Cockburn’s Quinta dos Canais 2013 Vintage Port
Opaque deep purple color. On the nose showing great purity of fruit, with excellent aromas of blueberries and some lifted citrus notes of bergamot. On the palate medium bodied with complex flavors of dark fruits, which favor elegance over power. A backbone of refreshing acidity gives balance and fine-grained polished tannins lead to a persistent and slightly drier finish of great finesse.
Reviews
This late release is starting to open up, offering dark chocolate, crushed blackberry and boysenberry fruit flavors coated with a swath of tar on the finish, showing a flash of violet in the background. In need of a touch more cellaring. Nicely done for a vintage that wasn't declared. Best from 2024 through 2032. 2,000 cases made, 50 cases imported. - J.M.
Smoky and a little charry in its scent, this wine’s black fruit is juicy and clean. Nacho Monclús of NYC’s Despaña described it as having “refined concentration,” which might describe Cockburn’s house style up to the 1950s and ’60s, which were neither big, nor heavy, but firm evocations of the Douro schist. This is softer, as modern Ports tend to be, warm and charming.