Croft Quinta da Roeda Vintage Port 2015 Cinnamon-edged black cherry, noyau (bitter cherry kernel), bramble and leaf notes to the nose and palate with perfumed bergamot/orange blossom and milk chocolate nuances. Sweet cherry on the entry with nice acid push/persistence and mouth-coating, spicy tannins for balance. Intense in flavour but lighter – less broad – on the palate than its stablemates (as you would expect from Croft). But with more underpinning than initial impressions suggested. More spice, with liquorice into day two. Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage Port 2015 A darker, more brooding nose, a little dusty (in an earthy, not impure way) with pronounced liquorice spice and orange citrus notes to its fleshy plum and sweet raspberry fruit. Dusty, mineral tannins swallow up the fruit on the finish, making for a tapered, firm finish. But one senses a plush undertow of fruit, for now, a little callow and held back. No shortage of structure here. On day two, the aromatics are opening up, with lots of spicy liquorice and lifted orange blossom and anise. Book-ending tannins remain firm and savoury. Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port 2015 The deepest hue of all, with polished black currant and berry fruit and surprisingly flamboyant (for Taylor’s) orange blossom/citrus to the nose. Lovely intensity of juicy, succulent black currant, berry and cherry, with bitter chocolate, earthy raspberry and that pronounced citrus character to its long, involving finish. Love the energetic parry of fruit, acidity and ripe but firm iron filing (very mineral) tannins. Great line and length, polish and elegance, with no loss of poise or fruit on day two. Really very good indeed. Snap this one up when it hits the shelves or nab it en primeur. Sarah Ahmed, thewinedetective, July 2017