Category: WINES AND PORTS

Deep, precise, and intensely restrained, it asserts itself from the very first moment as a wine of exceptional dimension. Its almost impenetrable purple-black color reveals the monumental concentration that defines the great classical Vintage Ports.

On the nose, I find everything I have always sought in the finest Ports from the Douro: crystalline black fruit, rockrose, aromatic freshness, depth, and identity. Cassis, black cherry, ripe plum, and wild blackberry emerge with remarkable definition, wrapped in notes of rosemary, lavender, violet, fine spice, graphite, and balsamic nuances.

On the palate, it is everything a great Vintage should be: powerful yet disciplined; concentrated yet elegant; muscular yet precise. The tannins are deep, dense, and perfectly integrated. The natural acidity provides direction, energy, and longevity. There is strength — but above all, there is balance.

And it is this balance that distinguishes great wines from truly historic ones.

Nature, bottled

At Van Zellers & Co, we believe that Port wine is not just wine. It is memory. It is culture. It is family. It is nature, bottled.

With only 2,000 bottles produced, this Vintage 2024 represents not just a rare wine, but a statement of what I have always believed: that the Douro remains capable of producing some of the world’s greatest fortified wines when nature, knowledge, and courage align.

2024 joins 2011 and 2017 as one of the great classics of this century. One of the great years of the millennium.


After so many years in the Douro, I still feel what I felt from that very first aroma of
Port wine in childhood:
The Douro never ceases to surprise. And in 2024, it has done so once again.

The Real Basis of Freshness: Acidity

Acidity is the main pillar of freshness.



Acidity is the main pillar of freshness.
 A white wine with high natural acidity – like an Arinto or Riesling – gives a sensation of lightness, vibrancy, and impressive palate freshness. Acidity balances alcohol and body, contributing to a clean and persistent finish.
 As Matt Kramer states, the structure of the wine — and not just its temperature — is what keeps the wine alive:

 “Structure can refer to acidity, sugar, alcohol… each are preservatives that ward off oxidation and decay.”

 A wine with an unbalanced structure, even when chilled, can feel “flat” or lifeless.

Terroir, Grapes, and Winemaking

Freshness also comes from the vineyard.
 Cooler climates, higher altitudes, and poor or granite soils favor more vibrant, mineral white wines.

Critic Jamie Goode described a white wine from Languedoc as “rich and fresh at the same time,” emphasizing that richness and freshness can coexist if the wine is made with healthy grapes from the right varieties.

The choice of grape variety is key:

• Arinto, Loureiro, or Rabigato bring natural acidity.
 • Chardonnay or Antão Vaz need careful winemaking to preserve freshness.
Techniques like:
• Soft pressing,

• Fermentation at low temperatures,

• No bâtonnage, or

• Moderate (or zero) use of oak

are tools that winemakers use to preserve the vibrant and light character of a wine that is both rich and fresh at the same time.