quinta.
Warre’s Vintage Ports are defined by the high-altitude vineyards from which they originate and the large proportion of old vines at these estates. It is this unique combination that creates Warre’s signature floral and fresh character, together with complexity.
WARRE’S 2024
Wonderfully fragrant and floral with notes of roses and violets, vividly fresh, bright fruit and light pine. Very fine and elegant on the palate — full yet silky and rounded. The sheer purity of fruit offers superb refinement and grace, with multilayered complexity.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5
£282/ CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
COCKBURN’S
Cockburn’s was founded in 1815 by the Scottish brothers Robert and John Cockburn. Originally wine merchants in Leith, Scotland, they founded their port house with the objective of securing a supply of excellent wine at its source in Portugal. In the words of Robert Cockburn himself, “the quality of the wine — that is the first thing to be looked to.”
Cockburn’s Vintage Ports are principally shaped by the vineyards at Quinta dos Canais in the Douro Superior and the large proportion of Touriga Nacional from this estate. The results are Vintage Ports characterised by a structured grip with a long, drying finish.
COCKBURN’S 2024
Resinous, forest floor aromas with rockrose and peony scents. Fresh, mineral notes evoke eucalyptus and anise. The palate is intense with layers of blueberry and kirsch flavours underpinned by peppery tannins. A very complete wine, complex and finely tuned.
Corney & Barrow Score 17+
£264/ CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
CAPELO DO VESÚVIO
Capela do Vesúvio Vintage Port is an exceptional expression of a few special vineyards at the iconic Quinta do Vesúvio. The 2024 harvest produced wines with the power, structure and refinement required to produce a standalone Vintage Port that expresses the unique characteristics of these vines. This is only the sixth time that Symington’s have made this micro-terroir Vintage Port.
QUINTA DO VESÚVIO 2024
Alluring aromas of red and black fruit with herbal spice, black olives, pine, forest floor and rosemary. Seductive wild berry fruit, bright acidity and grainy tannins provide balance to the velvety fruit. The structure is taut yet supple — irresistible young whilst signalling considerable ageing potential.
Corney & Barrow Score 18
£282/ CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
CAPELO DO VESÚVIO 2024
Schist, herbal garrigue and lavender. The palate is expansive and powerful. Multi-dimensional and complex, with monumental structure perfectly balanced by fine acidity, sculpted tannins and layers of fruit and spice. A formidable wine.
Corney & Barrow Score 18
£390 / CASE OF 3 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
SMITH WOODHOUSE
Smith Woodhouse Vintage Ports are sourced from one of the Douro's finest areas, the Rio Torto Valley. The maturation pattern is typically later here, with an extended ripening cycle where the Touriga Franca thrives alongside old vines. The result is Vintage Ports with floral elegance and excellent structure.
SMITH WOODHOUSE 2024
Seamless balance between attractive floral and herbal aromas and silky-smooth fruit, laced with kirsch and subtle traces of liquorice. Elegance and balance, alongside the substance and complexity of old vines. A wine of irresistible charm and finesse.
Corney & Barrow Score 17
£222/ CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
QUINTA DO RORIZ
Quinta de Roriz is one of the oldest estates in the Douro and was one of the first to sell wine under its own name. Owned by our Prats and Symington partnership, the estate produces Vintage Ports characterised by structure, balance, and a distinctive minerality influenced by tin and gold tailings at the property.
QUINTA DO RORIZ 2024
Exuberant floral aromas complemented by a sublime sense of purity of wild berry fruit, both red and black and the subtlest traces of liquorice and cassis, underscored by fresh, minerally acidity that provides superb elegance and balance.
Corney & Barrow Score 17
£228/ CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK