Vintage Port: The 2024 Declaration

BY NEAL MARTIN | SEPTEMBER 1, 2026

The 2024 Vintage Port releases mark the first General Declaration — when all the major Port houses declare simultaneously — since 2017. That is the longest gap since the barren run between 1934 and 1945. This gap between releases is useful not only in terms of upholding quality and style (omitting growing seasons when wines are deemed more suitable for a single Quinta bottling or simply sold off in bulk), but also in terms of staggering the supply at a time when wine consumption is declining.

By now readers are all aware that constant rain defined the 2024 growing season across France and much of Europe. By contrast, in Portugal’s Douro Valley, winemakers enjoyed a near-perfect season. That word “classic” has been wheeled out, and, for once, it is apposite. Cooler-than-average summer temperatures locked in acidity and decelerated sugar accumulation. Vineyard workers must have rejoiced that there were no heat waves. Pockets of younger vines were suffering hydric stress by early August, though winter downpours had left sufficient underground reserves. Picking began in early September. Sustained cool nights meant growers could pick at optimal moments, allowing the berries to attain phenolic maturity. Two spells of rain in mid-September came too late to cause dilution; instead, they moderated alcohol levels and extended picking into the first part of October.

The 2024s are cut from a different cloth than wines from other recent years marked by heat waves. There is a common thread of discretion and nuance in the wines that sets this vintage apart from the bombast and decadence that have shaped Vintage Ports in recent years. The one exception, perhaps inevitably, is the Quinta do Noval Nacional, which went off-script (as it is wont to do) to produce a marvellously rumbustious Port of dazzling complexity. Several others warrant attention, not least a heaven-sent 2024 Fonseca that had the audacity to out-manoeuvre the Taylor’s (only by a whisker, mind you). Also outstanding are the 2024 Graham’s Stone Terraces and regular Graham’s Vintage Port, which are among the best I have encountered at this stage. And perhaps my pick of them all: a 2024 Dow’s that will surely rank among the all-time greats. To me, there is something enigmatic about Dow’s that I find utterly alluring. 

There is no doubting the quality of these 2024s. The challenge, of course, like so many in these times, is finding homes for them. Without question, the 2024s are less tannic and far more approachable than many other Vintage Ports I have assessed upon release. You don’t need to consider which of your unborn grandchildren will drink them. At the same time, these are still fortified wines endowed with 19% or 20% alcohol, so whilst I can countenance the idea of a young Vintage Port accompanying a meal, at the end of the day, these wines deserve bottle age and should continue to be poured at the end of a meal. Therein lies the problem, since by that time, many of us are requesting the bill or thinking about last trains. Whether it is Port, other fortified wines or dessert wines, these perfect denouements to a dinner too often receive scant attention or are simply skipped. Maybe you could serve Vintage Port throughout a meal? Sounds ludicrous, but it worked brilliantly at a dinner last year — though granted, the bottles averaged almost a century in age!

Let me finish by making a “personal declaration” that I adore these 2024s, and any Port aficionado should make a berth for these wines in their cellar. Drink ‘em young because they do give immense pleasure, especially when served just below room temperature. Drink ‘em old because their lifespan will arc over decades. Just drink ‘em whenever suits you.

© 2026, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or redistributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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