2024 Maynard

[Alex Bridgeman]

I am beginning to understand the 2024 vintage brings an elegance and refinement to the wines. The fruit is ripe, floral and wonderfully expressive and this wine from the Barão de Vilar portfolio shows this to its full. The wine is a rich purple in colour with a narrow rim. The purity of the fruit shines on the nose with a lovely bramble and damp green nettle complexity. The palate holds the elegance of the vintage with the fruit very nicely balanced by the acidity. Generous fine-grained tannin support the fruit and give the wine good depth and enough power to promise a good future. Black plums on the late palate change to a menthol warmed dark chocolate and dried purple plum aftertaste with the dark chocolate leading the finish, letting the freshly crushed nettle leaves through at the end. This is a nice Port with an harmonious structure balancing the fruit. Medium bodied, this will drink very well for the next 4-5 years and then will reward a decade in the cellar. 88-90/100.